Transcription by Ben Lerner

Friday, Sept. 11, 2026--San Antonio

Transcription by Ben Lerner is a short novel built around 3 main characters--Thomas, a sophisticated artist (writer, filmmaker, professor), his son Max, and Max's best friend (unnamed) who was Thomas's student was mentored by Thomas.  There have been difficulties throughout their lives.  Part of it is due to no matter what the conversation, Thomas tends to take it in different directions with his knowledge of philosphy, history, etc., which endears him to students and acquaintances but frustrates Max and his friend.  But he is also rather crotchety.  He wants Max to follow in his footsteps, but Max has never felt close to his father.  His mother died early, and Max has been put in boarding schools all his life because it was convenient for his father.  He rebels against his father's desires, becmes a lawyer, and lives across the continent from Thomas.  The protege is fascinated by Thomas and seems more like a son to him.  The book takes place in the mostly in the present when the protege goes to Thomas's home to get a final interview since Thomas is aging and has barely survived COVID when he was 90; he will publish the interview and will attend a conference in Europe of researchers of the works of Thomas where he will report on it.  Another big part of the novel is a conversation (communication?) between the Max and the protege after Thomas's death.  But the real gist of the nvel seems to be how Thomas confuses in his mind his memories of the two 45-year-old friends.  He seems to have a closer relationship today with the protege and to think that memories he has of him and Max are actually memories of him and the protege.  So the novel ends up questioning with how real memories are and how realistic a transscription can be of an interview in relation to what was true in real life.  There's much more in this little novel, but that is what I got from it.  I gave the book 3 1/2 stars out of 5.