The Book Show

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4.5 (197)
BOOKS
UPDATED WEEKLY

Your favourite fiction authors share the story behind their latest books.

1 DAY AGO

Marian Keyes — "I have lived many lives"

Marian Keyes, the queen of commercial fiction, explains why she fetishes family, the getting of wisdom and writing books she wants to read. Marian joined Claire Nichols at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival and they spoke about how Marian became a writer when she was in the depths of despair. Marian also acknowledged the wisdom she's gained in a sometimes tumultuous life. Marian's 16th novel, My Favourite Mistake (Penguin), is another story about one of her beloved Walsh sisters, a family she's been writing about for 30 years. In other news, find out more about Radio National's Top 100 Books countdown.

54 min
4 MAY

Eimear McBride, Tasma Walton and James Bradley on stormy weather and broken families

Irish writer Eimear McBride revisits favourite characters on a rainy night, actor-turned-writer Tasma Walton dredges up a family story of abduction and James Bradley's crime novel about climate catastrophe. Irish writer Eimear McBride is a past winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction whose writing is celebrated for its originality and inventive use of language. In her latest novel, The City Changes its Face (Faber), Eimear revisits the main characters of her second novel The Lesser Bohemians about actors Stephen and Eily's love affair despite the 20 year age gap. Eimear tells Claire Nichols she was drawn back to their story because they're everything she loves to write about. Listen to Claire's 2020 interview with Eimear about her previous novel, Strange Hotel. Actor-turned-writer, Tasma Walton (The Twelve, Mystery Road), explains the personal story behind her second novel I Am Nannertgarrook (Bundyi) which is about the abduction of one of her Boonwurrung Indigenous ancestors by sealers. Australian author James Bradley is no stranger to the burgeoning genre of cli-fi (climate fiction) but his novel Landfall (Penguin) marks his first foray into crime. It's set in a near future Sydney devastated by climate change when a child has gone missing as a dangerous storm approaches.

54 min
27 APR

Mother fault lines with Betty Shamieh, Debra Oswald and Naima Brown

Palestinian American playwright Betty Shamieh turns to fiction in Too Soon, a nuanced and lusty story of three generations of Palestinian women and the times that shape them. Australian author and TV screen writer Debra Oswald follows the eventful life of a gritty, strong woman in One Years of Betty. And in her biting satire Mother Tongue, Naima Brown asks, if you could change your life, could you live with what you left behind?

54 min
20 APR

Chigozie Obioma on kindness, big families and the Biafran War

Booker Prize shortlisted Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma joined Claire Nichols at Byron Writers Festival to discuss his latest novel The Road to the Country about civil war in Nigeria. Now based in the US, Chigozie Obioma's first two novels The Fishermen (2015) and An Orchestra of Minorities (2019) were shortlisted for The Booker Prize. His third novel The Road to the Country is about the Biafran War that tore through Nigeria from 1967 to 1970. At the Byron Writers Festival, he reflected on the idea imparted by his mother that 'stories of war are never complete', why she hasn't read his book and tells Claire Nichols what it was like growing up in a large family. First Broadcast 19 August 2024

54 min
13 APR

Gregory Maguire has another Wicked tale to tell

American writer Gregory Maguire joins Claire Nichols in a rare and revealing conversation about the evolution of his Wicked series that inspired the popular musical and movies. Once again, with Elphie: A Wicked Childhood, Gregory draws on the iconic Wizard of Oz characters and settings, this time concentrating on the childhood years of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Also, meet Nuzo Onoh, who is described as the African Queen of Horror. An award-winning Nigerian British writer, her latest novel, Where the Dead Brides Gather, is a tale of ghostly brides and a supernatural child.

54 min
6 APR

Charlotte McConaghy on The Wild Dark Shore

A small family lives on a remote island, the father a caretaker for the world's seeds. Then in the rising seas, a woman is washed up to shore. Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore is a mystery, a story of love, and a warning. Melbourne-based writer Sean Wilson offers an empathetic glimpse into the fractured mind of an elderly woman with dementia in his novella, You Must Remember This. And Chris Flynn, in his latest speculative fiction Orpheus Nine begins at a regional junior soccer game where something very weird is happening, and the world is changed forever.

54 min
30 MAR

Roisin O'Donnell and a woman on the run

A mother escapes a controlling husband. But that is just the beginning. Nesting, the debut novel from award-winning Irish writer Roisin O'Donnell takes us to the next step, finding a safe home. Also, English Ghanaian author Maame Blue, who now lives in Melbourne, on the struggles of uncovering memories in her novel The Rest of You, and in Love Unedited Australian author Caro Llewellyn explores a passionate romance between an editor and a writer.

54 min
23 MAR

Laila Lalami, Steven MinOn and Madeleine Ryan on mining dreams, a walking corpse and a very bad day

Award-winning Moroccan American author Laila Lalami imagines a world where the most intimate aspects of life are mined for data in her speculative fiction, The Dream Hotel. Australian Chinese writer Steve MinOn goes on a generational discovery tour with a corpse in his debut novel First Name Second Name. And Madeleine Ryan's The Knowing reflects on the anxieties of modern life and ambition.

54 min

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Claire Nichols

Host

4.5

out of 5

197 Ratings

Love the show!

01/12/2020

All the time on the world

I’m really enjoying listening to your show. Your interviews are always insightful and you manage to engage so warmly with your subjects. I’m also particularly loving the music that’s used, so congrats also to whoever is on the controls behind the scenes. Thankyou!
Richard Ford

29/07/2020

pjmanderson

Dear Claire. Thank you for the interview with Richard Ford, Striving for better, originally broadcast 29 June 2020. I was struck by the sincerity and intelligence of this interview. It was evident you and the author were listening, thinking about what had been said and responding in kind. The Book Show is consistently of high quality and one of my favourite podcasts.
Amazing!!!!!!

03/07/2020

Hiiamhannah

Thoroughly enjoyed this podcast!!! Can’t wait for next week 📚📚
loved it!

03/07/2020

bettlewis

I really enjoyed listening to this podcast. So great!!!