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The Bookshelf

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The Bookshelf
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  • AI in America, a kidnapping in Corsica, the transformative power of boxing: books by Gary Shteyngart, Darrow Farr, and Lucas Schaefer
    Kate and Cassie discuss Vera, or Faith, Gary Shteyngart’s new novel about a ten-year-old Korean-American girl growing up in a dystopian United States. Alongside guest critics, they also look at The Bombshell by Darrow Farr, which traces the radicalisation of a young French woman in Corsica, and The Slip by Lucas Schaefer, the story of a missing teenage boy and the transformative power of boxing.Books:Darrow Farr, The Bombshell, AtlanticLucas Schaefer, The Slip, Simon & SchusterGary Shteyngart, Vera, or Faith, Atlantic GUESTSSarah Gilbert, writer and documentary producer; head of UTS Impact Studios, which makes the literary podcast Fully Lit. Her first book of non-fiction - Unconventional Women: The story of the last Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Australia - came out last yearMichael Winkler, critic and novelist. His book, Grimmish, was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2022. His novel Griefdogg will be published next year OTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDBrian Castro, Chinese PostmanMichelle de Krestser, worksMarilynne Robinson, GileadDenis Johnson, Train DreamsCarys Davies, WestPeter Carey, True History of the Kelly GangHilary Mantel, Wolf HallElena Ferrante, My Brilliant FriendO. Henry, The Last LeafLoïc Wacquant, Body and Soul: Notebooks of an Apprentice BoxerArmistead Maupin, Tales of the City seriesRhett Davis, ArborescenceRaaza Jamshed, What Kept YouAlexis Wright, CarpentariaCREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, John Jacobs and Tegan NichollsExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown
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  • People turning into trees, mythical rivers rising...new novels by Rhett Davis and Gurnaik Johal (plus, Irish fiction with Colm Tóibín)
    Australian author Rhett Davis re-imagines the everyday in his novels. In his latest, Arborescence, ordinary people begin transforming into trees. Is it a cult? Performance art? Or something else entirely? Also on the show: Guest reviewer Roanna Gonsalves discusses Saraswati, the debut novel by Gurnaik Johal, which winds its narrative around a sacred and possibly mythical river in North India. And, Kate Evans speaks with Irish writer Colm Tóibín, delving into the literary influences that have shaped his work. BOOKS Rhett Davis, Arborescence, Hachette Gurnaik Johal, Saraswati, Serpent’s Tail Colm Toibin, works GUESTS Roanna Gonsalves is a writer, teacher of creative writing at UNSW, and editor of the literary journal, Southerly Colm Toibin, Irish novelist and essayist – whose books include The Blackwater Lightship, Nora Webster, Brooklyn, The Master, The Magician – and his latest, Long Island. He spoke to Kate Evans at the 2025 Sydney Writers Festival OTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDJane Austen, worksFiona McFarlane, Highway 13Italo Calvino, The Baron in the TreesJ.R.R. Tolkein, worksMalcolm Knox The First FriendRaaza Jamshed, What Kept YouGeorgia Rose Phillips, The BearcatGustave Flaubert, Madame BovaryThomas Hardy, The Mayor of CasterbridgeHenry James, worksThomas Mann, worksJames Baldwin, worksCREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Simon Branthwaite Executive producer, Rhiannon Brown
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  • 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award assessed
    A critical assessment of the shortlist and winner of Australia’s most prestigious literary award, The Miles Franklin Literary Award. Kate and Cassie are joined by guests, scholar and literary biographer (and former judge of the MFLA) Bernadette Brennan; and critic and publisher, Geordie Williamson.BOOKSBrian Castro, Chinese Postman, GiramondoMichelle de Kretser, Theory & Practice, TextWinnie Dunn, Dirt Poor Islanders, Hachette Julie Janson, Compassion, Magabala BooksFiona McFarlane, Highway 13, Allen & UnwinSiang Lu, Ghost Cities, UQP (WINNER)GUESTSBernadette Brennan, literary scholar; former judge for the Miles Franklin Literary Award  Geordie Williamson, chief literary critic, The Australian; publisher, Picador CREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Roi HubermanExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown
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  • Parties, scandals, sex, love: new novels by Nell Zink, Amy Bloom and the controversial James Frey
    Parties, scandals, sex, love, families, friendship, death – these books have, as they say, all the things. Nell Zink’s Sister Europe moves through one night in Berlin, while Amy Bloom’s I’ll Be Right Here sweeps through 80 years of history, and in James Frey’s Next to Heaven, the beautiful and rich fall apart rather spectacularly.BOOKS Nell Zink, Sister Europe, Penguin Viking Amy Bloom, I’ll Be Right Here, Granta James Frey, Next to Heaven, Swift GUESTS Shannon Burns, writer and member of the JM Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice at the University of Adelaide. His memoir, Childhood, was published in 2022 Suzanne Leal, writer and literary interviewer. She writes for both adults and children, and her novels include Deceptions, The Watchful Wife and The Teacher’s Secret. Her latest, The Year We Escaped, was published last monthOTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDJames Frey, worksRaynor Winn, The Salt PathColette, worksYuan Yang, Private RevolutionsLenora Thaker, The Pearl of Tagai TownPeter Grose, A Good Place to HidePablo Neruda, The Captain's VersesRobert Calasso, The Marriage of Cadmus and HarmonyBrian Castro, Chinese PostmanJANE AUSTEN EVENTStill Turning Heads at 250: Jane Austen’s Enduring CharmABC Radio National's The Bookshelf & The Minefield join forces with a literary scholar & the State Library of NSW on Austen the professional. Book your spot here CREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Tegan Nicholls and Emrys CroninExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown
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  • New Australian crime + hungry ghosts and a great white whale
    Stories of the sea – and a great white whale in Xiaolu Guo's Call Me Ishmaelle; Hungry ghosts and kitchen mishaps in Daria Lavelle's NYC set novel Aftertaste; and the latest Australian crime fiction (of which there is a lot!)BOOKS AUSTRALIAN CRIME FICTION: Mark Brandi, Eden Paul Daley, The Leap Sam Guthrie, The Peak Angie Faye Martin, Melaleuca  Michael Robotham, White Crow Tanya Scott, Stillwater Matthew Spencer, Broke Road Xiaolu Guo, Call Me Ishmaelle, Chatto & Windus Daria Lavelle, Aftertaste, Bloomsbury GUESTS Mark Dunn, historian whose latest book is The Convict Valley: The Bloody Struggle on Australia's Early Frontier Danielle Bagnato, writer and book critic – whose work appears in The Big Issue OTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDLeo Tolstoy, War and PeaceFyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and PunishmentAlice Oseman, Radio SilenceTorrey Peters, Detransition, BabyDouglas Stewart, Young MungoHerman Melville, Moby DickJoseph Conrad, Heart of DarknessRichard Flanagan, Question 7V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRueCatherine Webb, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry AugustSayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman; Vanishing WorldCharlotte McConaghy, Wild Dark ShoreCREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Simon Branthwaite and Roi HubermanExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown
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What are you reading, loving or being challenged by? We review the latest in fiction for dedicated readers and for those who wish they read more.
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