Malcolm Knox's The First Friend: a black comedy set in Stalin's Soviet Union

A peripatetic hotel, a paddle steamer of dreams and a dastardly law firm, in Jock Serong’s Cherrywood; one of the 20th century’s top 10 all-star ‘leading’ murderers, and what it might mean to be close to him, in Malcolm Knox’s The First Friend; and spies, caves, lies and Neanderthals in Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake. 

BOOKS 

Malcolm Knox, The First Friend, Allen & Unwin 

Jock Serong, Cherrywood, Fourth Estate 

Rachel Kushner, Creation Lake, Jonathan Cape 

GUESTS 

Roanna Gonsalves, creative writing academic, writer whose books include the short story collection The Permanent Resident 

Tom Wright, theatre writer and adapter; artistic associate, the Belvoir Theatre 

OTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDPeter Carey, worksJoseph Conrad, Heart of DarknessJames Bradley, Ghost SpeciesJon Baptiste del Amo, Son of ManMichelle de Kretser, Theory and PracticeWilliam Dalrymple, The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the WorldJosé Saramago, The Elephant's JourneyAdalbert Stifter, The BachelorsJonathan Raban, Soft City

CREDITS

• Presenter, Kate Evans + Cassie McCullagh
• Producer, Kate Evans + Sarah Corbett
• Sound engineer, Craig Tilmouth + Ann-Marie Debettencor
• Executive producer, Rhiannon Brown