Presented by James Crawford, Take Four Books, speaks to the writer Madeleine Thien about her new novel and explores its links to three other literary works. The Book Of Records is an epic, time-warping exploration of individual lives shaped by migration, exile, war and oppression. The book follows the story of Lina, a young girl who has been forced to emigrate from her homeland, and together with her father winds up at a mysterious place called 'the Sea', which turns out to be a shapeshifting and time-shifting fantasy of a refugee camp. Fictional characters are based on real people from history, we have the German philosopher Hannah Arendt fleeing Europe during the Second World War, the Jewish scholar and philosopher Baruch Spinoza, and the eighth century Chinese poet, Du Fu all coming to life on the page. The supporting contributor for this episode is the writer and lecturer Sarah Bernstein, whose 2023 novel Study for Obedience was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.For her three influences, Madeleine chooses: Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities (1972); Men in Dark Times by Hannah Arendt (1968); and Touch by Adania Shibli (2010).Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian WheelanThis was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
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28:34
Wendy Erskine
Presented by James Crawford, Take Four Books, speaks to the award-winning short story writer Wendy Erskine about her first novel - The Benefactors - and explores its connections to three other literary works. The Benefactors is a polyphonic immersion into modern day Belfast and follows the events surrounding a teenage house party. Three mothers close ranks against the girl who is accusing their sons of sexual assault. For her three influencing texts Wendy chose: The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (2008); Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich (1997); and This Is The Place To Be, by Lara Pawson (2016).The supporting contributor for this episode was the journalist, writer, and author of Dance Your Way Home, Emma Warren.Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
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28:28
Elif Shafak
Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, speaks this week to the award-winning writer, Elif Shafak, about her new novel - There Are Rivers In The Sky - and explores its connections to three other literary works. The new book spans centuries and moves from London to Turkey to Iraq as it follows three characters all connected by a single drop of water that once fell as rain in the ancient "land between rivers" that was Mesopotamia. For her three influencing texts Elif chose: the ancient odyssey believed to be around four thousand years old, The Epic of Gilgamesh; Orlando by Virginia Woolf from 1928; and The Flow: Rivers, Water and Wildness by Amy-Jane Beer from 2023. Recorded at the Hay-on-Wye Books Festival, the supporting contributor for this episode was the first ever national poet of Wales, Gwyneth Lewis, whose latest works include the memoir Nightshade Mother, and a new poetry collection entitled First Rain In Paradise. Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Gillian WheelanThis was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
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28:48
Andrew Miller
Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, speaks to the writer Andrew Miller about his novel, The Land In Winter, and explores its connections to three other literary works. Recorded in front of an audience at the Hay-on-Wye books festival, the supporting contributor for this episode is the writer Joanne Harris. Andrew's new novel centres on two married couples recently relocated to the farmlands of the West Country as the record-breaking British winter, known as The Big Freeze of 1963, takes hold. For his three influencing texts Andrew chose: The Light Years by James Salter (1975); Gerald's Party by Robert Coover (1986); and Daddy's Gone A-Hunting by Penelope Mortimer (1958). Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Gillian WheelanThis was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
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28:38
Seán Hewitt
Take Four Books presents Open, Heaven, the debut novel from Seán Hewitt - an award-winning poet renowned for his critically acclaimed 2022 memoir of heartbreak and queer identity, All Down Darkness Wide.Open, Heaven is a tale of suppressed adolescent desire set in the pastoral surroundings of rural northern England. In this episode, Seán reflects on three literary influences that shaped his novel: The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley, Maurice by E. M. Forster, and The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien.The supporting contributor is author and lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Brighton, Dr Bea Hitchman.There is also an extract from The Go-Between audiobook, narrated by Sean Barrett and published by Naxos AudioBooks.Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
Presenter James Crawford looks at an author's latest work and delves further into their creative process by learning about the three other texts that have shaped their writing.
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