Books by Ben Lerner
“Transcription features a Ben Lerner-like figure, who travels to Providence, Rhode Island, to interview a great poet and former mentor of his own. Shortly before the interview, which seems likely to be the ageing writer’s last, the protagonist breaks his phone, which is his only way of recording audio, and finds himself unable to explain the problem to his subject. The fallout from this conversation, or his reconstruction of it, is revisited throughout the book. Transcription has met, almost invariably, with rave reviews and is that rare beast: a slippery experimental novel that breaks into the bestseller lists.” Read more...
Must-Read Novels of Summer 2026
Cal Flyn, Five Books Editor
Leaving the Atocha Station
by Ben Lerner
Ben Lerner's debut novel, which won the 2011 Believer Award, follows a young poet over the course of a year-long Fulbright scholarship in Madrid. Praised for both its humour and intelligence, Leaving the Atocha Station offers both a biting satire of the art world, and a vivid insight into the anxieties of the creative process.
Interviews where books by Ben Lerner were recommended
Must-Read Novels of Summer 2026, selected by Cal Flyn
All of summer stretching out before you, and still searching for a brilliant new novel to read in the sun? You are not alone. We asked Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn to write a round-up of books that should be on your to-be-read list this season.
