Bookclub

Jonathan Safran Foer talks about his acclaimed novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Set in the aftermath of 9/11, it is the story of a young boy coming to terms with the tragedy of his father's death in the World Trade Centre.hen he find s an envelope with the word 'Black' written on it in his father's hand he sets out to find everyone in the city called Black, to see if he can pick up a clue.After finding a mysterious key in a left behind in his father's closet, in an envelope labelled Black, nine year old Oskar sets out to find everyone in the city called Black, to see if he can pick up a clue. The search leads him through the five boroughs of New York and into history to the bombing of Dresden and as well as into the story of his grandparents' marriage. Presented by James Naughtie and including contributions and questions from a group of invited readers.Presenter : James Naughtie Interviewed guest : Jonathan Safran Foer Producer : Dymphna FlynnApril's Bookclub choice : The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota (2015).

James Naughtie and audience talk to Kamila Shamsie about her novel Burnt Shadows

Novelist Barbara Trapido has been delighting readers over a forty year career. In The Travelling Hornplayer (1998) she spins a tale of betrayal, misunderstanding, coincidence and the passions of youth, all with her subversive and entertaining sense of humour.From its haunting start : "Early on in the morning of my interview, I woke up and saw my dead sister" to its grand finale at an Oxford College, The Travelling Hornplayer zips along with plot twists and character turns, shocking revelations and desperate reactions. Any attempt at summary and character explanation is dizzying, but here are a few hints: for three years, Ellen Dent has been devastated by the loss of her younger sister Lydia who had become an informal student of celebrated novelist Jonathan Goldman. Jonathan's daughter Stella, a precocious and difficult child, is unwittingly involved in Lydia's death, and Stella in turn befriends Ellen at Edinburgh University. Stella's mother Katherine, who had appeared as a dynamic character in Trapido's Brother of the More Famous Jack, becomes a passive mother in The Travelling Hornplayer. All their stories mesh together into a sparky, tragicomic puzzle.Barbara tells James Naughtie and the gathered group of Bookclub readers how the novel was inspired by Schubert's song cycles, with their lyrics by William Muller, and how her dry wit and acerbic observations, especially of Britain's class system, come from her being an outsider. Brought up under the apartheid system in South Africa, Barbara came to London in the early 60s and became a schoolteacher. Presenter: James Naughtie Interviewed guest : Barbara Trapido Producer : Dymphna FlynnMarch's Bookclub Choice : Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (2005).

John Lanchester talks to James Naughtie and a group of readers about his novel Capital, which was a major BBC TV drama in 2015.The residents of an affluent street in London are busy getting on with their lives when one day something strange happens. Every house in the street has an identical, mysterious postcard pushed through their letterboxes that simply states "'We Want What You Have.' At first, the residents of Pepys Road, who are from mixed racial and social backgrounds, dismiss the notes as some sort of marketing campaign but gradually as events begin to escalate it becomes clear that there is more to this strange occurrence. John Lanchester is a successful financial journalist as well as novelist. The novel covers multiple contemporary issues in British life including the financial crisis of 2007-08, immigration, radical Islam, celebrity, and property prices. In Capital, there is always mystery at the back of the reader's mind. Presented by James Naughtie with contributions and questions from a group of invited readers. Presenter : James Naughtie Interviewed guest : John Lanchester Producer : Dymphna FlynnFebruary's Bookclub Choice : The Travelling Hornplayer by Barbara Trapido (1998).

American writer Jay McInerney discusses his debut novel Bright Lights, Big City with James Naughtie and a group of readers.Bright Lights, Big City not only cemented Jay McInerney as a superstar among debut novelists, but came to define the culture of 80s New York in all its gritty yet glamorous glory. We follow the young unnamed narrator - he's 'You' throughout the book - during a whirlwind week in New York. He is bored with his job on a Manhattan magazine, wants to be a writer, and has been abandoned by his fashion-model wife. By night he roams the brightly lit streets of the city, hanging out in clubs and loft parties, powered by "Bolivian Marching Powder". By the time his crazy week is over the emptiness returns.Presenter : James Naughtie Interviewed guest : Jay McInerney Producer : Dymphna FlynnJanuary's Bookclub choice : Capital by John Lanchester (2012).

James Naughtie discusses H is for Hawk with Helen Macdonald

James Naughtie talks to Don DeLillo about his novel Underworld

James Naughtie talks to Evie Wyld about After the Fire a Still, Small Voice

James Naughtie talks to Maggie O'Farrell about The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

James Naughtie and Tony Harrison discuss the poem 'v'