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
The Best Political Novels of 2026: The Orwell Prize for Fiction, recommended by The judges of the 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction
“Politics, in its widest sense, courses through all these books. The eight finalists…have thought long and hard about abortion, contraception, gay rights, geopolitics, corruption, religious dogma, regulating technology and treating mental illness. Though these books are all quite different, they are united in showing how much a life of political engagement is a life of purpose and connection with humanity,” says Fiammetta Rocca, chair of the judging panel of this year’s Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.
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.
