Take Four Books

BBC Radio 4
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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.

  1. 29 MAR

    Yann Martel

    The much-loved Canadian writer and former Booker Prize winner, Yann Martel, speaks to Take Four Books this week about his new novel, and first for a decade - Son Of Nobody - and together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other literary works. The book follows a classical scholar, Harlow Donne, as he gets a chance to study at Oxford and uncovers a lost account of the Trojan war. The fictional Homeric poem unfolds across the top of the page, while Harlow's often heartfelt footnotes, addressed to his young daughter, Helen, run below. Yann, who won the Booker in 2002 for his novel Life Of Pi, chose as his three influences: Stephen Mitchell's 2011 translation of The Iliad; Alice Oswald's Memorial, which is her translation of the Iliad's "atmosphere" and was also published in 2011; and Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, which was first staged in 1962. Producer: Dominic Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    35 min

  2. 22 MAR

    Jan Carson

    Northern Irish writer and multi‑award‑winning novelist Jan Carson talks to James Crawford about her new book and the three key influences that shaped it. Her latest novel, Few and Far Between, transports readers to an alternative Northern Ireland, where the country’s great inland loch is partially drained in the 1960s, leaving behind a chain of islands that become a refuge for those seeking to escape political strife. For her influences, Jan chose: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (1971); Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (2017); and Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (1951). Producer: Rachael O'Neill Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    29 min

  3. 15 MAR

    Susan Choi

    The writer Susan Choi speaks to Take Four Books about her novel Flashlight, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other literary works. The novel, which began life as a short story in the New Yorker in 2020, and won the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award in 2021, begins with ten-year-old Louisa and her father taking a walk out on the breakwater. They are spending the summer in a coastal Japanese town while her father Serk, a Korean émigré, completes an academic secondment from his American university. When Louisa wakes hours later, she has washed up on the beach and her father is missing, probably drowned. The disappearance of Louisa’s father shatters their small family unit. As Louisa and her American mother, Anne, return to the US, this traumatic event reverberates across time and space, and the mystery of what really happened to Serk slowly unravels. The book was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize and has recently been longlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize. For her influences, Susan chose: Jenny Erpenbeck’s Visitation, from 2010; the Selected Stories of Alice Munro from 1996; and George Eliot’s Middlemarch, from 1871. Producer: Dominic Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    35 min

  4. 8 MAR

    Colm Tóibín

    The Irish writer Colm Tóibín speaks to Take Four Books about his new short story collection, The News From Dublin, and together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other literary works. His new collection, published by Picador, consists of nine short stories, the last of which, The Catalan Girls, runs to a hundred pages and is about three sisters who have been living in Argentina and decide to return to Catalonia. For his three influences Colm chose short stories by three Irish writers: The Country Funeral by John McGahern first published in 1992; Frank O'Connor's Guests Of The Nation from 1931; and the Glasgow born Irish playwright and writer Eugene McCabe's Music At Annahullion from 1985. Producer: Dominic Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    38 min

  5. 22 FEB

    John Lanchester

    Bestselling author John Lanchester speaks to Take Four Books about his latest novel Look What You Made Me Do. Together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other literary works. In black comedy Look What You Made Me Do, the lives of young TV writer Phoebe and 50-something metropolitan Kate become intertwined as the most talked about television show of the year seems to contain eerie similarities to the intimacies of Kate's marriage. John’s three chosen influences for this episode are Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym from 1953; Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh from 1928; and Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut from 1963. Producer: Caitlin Sneddon Editor: Gillian Wheelan This is a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    34 min

  6. 15 FEB

    Jennifer Niven

    American author Jennifer Niven joins Take Four Books to discuss 'Meet the Newmans', her brand new novel that follows the lives of America’s favourite television family in 1964. On screen, they present flawless versions of themselves, but away from the cameras the truth could not be further from perfect. During the episode, Jennifer discusses the three works that inspired her new book: 'Lessons in Chemistry' by Bonnie Garmus (2022); 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017); and 'In Search of Donna Reed' by Jay Fultz (1998). Producer: Rachael O’Neill Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    29 min

  7. 8 FEB

    Bryan Washington

    The American writer Bryan Washington speaks to Take Four Books about his new novel, Palaver, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other literary works. Palaver focuses on the tense relationship between protagonists “the son” and “the mother”. The son is an American who has lived in Tokyo for the best part of a decade, teaching English as a foreign language. Throughout this period, he’s been estranged from his Jamaican-American mother back home in Texas, until one day she arrives uninvited on his doorstep. Bryan's three chosen influences in this episode are: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto from 1988; Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson from 2016; and Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park from 2021. Producer: Dominic Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    28 min

  8. 25 ENE

    Ali Smith

    Acclaimed author Ali Smith speaks to Take Four Books about her latest book, Glyph. Together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other literary works. Glyph tells a story hidden within Smith’s 2024 novel Gliff. Once again, the plot centres on two siblings and a horse, and delves into the power of storytelling. Ali’s three chosen influences for this episode are: The Wild Ass’ Skin by Honoré de Balzac (1831); A Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear (1846); and Strider: The Story of a Horse by Leo Tolstoy (circa 1886). Producer: Hayley Jarvis Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    29 min
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Información

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.

Ficha técnica

  • Creado por
    BBC Radio 4
  • Años en activo
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodios
    55
  • Clasificación
    Apto
  • Derechos de autor
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Sitio web del podcast
    Take Four Books
  • Proveedor

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