18/05/2014
Joseph O'Connor tells Mariella Frostrup about his new novel about a fictional band, The Thrill of it All, and Louise Welsh and Andrew Wilson on the elusive Ms Patricia Highsmith.
Joseph O'Connor - who first came to international fame with his 2002 historical novel "Star of the Sea" - joins Mariella Frostrup to talk about his new book, The Thrill Of It All, an account of the rollercoaster life of a fictional band in the 80s. Four musicians who meet in the unglamourous surrounding of Luton Poly and form a band called The Ships in the Night take the eighties music world by storm although success brings inevitable conflict - and disillusion soon sets in. Told in the distinctive style of a faux music biography, Joseph discusses his own experiences of the music world as older brother to his pop star sister Sinead.
As Patricia Highsmith's novel The Two Faces of January hits the cinema screens this week crime writer Louise Welsh and biographer Andrew Wilson discuss the life and personality of the writer who is credited with creating the first likeable psychopath in popular fiction - Tom Ripley. Why does the moral ambivalence that lies at the heart of Highsmith's work continue to resonate, and why - as she said herself - did she like to write about "cruel deeds"?
Another in the occasional series of insider tip offs from the publishing world, Chatto and Windus publisher Clara Farmer recommends Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey.
And inside novelist, comedian and broadcaster David Baddiel's writing room the celebrated author talks about the distractions posed by the internet - and his exercise bike!
Last on
BOOKLIST
Beautiful Shadow A life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson - Publisher:听Bloomsbury
The Lying Tongue by Andrew Wilson
The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh - Publisher: John Murray
A Lovely Way to Burn by Louise Welsh - Publisher: John Murray
听
By Patricia Highsmith - Publisher: Little, Brown
Strangers on a Train
Carol
The Talented Mr Ripley
This Sweet Sickness
The Two Faces of January
The Glass Cell
听
The Thrill of It All by Joseph O'Connor -听Publisher: Bloomsbury
Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey听
Read the Opening Chapter of The Thrill of it All by Joseph O'Connor
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Mariella Frostrup |
Interviewed Guest | Joseph O'Connor |
Interviewed Guest | Louise Welsh |
Interviewed Guest | Andrew Wilson |
Interviewed Guest | Clara Farmer |
Interviewed Guest | David Baddiel |
Broadcasts
- Sun 18 May 2014 16:00大象传媒 Radio 4
- Thu 22 May 2014 15:30大象传媒 Radio 4 FM