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
27 January 2008
Mariella talks to Helen Dunmore about her latest novel, a poetic love affair in Ancient Rome.
Helen Dunmore
Mariella talks to Helen Dunmore, an accomplished writer of poetry and fiction for children and adults. Her latest novel, set in ancient Rome, takes as its hero the poet Catullus. Helen Dunmore explains how she imagined the poet's love life from the twenty-five poems he addressed to a mystery woman, and talks about her fascination for the period.
Counting the Stars: Helen Dunmore Publisher: Fig Tree
Nabokov's Last Work
Robert McCrum, literary editor of The Observer, joins Mariella to discuss news of Nabokov's unseen final work - an unfinished novel which he asked his family to destroy.
Philosophical Fiction
Two recent novels feature young heroines who turn to philosophy as a way of dealing with the problems everyday life throws at them. Mariella is joined by the writers Diana Janney and Charlotte Greig to discuss their interest in philosophy, and find out how they approached the problem of including big ideas in a popular novel.
The Infinite Wisdom of Harriet Rose: Diana Janney Publisher: Headline
A Girl's Guide to Modern Philosophy: Charlotte Greig Publisher: Serpent's Tail
Self on Ballard
Will Self offers Open Book a reader's guide to the works of J. G. Ballard. Ballard's visionary novels range from the environmental science fiction classic The Drowned World to dystopian visions of the near future such as Cocaine Nights. Will Self, one of his best-known fans, offers some of his personal highlights from Ballard's output.
