Artists at Work

In this month's World Book Club Harriett Gilbert will be at London’s South Bank Arts Centre talking to internationally acclaimed writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about her bestselling novel Half of a Yellow Sun. Winner of the UK Orange Prize for fiction in 2007 Half of a Yellow Sun charts the stories of three intersecting lives turned upside down by the Biafran war in the late 1960s.

Village boy Ugwu comes to work for a charismatic professor. The professor’s glamorous girlfriend Olanna forgoes her life of luxury to live with him and Englishman Richard is in thrall to Olanna’s enigmatic twin sister. Meanwhile the shadow of this most horrific of civil wars, whose repercussions are still felt in Nigeria today, looms ever larger.

(Photo: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

Harriett Gilbert talks to internationally acclaimed Egyptian writer Nawal El Saadawi about her classic novel Woman at Point Zero.Recorded in 2009.

Written over 30 years ago but still resonating clearly today Woman at Point Zero is a dark and powerful account of the life of a young woman awaiting execution in a Cairo prison for murdering her pimp. Her crime, borne of anger at her lifelong mistreatment at the hands of men, is one she confesses to with no shame. The urgency and passion of the writing in this book is more than matched by the author’s response to the questions posed by you, our World Book Club listeners, around the world.

(Photo: Nawal El Saadawi, 2012)

This month Kate Grenville talks about her best-selling novel The Secret River. Her first work for five years since she won the Orange Prize, The Secret River was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize soon after publication. Set in 1806 and based on the true story of Kate’s first Australian ancestor, this is a dramatic and evocative historical novel set between the slums of nineteenth-century London and the convict colonies of Australia. Told through the eyes of William Thornhill and his family The Secret River examines the timeless themes of ownership, belonging and identity against a backdrop of Aboriginal Australia.

Book list:

Title: The Secret River

If you'd like to take part in a future World Book Club, here's your chance.

Lionel Shriver will be discussing his bestselling novel We Need to Talk Kevin on Tuesday 12th May 2009.

Please submit your question for Lionel Shriver in the comment section on the form below or ring us on (+44) 207 5571619.

Mohsin Hamid talks to Harriett Gilbert and an invited audience about his bestselling novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2007 Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a sparse, gripping, short novel that tackles the complex issues of Islamic fundamentalism and America's 'war on terror' with sympathy and balance.

Book list:

Title: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

If you'd like to take part in a future World Book Club, here's your chance.

Egyptian writer Nawal El Saadawi will be talking about her classic novel Woman at Point Zero on Friday 3rd April 2009 and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will be discussing her bestselling novel Half of a Yellow Sun on 7th April 2009.

Please submit your question for Nawal El Saadawi or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in the comment section on the form below or ring us on (+44) 207 5571619.

Harriett Gilbert talks to David Guterson about his novel Snow Falling on Cedars.

Harriett Gilbert talks to Toni Morrison about her novel Beloved. Recorded in January 2009.

(Photo: BBC)

Harriett Gilbert talks to Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott about his epic poem Omeros, which explores ancient themes of displacement and exile in a modern Caribbean setting.

Harriett Gilbert talks to Alice Walker about her novel The Color Purple.

American writer Annie Proulx talks about her prize-winning novel 'The Shipping News' and her short story 'Brokeback Mountain'.

David Lodge discusses his acclaimed novel 'Nice Work'.