Sunday 16:00-16:30, repeated Thursday 16:00-16:30, except first Sunday in the month when it is replaced by Book Club.
Open Book spotlights new fiction and non-fiction, picks out the best of the paperbacks, talks to authors and publishers, and unearths lost masterpieces.
This week
Sunday 20 August 2006
Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose first book Purple Hibiscus was short-listed for the Orange Prize, talks about her follow up Half of a Yellow Sun.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's debut novel, Purple Hibiscus was long-listed for the Booker and short-listed for the Orange prize. She talks to Mariella Frostrup about following such a successful start, about her new book Half of a Yellow Sun, set during the Nigerian-Biafran war in the 1960s and why she's a bit embarrassed about her Dad reading it.
Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Publisher - HarperCollins ISBN: 0007200277
In response to a query sent to our reading clinic, biographer and lecturer in women's fiction, Lynn Knight suggests some novels that feature the suffragette movement.
Lynn's suggestions:
Ann Veronica - HG Wells Publisher - Penguin ISBN: 0141441097
Night and Day - Virginia Woolf Publisher - Penguin ISBN: 0140185682
The Sentinel - Rebecca West Publisher - Maney ISBN: 1900755513
Polly's March - Linda Newbery Publisher - Usborne ISBN: 0746060319
The comedian Mark Watson, who is also a published novelist, has decided to write a book during the Edinburgh Festival by using his audience to come up with ideas. He talks to Mariella about how his literary experiment is working.
Bullet Points - Mark Watson Publisher - Vintage ISBN: 0099460858
Arab Writers
The British Council and Banipal Magazine have invited a group of young Arab writers to tour the UK and discuss their work. Mariella talks to two of the group - writer Ala Hlehel and poet Abed Ismael.
Unbuttoning the Violin - Selected works by Joumana Haddad, Abed Ismael, Ala Hlehel and Mansoura Ez-Eldin. Publisher: Banipal Books ISBN: 0-9549666-2-7
Ala and Abed's suggestions of Arab writers:
An Iraqi in Paris: An Autobiographical Novel - Samuel Shimon Publisher - Banipal Books ISBN: 0954966600
Without an Alphabet, Without a Face: Selected Poems of Saadi Youssef Publisher - Graywolf Press, US ISBN: 155597371X
Invitation to a recording of Open Book
On 22 August 2006 at 11:00am, we're recording a special edition of Open Book all about the Books industry. If you'd like to come along to the recording, at a central London Bookshop, please email us here
