Sebastian Faulks
Kirsty Young invites writer Sebastian Faulks to choose eight records to take to Radio 4's mythical desert island.
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Sebastian Faulks. He is best known for his novel Birdsong, which told in shocking detail the misery of life in the Flanders trenches. It was published with little fanfare or glossy advertising and failed to win any major awards - but it became a literary phenomenon and a huge best-seller. He was inspired to write it after visiting the battlefields of the Western Front with some veterans of World War I. One old soldier held onto Sebastian's hand and recalled seeing his friend killed next to him and, for the first time for him, Sebastian says, the war emerged from the history books into real, tangible human experience. He concedes that he still struggles to get to grips with much of life. Writers, he says, are often trying to impose a structure on a world that they find generally baffling.
Favourite track: Miles by Miles Davis
Book: Remembrance of Things Past (Proust) by CK Scott Moncrieff (transl.)
Luxury: A wicket, cricket bat, net, an endless supply of balls and a bowling machine that can be set to replicate the style of any bowler
Last on
Music Played
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Boz Scaggs
Just Go
Artist: Michael Rodriguez
- My Time: A Boz Scaggs Anthology (1969-1997).
- Columbia.
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Maurice Ravel
Piano Concerto in G major - 2nd movement
Soloist: Werner Haas Orchestra: Orchestre National de L鈥橭pera de Monte-Carlo Conductor: Alceo Galliera
- Ravel: Complete Music For Piano Solo.
- Philips.
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The Beatles
Can't Buy Me Love
- The Beatles: Can鈥檛 Buy Me Love/You Can鈥檛 Do That.
- Parlophone.
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Charles Trenet & Orchestra
En Quittant La Ville
- Boum! Charles Trenet The Great French Stars.
- ASV.
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Steely Dan
Rose Darling
- Katy Lied.
- MCA.
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Joni Mitchell
Help Me
- Court And Spark.
- Asylum.
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Castaway's Favourite
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Miles Davis
Miles
- Miles Davis: Milestones.
- CBS.
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Gabriel Faur茅
Sanctus (from Requiem)
Soloist: Jonathan Bond, Benjamin Luxon, Stephen Cleobury Orchestra: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
- Faure: Requiem/ Durufle: Requiem 鈥� George Guest/ Choir of St. John鈥檚 College Cambridge.
- Decca.
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Book Choice
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A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu - Marcel Proust
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Kirsty Young |
| Interviewed Guest | Sebastian Faulks |
Broadcasts
- Sun 29 Mar 2009 11:15大象传媒 Radio 4
- Fri 3 Apr 2009 09:00大象传媒 Radio 4
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Archive 2005-2010—Desert Island Discs
Guests are invited to choose the eight records they would take to a desert island
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