Alle afleveringen van Take Four Books – pagina 2 van 2

Denise Mina

27 juli 2025 · 29 min

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Multi-award-winning writer Denise Mina discusses her twentieth novel, The Good Liar, which follows blood-spatter forensics expert Claudia O’Sheil as she faces a profound moral dilemma. Lees meer

Denise also shares the three key influences that inspired the novel’s creation: Dorothy Thompson’s Who Goes Nazi?, Stanley Milgram’s Obedience to Authority, and George Orwell’s 1984.

The supporting contributor is award-winning author, James Bond novelist, and lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh, Kim Sherwood.

Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Gurnaik Johal

20 juli 2025 · 29 min

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Take Four Books speaks to writer Gurnaik Johal about his debut novel ‘Saraswati’, a tale about a holy river that appears to resurface in modern-day India. The story begins with Satnam, a man living in Wolverhampton, whose life becomes entangled in the unfolding events. His journey leads him to discover six distant relatives scattered across the world, all drawn together in a rapidly changing India. Lees meer

‘Saraswati’ was shortlisted for this year’s Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. The three books that influenced Gurnaik’s novel are: The Great Derangement by Amitav Ghosh; Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad; and Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz.

The supporting contributor is multi-award-winning writer, Professor of World Literature and Creative Writing at Newcastle University, and BBC New Generation Thinker, Preti Taneja.

Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Colm Tóibín

13 juli 2025 · 29 min

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Presented by James Crawford, Take Four Books, speaks to the Irish writer Colm Tóibín about his latest novel - Long Island - and explores its connections to three other literary works. Long Island, now out in paperback, is the sequel to the best-selling novel Brooklyn, and we're back with Eilis Lacey. It's the spring of 1976 and one day, when her husband Tony is at work, an Irishman comes to the door asking for Eilis by name. What this man tells Eilis changes her life. And so begins Long Island which sees Eilis return to her homeland after decades abroad.
For his three influences Colm chose: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (1886); Victory by Joseph Conrad (1915); and The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920). The supporting contributor for this episode is award-winning novelist and short story writer Jan Carson. Lees meer

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production for Radio 4.

Madeleine Thien

29 juni 2025 · 29 min

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Presented by James Crawford, Take Four Books, speaks to the writer Madeleine Thien about her new novel and explores its links to three other literary works. The Book Of Records is an epic, time-warping exploration of individual lives shaped by migration, exile, war and oppression. The book follows the story of Lina, a young girl who has been forced to emigrate from her homeland, and together with her father winds up at a mysterious place called 'the Sea', which turns out to be a shapeshifting and time-shifting fantasy of a refugee camp. Fictional characters are based on real people from history, we have the German philosopher Hannah Arendt fleeing Europe during the Second World War, the Jewish scholar and philosopher Baruch Spinoza, and the eighth century Chinese poet, Du Fu all coming to life on the page. The supporting contributor for this episode is the writer and lecturer Sarah Bernstein, whose 2023 novel Study for Obedience was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Lees meer

For her three influences, Madeleine chooses: Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities (1972); Men in Dark Times by Hannah Arendt (1968); and Touch by Adania Shibli (2010).

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Wendy Erskine

22 juni 2025 · 28 min

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Presented by James Crawford, Take Four Books, speaks to the award-winning short story writer Wendy Erskine about her first novel - The Benefactors - and explores its connections to three other literary works. The Benefactors is a polyphonic immersion into modern day Belfast and follows the events surrounding a teenage house party. Three mothers close ranks against the girl who is accusing their sons of sexual assault. For her three influencing texts Wendy chose: The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (2008); Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich (1997); and This Is The Place To Be, by Lara Pawson (2016). Lees meer

The supporting contributor for this episode was the journalist, writer, and author of Dance Your Way Home, Emma Warren.

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Elif Shafak

15 juni 2025 · 29 min

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Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, speaks this week to the award-winning writer, Elif Shafak, about her new novel - There Are Rivers In The Sky - and explores its connections to three other literary works. The new book spans centuries and moves from London to Turkey to Iraq as it follows three characters all connected by a single drop of water that once fell as rain in the ancient "land between rivers" that was Mesopotamia. For her three influencing texts Elif chose: the ancient odyssey believed to be around four thousand years old, The Epic of Gilgamesh; Orlando by Virginia Woolf from 1928; and The Flow: Rivers, Water and Wildness by Amy-Jane Beer from 2023. Lees meer

Recorded at the Hay-on-Wye Books Festival, the supporting contributor for this episode was the first ever national poet of Wales, Gwyneth Lewis, whose latest works include the memoir Nightshade Mother, and a new poetry collection entitled First Rain In Paradise.

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Andrew Miller

8 juni 2025 · 29 min

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Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, speaks to the writer Andrew Miller about his novel, The Land In Winter, and explores its connections to three other literary works. Recorded in front of an audience at the Hay-on-Wye books festival, the supporting contributor for this episode is the writer Joanne Harris. Andrew's new novel centres on two married couples recently relocated to the farmlands of the West Country as the record-breaking British winter, known as The Big Freeze of 1963, takes hold. For his three influencing texts Andrew chose: The Light Years by James Salter (1975); Gerald's Party by Robert Coover (1986); and Daddy's Gone A-Hunting by Penelope Mortimer (1958). Lees meer

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Seán Hewitt

25 mei 2025 · 29 min

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Take Four Books presents Open, Heaven, the debut novel from Seán Hewitt - an award-winning poet renowned for his critically acclaimed 2022 memoir of heartbreak and queer identity, All Down Darkness Wide. Lees meer

Open, Heaven is a tale of suppressed adolescent desire set in the pastoral surroundings of rural northern England. In this episode, Seán reflects on three literary influences that shaped his novel: The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley, Maurice by E. M. Forster, and The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien.

The supporting contributor is author and lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Brighton, Dr Bea Hitchman.

There is also an extract from The Go-Between audiobook, narrated by Sean Barrett and published by Naxos AudioBooks.

Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Ocean Vuong

18 mei 2025 · 29 min

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In this episode of Take Four Books James Crawford is joined by the multi-award winning Vietnamese-American poet and author, Ocean Vuong. Together with the writer and editor Heather Parry, they discuss Ocean’s latest novel - ‘The Emperor of Gladness’ - and three key influences behind its creation. Lees meer

Set in the fictional town of East Gladness Connecticut in the early years of the 21st century, the ‘Emperor of Gladness’ is centred on nineteen-year-old Hai, and the unlikely bond he forms with with Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia. This vivid, poetic epic explore loss, hope, class and the power of human connection in the post-industrial opioid infused margins of the American Dream.

Ocean’s literary influences include, 'The Brothers Karamazov'by Fyodor Dostoevsky, 'The Town and the City' by Jack Kerouac, and 'Class Fictions' by Pamela Fox.

Producer: Elizabeth Ann Duffy
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This was a BBC Audio Scotland production, made in Glasgow.

Ben Okri

11 mei 2025 · 29 min

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Booker-prize winning writer and poet Ben Okri talks to Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, about his new novella - Madame Sosostris & the Festival for the Broken-Hearted - and its three key influences. Ben's new book takes us to a forested chateau in the South of France for a special, one-night-only event – a fevered fancy dress ball attended by anyone, and everyone, who has been wounded by love. His three literary influences for this episode are: The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot from 1922 ; Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare from 1600; and The Outsider by Albert Camus from 1942. Our rule-breaking bonus book, was Alain-Fournier’s Les Grand Meaulnes, known as The Lost Estate in English and originally published in 1913. Lees meer

The supporting contributor for this episode was the Oxford academic and writer Emma Smith.

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Vincenzo Latronico

27 april 2025 · 28 min

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Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, speaks to the writer Vincenzo Latronico on his new novel Perfection - which has been shortlisted for the International Man Booker prize - and explores its connections to three other literary works. Perfection (translated by Sophie Hughes) follows the lives of millennial expat couple Anna and Tom, who work as digital creatives, and seek to live out, what should be, their dream existence in a chic flat in Berlin filled with flea market furniture and house plants, and yet an undefinable feeling of unfulfillment gnaws away. For his three influences Vincenzo chose: Things: A Story Of The Sixties by Georges Perec from 1965; Wilful Disregard by the Swedish author Lena Andersson from 2013; and No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood from 2021. Lees meer

The supporting contributor for this episode was the Italian writer and translator Claudia Durastanti, author of Strangers I Know.

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Xiaolu Guo

20 april 2025 · 29 min

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This week, Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, talks to the British-Chinese writer Xiaolu Guo about her new novel - Call Me Ishmaelle - which reinterprets Herman Melville's mighty Moby Dick story and follows the protagonist of Ishmaelle, a woman who sneaks onto a whaling ship disguised as a man. For her three influencing texts Xiaolu chose: Moby Dick by Herman Melville from 1851; Philip Hoare's Leviathan from 2009; and Othello by William Shakespeare (first performed in 1604). Lees meer

The supporting contributor for this episode was the literary editor and founder of the independent publisher thi wurd - Alan McMunnigall.

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Andrew O'Hagan

13 april 2025 · 29 min

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Three-times Booker nominated Scottish author Andrew O’Hagan tells us about his novel, Caledonian Road, and reveals three other works that inspired its creation. Lees meer

This state-of-the-nation novel follows 60 characters over the course of a chaotic, post-pandemic year, focussing on protagonist Campbell Flynn as his life slowly unravels before his eyes.

Andrew O’Hagan’s chosen influences were The Princess Casamassima by Henry James; The Idea of Order at Key West by Wallace Stevens; and J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.

The supporting contributor is contemporary novelist Katie Ward.

Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Eoin McNamee

30 maart 2025 · 29 min

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This week on Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, the Northern Irish writer Eoin McNamee talks about how he fictionalised elements of his own life for his new novel - The Bureau - which centres around a backstreet Bureau de Change that becomes a money laundering operation, frequented by rogue lawyers, crooked policemen, criminal gangs and two doomed lovers – Paddy and Lorraine. The book fictionalises real characters and events including a kidnapping that took place in Eoin's own family. During the course of the episode Eoin explores his new book's connections to three other literary works. His choices were: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote from 1966; The Glass Essay by Anne Carson published in 1995; and Milkman by Anna Burns from 2018. Lees meer

The supporting contributor for this episode was the award-winning writer Louise Kennedy.

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

David Szalay

23 maart 2025 · 29 min

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Booker-shortlisted writer David Szalay talks to presenter James Crawford on Take Four Books this week about his new novel, Flesh, and the three other works that inspired its creation in some way. In a pared back style, Flesh, follows the life of its protagonist, István, who at fifteen years old has an affair with an older woman, the consequences of which leave a lasting impression on his life. After finishing up in the army, István leaves Hungary and moves to London, where he ends up becoming accustomed to a vast amount of wealth and luxury, but circumstances change yet again, and he returns to the place where it all began, unable to shake off the emotional weight of his experiences. For his three influences David chose: Ultraluminous by Katherine Faw published in 2017; Jacob’s Room by Virginia Woolf from 1922; and Lord Jim, by Joseph Conrad from 1900. Lees meer

The supporting contributor for this episode was the writer and creative writing lecturer at the University of Strathclyde, Andrew Meehan.

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This is a BBC AUDIO SCOTLAND production.

Eimear McBride

16 maart 2025 · 29 min

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Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, talks this week to the Irish writer Eimear McBride about her new novel - The City Changes Its Face - and the three other works that have helped to shape it. Eimear's new book takes us to London in the 1990s and draws us into the passionate and intense relationship of Eily and Stephen - two characters who also feature in her previous novel The Lesser Bohemians (2016). Eimear's choices for her episode include: the song lyrics of Scott Walker and specifically the song Sleepwalkers Woman from 1984; Venice Preserved by Thomas Otway from 1682; and The Lover, by Marguerite Duras from 1985. Lees meer

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This was a BBC Audio Scotland Production.

Tash Aw

9 maart 2025 · 29 min

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Presenter James Crawford speaks to twice-Booker-nominated Chinese-Malaysian author Tash Aw about his latest novel, The South, and the three works that helped shape its creation. Lees meer

Set during a scorching summer on drought-stricken farmland in rural Malaysia, The South follows protagonist Jay in a coming-of-age story about a family navigating a period of profound change.

Tash Aw’s chosen influences were Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin (1956), Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov (1897), and The Sea Wall by Marguerite Duras (1952).

The supporting contributor was Dr Bea Hitchman, author, and lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Brighton.

Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Laurent Binet

23 februari 2025 · 29 min

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Presenter James Crawford speaks with multi-award-winning, Booker-longlisted French author Laurent Binet about his latest novel, Perspectives, and the three other works that influenced its creation. Lees meer

Set in 16th-century Florence, the novel follows an investigation into the mysterious death of a renowned painter, found lying on a church floor with a fatal stab wound to the heart. Above him, the masterpieces he dedicated over a decade to completing. But who is responsible for his murder?

Laurent’s influences were: Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1782); The Story of my Escape from the Prisons of Venice by Giacomo Casanova (1788); and The Florentine Histories by Niccolo Machiavelli (1532).

The supporting contributor was poet, translator and lecturer in Creative Writing at Loughborough University, Dr Kerry Featherstone.

Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production

Susan Barker

16 februari 2025 · 28 min

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Presenter James Crawford speaks to the writer Susan Barker on Take Four Books this week about her new novel, Old Soul, and the three other works that have helped to shape its creation. Susan's new book, published by Penguin, is made up of seven testimonies that cross centuries and continents, but they have one thing in common - a beguiling woman, who is much older than she looks, and leaves a trail of death and disappearance in her wake. The books Susan chose for her episode were: Under The Skin by Michel Faber (2000); Ghostwritten by David Mitchell (1999); and Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood (1988). Lees meer

The supporting contributor was the writer and Strathclyde University Creative Writing lecturer, Rodge Glass.

During the episode, a short clip of the audiobook version of Under The Skin is played. The publisher is Canongate Books Ltd.

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production

Emma Healey

9 februari 2025 · 29 min

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This week Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, talks to best-selling author Emma Healey about her new book – Sweat – and the three books that inspired its creation. Emma’s choices were: Dare Me by Megan Abbott (2012); Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (2018); and The Harpy by Megan Hunter (2020). Lees meer

Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Annie McGuire
Take Four Books is a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Michelle de Kretser

26 januari 2025 · 29 min

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This week Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, talks to the award-winning Australian writer Michelle de Kretser about her new novel - Theory & Practice - and its three key influences. Michelle's choices were: the diary of Virginia Woolf from 1932; Ali Smith’s The Accidental from 2005; and Shirley Hazzard’s The Transit of Venus, from 1980. Lees meer

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Annie McGuire
Take Four Books is a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Paul Theroux

19 januari 2025 · 28 min

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The award-winning travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux talks to Take Four Books about his latest short story collection - The Vanishing Point - and explores three other works that have helped to shape his writing. Paul's choices were: A Simple Heart by Gustave Flaubert (1877); Two Brothers by V S Pritchett (1932); and Riders In The Chariot by Patrick White (1961). Lees meer

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Annie McGuire
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production

Jonathan Coe

12 januari 2025 · 30 min

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This week Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, speaks to the award-winning writer Jonathan Coe about his new novel - The Proof Of My Innocence - and explores its connections to three other literary works. Jonathan's three influencing texts were: The Pledge by Friedrich Durrenmatt; Good As Gold by Joseph Heller; and Unexplained Laughter by Alice Thomas Ellis. Lees meer

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Annie McGuire
This was a BBC AUDIO SCOTLAND production

Rachelle Atalla

29 december 2024 · 28 min

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Presenter James Crawford speaks to the writer Rachelle Atalla about her new novel, The Salt Flats, and explores its connections to three other literary works. The books that Rachelle chose were: Women With Men by Richard Ford (1997); Wake In Fright by Kenneth Cook (1961); and Oryx And Crake by Margaret Atwood (2003). Lees meer

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Annie McGuire
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Nick Harkaway

22 december 2024 · 29 min

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Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, speaks the writer and son John Le Carré - Nick Harkaway - about his new book Karla's Choice and its connections to three other literary works. The books Nick Harkaway chose were: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carré (1974); The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (2011); and The Passion by Jeanette Winterson (1987). Lees meer

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Annie McGuire
This was a BBC AUDIO SCOTLAND PRODUCTION

AL Kennedy

15 december 2024 · 30 min

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Take Four Books, presented by James Crawford, speaks to award-winning writer A. L. Kennedy about her new book, Alive In The Merciful Country, and its connections to three other literary works. The books A. L Kennedy chose were: Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1851); Petersburg by Andrei Bely (1913); and Lord Of The Rings by JRR Tolkien (1954). Lees meer

Producer: Dom Howell
Editor: Annie McGuire
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Tessa Hadley

8 december 2024 · 30 min

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Presenter James Crawford takes a deep dive into the latest work by critically-acclaimed writer Tessa Hadley and learns more about her creative process by exploring its connections to three other literary works. Tessa's new novella The Party started out life as a short story for the New Yorker magazine but was later expanded. Her three influential choices are: Alice Munro's short story collection Open Secrets; Elizabeth Bowen's The Death Of The Heart and Colm Toibin's Brooklyn. Lees meer

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Annie McGuire
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

Graeme Macrae Burnet

24 november 2024 · 28 min

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Presenter James Crawford talks to Booker Prize-shortlisted writer Graeme Macrae Burnet about his new book, A Case of Matricide, the concluding part of his trilogy of Gorski novels. With the help of crime novelist Louise Welsh, Macrae Burnet explores three other works that have influenced his new book. His choices were: Georges Simenon's The Little Man From Archangel, La Femme de Gilles by Madeleine Bourdouxhe and L’Assommoir by Emile Zola. Presenter: James Crawford Producer: Dominic Howell Editor: Annie McGuire A BBC AUDIO SCOTLAND PRODUCTION FOR BBC RADIO FOUR. Lees meer

Presenter: James Crawford
Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Annie McGuire

A BBC AUDIO SCOTLAND PRODUCTION FOR BBC RADIO FOUR.