This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel offers profound insights into the human condition through the lives of the residents of Crosby, Maine. Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, is at the heart of the narrative, which explores themes of desire, despair, jealousy, hope, and love. The book is structured as 13 episodic stories that provide a rich and nuanced portrait of Olive and the people around her, highlighting their joys, sorrows, tragedies, and grief.
Published in 2022, 'Lucy by the Sea' is a novel by Elizabeth Strout that explores themes of resilience, human connection, and the complexities of life during uncertain times. The book is characterized by Strout's signature empathetic and clear writing style.
Karina Urbach's 'Alice's Book' tells the story of her grandmother, Alice Urbach, a renowned Jewish chef in Vienna whose cookbook was expropriated by the Nazis. The book explores Alice's life, her escape from Nazi Austria, and her family's experiences during and after World War II. It highlights the lesser-known aspect of Nazi looting of Jewish authors' works and the long journey to reclaim Alice's rights to her cookbook.
In 'My Name is Lucy Barton', Elizabeth Strout explores the complicated relationship between Lucy Barton and her mother through a hospital visit that reconnects them after years apart. The novel delves into themes of family, identity, and reconciliation, showcasing Strout's mastery of storytelling and character development.
In the 1930s, Alice Urbach wrote a beloved cookbook in Vienna. But during the Holocaust it was stolen: Aryanized, peppered with Nazi ideology and republished under someone else's name. The publisher refused to change it back for more than 85 years. Alice got her intellectual rights restored by her granddaughter Karina Urbach, a historian, who joins us to tell the story.
Afterwards, we bring you a conversation with Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, from our recent US FT Weekend festival. She’s in conversation with FT Globetrotter editor Rebecca Rose.
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Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.
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Links and mentions from the episode:
–FT review of ‘Alice’s Book: How the Nazis stole my Grandmother’s Cookbook’, by Katrina Urbach https://on.ft.com/3z0D8bQ
–A recent piece by Elizabeth Strout for the FT Weekend Magazine, on Judith Joy Ross’s photography: https://on.ft.com/3JdFF4U
–Watch the whole FT Weekend Festival on demand here (paid): https://usftweekendfestival.live.ft.com/page/2064102/program
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Special offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.
If you have an iPhone and want to try FT Edit (eight pieces of journalism a day, handpicked by senior editors, for much less than an FT subscription), search ‘FT Edit’ in the App Store.
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Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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