The Book Show

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

  1. 6 GÜN ÖNCE

    Trent Dalton and David Malouf — Brisbane's favourite sons

    Trent Dalton's new novel Gravity Let Me Go is about a middle aged journalist who can't let go of a good story, and David Malouf reflects on a life of writing and the hold of Brisbane on his imagination. Trent Dalton is the bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, All Our Shimmering Skies and Lola in the Mirror. His new novel Gravity Let me Go, is about a Brisbane crime journalist with a big story, an aching body and a family who could be in peril. Trent tells Claire Nichols that this book was a reckoning with who he is now as a middle aged family man with a serious story addiction. He also explains why he thinks of Brisbane as akin to Paris, London or New York for its romance, dark side and storytelling potential.  Trent Dalton also shares his favourite book for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books with a special shout-out to Geraldine Brooks. Vote for your favourite book of the 21st Century here.  David Malouf was one of the first writers to put modern-day Brisbane on the literary map with his semi-autobiographical novel Johnno and says the city he wrote about was his own invention. Now at 91, David tells Claire Nichols about the place of fiction in his life and what it means to reissue three collections of poetry: An Open Book, Earth Hour and Typewriter Music.

    54 dk.

  2. 21 EYL

    How Ian McEwan is using the future to explore the present

    Ian McEwan's futuristic novel What We Can Know is about rising sea levels and a lost poem. Plus, Randa Abdel-Fattah's response to the crisis in Gaza in her novel Discipline and Vogel Award winner Murray Middleton on the despair of being an artist. Ian McEwan is the British author of over 20 books including Atonement, Saturday, Lessons and his Booker Prize-winner, Amsterdam. His new novel, What We Can Know is set a century in the future where a history professor has dedicated his career to examining our era known as the "derangement". McEwan talks about writing a climate change novel and why we're all complicit in this contemporary derangement. He also tells Claire Nichols how he's learnt to be more humble as a writer. Randa Abdel-Fattah is a Palestinian Egyptian author, lawyer and academic who's mostly written books for children and young adults, but Discipline is her first novel for adults. It follows two Muslim characters living in Australia, as conflict breaks out in Gaza. It's about the agony of watching your family suffer from far away and it's also about the politics of our country and the cost of speaking out. Vogel Award winning author Murray Middleton contemplates the despair of being an artist in his latest collection of short stories, U Want it Darker. Many of the characters are dealing with a sense of failure, which is personal for Murray Middleton whose had his own set backs as an artist.   The Book Thief author, Markus Zusak shares his favourite book of the 21st Century for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books. VOTE NOW!

    54 dk.

  3. 14 EYL

    Arundhati Roy and Mick Herron on monstrous mothers and Slow Horses

    God of Small Things author Arundhati Roy remembers her difficult mother and how she was shaped as a writer, and Mick Herron on the success of Slow Horses and his repellent but memorable creation, Jackson Lamb. Arundhati Roy is a giant of literature. She's published two novels, including the Booker Prize-winning The God of Small Things and is a prolific author of non-fiction, much of which confronts injustice in her home country of India. Her latest book is a memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me, which examines her complicated relationship with her mother, Mary Roy. Mary was a trailblazer in education and in fighting for equality for women but as a mum, she could be cruel and even violent. She died in 2022, and in the book, Arundhati Roy writes, "perhaps more than a daughter mourning the passing of her mother, I mourn her as a writer who has lost her most enthralling subject." British author Mick Herron says his popular Slough House series that began with Slow Horses in 2010 wasn't an immediate success. Although, now the Slough House universe about disgraced MI5 agents has grown with nine novels in the ongoing series and another seven associated standalone books and of course a wonderful TV series. The latest in the series Clown Town is about a missing book, and Jackson Lamb, the flatulent boss of these ragtag agents, is repellent as ever. But Mick Herron cautions not to read his books as an insight into the operations of MI5. VOTE NOW in ABC Radio National’s Top 100 Books of the 21st Century.

    54 dk.

  4. 7 EYL

    Toni Jordan, Richard Osman and Gail Jones on greyhounds, murder and mystery

    Australian author of Addition, Toni Jordan, goes gambling with greyhounds in Tenderfoot, Richard Osman digs up the background to The Thursday Murder Club and critically acclaimed writer, Gail Jones on why she wrote the crime novel, The Name of the Sister. Toni Jordan is the Australian author of eight books including Addition, The Fragments and Dinner with the Schnabels. Her new novel, Tenderfoot, is her most personal. It's told from the perspective of a child in 1970s Brisbane who's growing up amongst greyhounds and racing tracks and dealing with her parents' divorce. Toni reflects on her own life growing up at the TAB and why she turned to this personal story now. Some inspiration for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books of the 21st Century: we revisit The Thursday Murder Club by the British writer and TV personality Richard Osman which has been a massive hit since it was published in 2020, with three sequels and a movie adaptation out now starring Helen Mirren. Here on The Book Show Claire Nichols spoke to Richard right when the book was first published. Cast your vote in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books here. Gail Jones is one of our most prolific and celebrated authors. Her novels have been shortlisted and awarded for many of the big literary awards but she's done something different in her latest book by writing a crime novel. In The Name of the Sister a freelance journalist investigates the story of a nameless woman who's turned up on the side of the road in Broken Hill, unable to speak and clearly damaged by some sort of abuse. Gail reflects on a life in literature and why she became a writer later in life.

    54 dk.

  5. 31 AĞU

    Top 100 Books with Colum McCann, Kate Grenville and Kaliane Bradley

    Discover the favourite books from the 21st century of Colum McCann, Kate Grenville and Kaliane Bradley who share their best reads for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books.   The Book Show producer Sarah L'Estrange spoke to three acclaimed authors at Melbourne Writers Festival in the lead up to ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books countdown. Go here to vote for your favourite book of the last 25 years. Guests: Colum McCann is an Irish author of eight novels including Let the Great World Spin and Apeirogon and his latest is Twist which is a tale about disconnection in this hyper connected world. Kate Grenville is the author of over 15 books of fiction and non-fiction, including her Orange Prize winning book The Idea of Perfection, The Secret River and her latest book, Unsettled, explores the personal story behind The Secret River. Kaliane Bradley is a British-Cambodian writer and editor whose bestselling debut novel The Ministry of Time is a time travel novel about immigration, history and romance. Panel's top reads of the 21st century: Kate Grenville Mateship With Birds by Carrie TiffanyAnything Can Happen, by Susan HamptonOlive Cotton, a Life in Photography by Helen EnnisThe Biggest Estate on Earth by Bill GammageCarpentaria by Alexis WrightKaliane Bradley Night Watch by Terry PratchettLandbridge by Y-Dang TroeungDrive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-JonesStories of Your Life and Others by Ted ChiangGrief Is the Thing With Feathers by Max PorterColum McCann Ulysses by James JoyceTrue History of the Kelly Gang by Peter CareyA Mercy by Toni MorrisonAnil's Ghost by Michael OndaatjeHalf of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Aidiche(and Gilead by Marilynne Robinson)

    54 dk.

  6. 24 AĞU

    R.F. Kuang goes to hell with Katabasis

    Yellowface author R.F. Kuang returns to speculative fiction with her latest novel Katabasis, a campus novel set in hell. Plus Australian author Moreno Giovannoni's second novel The Immigrant challenges the idea that Italian immigrants of his parent's generation had better lives in Australia. While R.F. Kuang had a global hit with Yellowface — her 2023 satirical novel about race and publishing — Rebecca was already an acclaimed fantasy writer and she returns to this territory with her new book, Katabasis. It's a campus novel set in hell about magic and romance. Rebecca also tells Claire Nichols why she loves fantasy, why she has a "dumb" phone and shares her idea of the good life. Australian writer Moreno Giovannoni explains the background to his second novel The Immigrants (his first book is The Fireflies of Autumn) and shares his memories of his immigrant childhood, and the parents who came to Australia from Italy for a so-called 'better life'.

    54 dk.

  7. 17 AĞU

    Gary Shteyngart, Jennifer Mills and Rhett Davis ask what's next

    Russian born US writer Gary Shteyngart imagines a future America with strong parallels to Russia in Vera, or Faith, Adelaide based author Jennifer Mills' latest novel Salvage rockets into space after ecological collapse, and Geelong author Rhett Davis on Aborescence about people who want to become trees. Gary Shteyngart is the Russian-born, American-based author of novels including Absurdistan, Super Sad True Love Story and Our Country Friends. His latest book Vera, or Faith, is about a precocious child living in near future America, where cars have attitude and equality is under threat. Gary talks about the worrying parallels between the USA and Russia and the precarious state of immigrants in the country. Jennifer Mills (Dyschronia and The Airways) is one of the most exciting experimental writers in Australia. Her latest novel, Salvage, is a propulsive novel about sisterhood, space and what happens after ecological collapse. She also talks about wanting her books to be of use to readers.  And staying with the environmental theme, Geelong based author Rhett Davis's second book Arborescence continues his fascination with trees that featured in his debut, Hovering. Arborescence is about a movement of people who want to grow roots and become trees (and they do, in their billions)! It's also about the absurdity of modern-day life.

    54 dk.

  8. 10 AĞU

    Florence Knapp and Brandon Jack on the power of a name

    Florence Knapp's debut novel The Names is a sliding doors story about the naming of a child and has been a surprise success (for her). Plus Brandon Jack, former Aussie Rules Football player on his novel Pissants about the players who don't win glory on the field and how they get their nicknames. Florence Knapp's hugely popular debut novel The Names explores the power of a name. Starting in 1980s England, it's a sliding doors story about the seismic impacts of a woman's choice of name for her newborn son. Florence also talks about dealing with the unexpected success of her first book. And something a bit different, a novel by former Aussie Rules Football player, Brandon Jack, who played for the Sydney Swans (finishing in 2017). Pissants tells the story of a ragtag group of fringe AFL players making bad choices and getting into trouble. Brandon talks about his shift from football to fiction, why nicknames are important for team spirit and having Helen Garner (Australian literary royalty) as a fan. Read this article for more background about the writing of Pissants.

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

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    ABC listen
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    2018 - 2025
  • Bölümler
    408
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    Uygun
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