In 1970, when the Booker Prize was still in its infancy (its second year running, in fact), the prize was awarded to Bernice Rubens. Rubens was the first woman to win the award and is still the only Welsh person to ever win the prize. 2023 marks the centenary of Rubens' birth so, this week, we're taking a closer look at The Elected Member – a piercing novel that explores what happens to a respectable, close-knit Jewish family when their prodigious son becomes a middle-aged drug addict.

In this episode Jo and James:

Ponder the weight of being the eldest child
Share a brief biography of Bernice Rubens
Give a slightly spoiler-y summary of The Elected Member
Discuss whether parental expectation can turn from encouragement to abuse
Consider how love can be damaging
Wonder why Bernice Rubens has fallen off the radar
Decide who should read The Elected Member

Reading list:

The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens
Bruno's Dream by Iris Murdoch
Mrs Eckdorf in O'Neill's Hotel by William Trevor
Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
When I Grow Up by Bernice Rubens
The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis
In Transit by Brigid Brophy
The Fire-Dwellers by Margaret Laurence
The Hungry Grass by Richard Power
Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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Why you should read The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens