Emma Hooper on Etta and Otto and Russell and James

Available for over a year

Canadian writer Emma Hooper talks to Mariella about her first novel Etta and Otto and Russell and James, the story of octogenarian Etta who sets off from her home in the Canadian prairies to walk the two thousand miles to the coast. She leaves behind her husband Otto and as she walks she remembers their childhood, and wartime courtship. Emma tells Mariella about her grandparents, who inspired the characters and her love of the bleak, harsh Saskatchewan landscape where the novel is set. Catherine Taylor profiles the Italian novelist Elena Ferrante who has ardent fans around the the world, but who remains resolutely private - refusing to give interviews or make public appearances. Sandip Roy sends a postcard from India and Ben Okri, who won the Man Booker prize for his novel The Famished Road, reveals why his copy of Don Quixote is the book he'd never lend.