The Transcriptionist, by Amy Rowland

Amy Rowland. The Transcriptionist. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2014. 246 pages. ISBN 9781616202545.

First time novelist Amy Rowland has written a compelling book about a woman's loneliness and lack of a sense of self. Transcriptionist Lena is afraid that she's becoming subsumed by her job, transcribing news stories for a prominent newspaper. When she sees a story about a blind woman who committed suicide by climbing into the lion's den at the zoo, she realizes that she had met the woman on the bus only a few days prior. Feeling a connection to the dead woman, Arlene, Lena begins to investigate the woman and her death, following leads and misrepresenting herself to Arlene's family as a newspaper reporter. As Lena learns more about Arlene, she comes closer to learning the truth about herself, and finally gains the strength to break from her circumstances and make a change in her own life.

I found the writing in this novel to be very good. The characters are interesting, although not all of them are likable. Lena's obsession is curious, but it shows how one incident can cause someone to rethink her whole life.