Book Talk

This month finds the Book Talk panel reading and discussing The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber. Faber's first book in fourteen years is a tale of adventure, faith and the ties that might hold two people together when they are worlds apart.

Peter Leigh is a husband, a Christian, and now a missionary. As The Book of Strange New Things opens, he is set to embark on a journey that will be the biggest test of his faith yet. From the moment he says goodbye to his wife, Bea, and boards his flight, he begins a quest that will challenge his religious beliefs, his love and his understanding of the limits of the human body.

Sasha de Buyl is joined by Writer Development Coordinator for Scottish Book Trust, Claire Marchant-Collier, and Marketing Manager of Glasgow Film (and former host of Book Talk), Paul Gallagher.

Despite creating a strong character whose faith plays a major part in the story, and regularly referencing the Bible (the hardback edition of the book even looks like a copy), Faber is himself an atheist. Do the author's personal beliefs cause him to stereotype his characters or their faith?

Peter and his wife describe their feelings for each other and their predicaments through a series of letters - is it a realistic portrayal of a long-distance relationship?

Colonialism and the motives of a new alien race are also central to the novel, with Faber developing a new language that Peter, and the book's readers, are introduced to. How successful was Faber in bringing this new culture to life?

Book Talk is produced by Colin Fraser of Culture Laser Productions.

In this edition of Book Talk, host Ryan Van Winkle and Sasha de Buyl talk to Ron Butlin, Donal McLaughlin and Eimear McBride about family and place.

A Girl is a Half-formed ThingWith an international reputation as a prize-winning novelist, Ron Butlin is a former Edinburgh Makar/Poet Laureate (2008-2014) whose fourth novel, Ghost Moon, is out now. The book tells the story in flashback of Maggie, a young woman in post-World War II Edinburgh who falls pregnant in a society that frowns on unwed mothers. Based on Ron's own mother, the author explains where fact and fiction meet and discusses the writing process.

Born in Derry in 1961, but resident in Scotland since 1970, Donal McLaughlin is a freelance writer known for his short stories, a number of which have already appeared in translation. Donal's latest collection, Beheading the Virgin Mary, and Other Stories, follows the character of Liam through a loose sequence of stories and take place over a period of three decades. Ron reads from the book and offers some insight into his technique which will be of interest to both readers and aspiring writers.

Finally, Sasha talks to author Eimear McBride, who was born in Liverpool to Northern Irish parents before moving to Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo. Eimear discusses the nine-year journey between the writing of her book, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing, and its eventual publication and critical success.

BookTalk is produced by Colin Fraser of Culture Laser Productions.

This month, Book Talk has been reading and discussing Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid, a modern re-imagining of the Jane Austen classic. This is the second release from the Austen Project, which pairs six bestselling contemporary authors with Jane Austen’s six complete works. Seventeen-year-old Catherine 'Cat' Morland has led a sheltered existence in rural Dorset, a life entirely bereft of the romance and excitement for which she yearns. So when Cat's wealthy neighbours, the Allens, invite her to the Edinburgh Festival, she is sure adventure beckons.

Sasha de Buyl is joined by Scottish crime writer, Alex Gray, and reader, Julie Amphlett to discuss how successful McDermid has been in bringing Austen's novel into the 21st century. Launched in 2013 with Joanna Trollope's Sense & Sensibility, The Austen Project has generated much discussion among critics and readers as they debate the merits of "reimagined" titles. The panel touch upon McDermid's updates to the original story, including the use of social media and text speak - was this well done or does it immediately date the book?

The panel discuss McDermid's adherence to the plot of the original - should she have remained faithful or should more twists be added to the tale? They also ask how the original novel's themes work in the modern setting.

If you're reading, or have read, the book, what did you think? Do you think Austen needs to be brought into the modern world? How do you think it compares to McDermid's previous novels? We'd love to know what you thought - you can join the discussion in the comments below, or on Twitter @scottishbktrust.

Discover more

Read about The Austen Project, pairing contemporary authors with Jane Austen’s works.

Sasha recommended Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl as a companion piece to Northanger Abbey.

Follow Alex Gray on Twitter and visit her website to find out about her latest work.

Follow Julie Amphlett on Twitter.

Book Talk is produced by Colin Fraser of Culture Laser Productions.

In this edition of Book Talk, host Ryan Van Winkle talks to Ajay Close and David Mitchell about time, ethics and mortality.

Novelist and dramatist Ajay Close discusses her latest book, Trust. Trust follows the lives of a disparate group of characters working in mining and banking and the effects or two major events, the miner's strike and the banking crisis, on their lives. Ajay discusses where the idea for the story came from and how it developed over time.

If the last edition of Book Talk left you wanting to know more about David Mitchell and The Bone Clocks you're in luck - this edition of the podcast features an extended discussion with the man himself. Spoiler warning: this discussion reveals detail about characters and plot.

David tells us about the process of creating the book and how he was able to effectively portray time's passage: "Stay true to life and how we perceive the passing decades and you probably won't go too far wrong". Morality, mortality and the future are also discussed.

Podcast contents 00:00 - 00:28 Introduction00:28 - 08:52 Ajay Close 08:52 - 30:00 David Mitchell

This month, Book Talk has been reading and discussing The Bone Clocks, the highly anticipated new novel by David Mitchell. The book follows Holly Sykes, a young girl suffering from aural hallucinations, from her teenage years in Gravesend across the world - both geographically and temporally - to a future in the West of Ireland after civilisation has collapsed.Sasha de Buyl is joined by freelance literature and events programmer Hannah Trevarthen and Peggy Hughes, Programme Director of the Dundee Literary Festival to ask if The Bone Clocks lives up to the expectations set by the success of his previous novels.One criticism of David Mitchell's novels has been that they read more like a series of short stories than a novel. This book is no exception and is split into six sections, each featuring a different character. What did our panel think of this structure - did the novel remain cohesive or become difficult to read as a result?The panel also discuss the book's Longlisting for the Man Booker prize. Ahead of the Shortlist announcement, we ask if the book is a potential winner. With four Booker nominations - but no wins - under his belt, is it that Mitchell's books too hard to classify or too accessible to win a literary award?If you're reading, or have read, the book, what did you think? Is it an Award contender or overrated? How do you think it compares to Mitchell's previous novels? We'd love to know what you thought - you can join the discussion in the comments below, or on Twitter @scottishbktrust

Podcast Contents

00:00 - 00:45 Introduction00:45 - 11:05 Patrick Ness11:05 - 20:28 Mike Cuddihy20:28 - 32:50 John Gordon Sinclair

In this edition of Book Talk. Host Ryan Van Winkle talks to Patrick Ness, Mikey Cuddihy and John Gordon Sinclair about spite, happiness and motivations for writing.

Two-time winner of the Carnegie Award, Patrick Ness is the author of a number of books for adults and young adults including A Monster Calls, The Crane Wife and More Than This, the novel under discussion in the most recent episode of Book Talk. In this interview, Ness offers his own insight into some of the topics we discussed and also talks more about his writing process including how he decides whether a book is aimed at adults or teenagers, how to get started as a writer even when people tell you you can't do it: "Do it anyway... Spite is a really good place to write from. It's a really good motivator."

Mikey Cuddihy discusses her memoir A Conversation About Happiness. In the book, Cuddihy takes the reader back into her childhood, which was spent at Summerhill School, where children are allowed to live freely and lessons are optional. Cuddihy talks about how she was able to go back into the voice of her 9 year old self, and whether she was truly happy in an environment where the happiness of children was considered paramount.

Finally, Ryan talks to John Gordon Sinclair. Sinclair may be most famous as an actor - in particular for his role in Gregory's Girl - but his second novel Blood Whispers has just been published. The book features Keira Lynch, a Glasgow lawyer representing a prostitute on the run from a Serbian gang leader. John discusses both his writing and acting careers and how they overlap and why he wanted to bring emotion into crime writing.

A boy drowns. He wakes up in a house he hasn't lived in for years. The world is deserted. More Than This has a gripping and brutal opening chapter, but does the book live up to the potential of its opening? Host Sasha deBuyl is joined by children’s bookseller Eve Harvey and young adult author Keith Gray to discuss the book, the most recent Young Adult novel from Carnegie Medal-winning author Patrick Ness.Seth, the protagonist, is caught between two worlds. The sparse, deserted post-apocalyptic world he inhabits now and the rich but traumatic world that he remembers in involuntary flashbacks. The length of the book's first section divided our panel - is there enough intrigue to keep readers hooked?This is a book that deals with some very tough themes – suicide, murder, child abuse – our panel ask if young adult books should censor themselves or whether they have a responsibility to discuss these tough issues.More Than This was interpreted very differently at times by our panel - have you read the book? What did you think were the key themes from the book? How do you think it compared to the Chaos Walking trilogy? And is there really more than this?

Podcast contents00:00-01:27 Introduction01:27-12:57 Nick Barley12:57-23:35 Natalie Haynes23:35-27:22 Karrie Fransman and Amruta Patil 27:22-30:48 Gail Porter

Creativity and storytelling weave their way through this edition of Book Talk as host Ryan Van Winkle talks to Nick Barley, Natalie Haynes, Karrie Fransman, Amruta Patil and Gail Porter.Nick Barley, Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival takes up on a walk through his picks of the programme. While the big names may be getting the press coverage, Nick digs out some of the programme's hidden gems, including Conversations with Ourselves, a strand of the programme that looks at the role of our inner voices in the creative process.Comedian and writer Natalie Haynes discusses the inspiration for her debut novel The Amber Fury, and the crossover between her life on stage and her career as a writer. "I'm sure that some of the storytelling that I learned to do on stage has spilled over into this book. Withholding information until the last possible minute - that's a standup technique for sure".Graphic novelists Karrie Fransman and Amruta Patil talk about the artists and writers that influence their work, and give their advice on embracing rejection and why the things you may consider to be disadvantages are actually the things that will propel your work forward and help you develop an innovative voice.Finally, Gail Porter joins us to talk about the five books that have shaped her life.

Discover moreVoices in Our Head at Edinburgh International Book FestivalColumns and journalism from Natalie HaynesClose Your Eyes podcast with guest Nick Barley

It's Tartt, but is it art?

In this edition of Book Talk, host Paul Gallagher is joined by journalist and broadcaster Jane Graham and Scottish Book Trust's Head of Reader Development to delve into the themes, characters and preoccupations of Donna Tartt's bestselling third novel, The Goldfinch.

Centred around the life of Theo Dekker, a New Yorker whose mother is tragically killed in a bomb blast at a prominent Manhattan art gallery, the book is a dense, detailed work, 11 years in the making. The Book Talk panel discuss whether they felt Tartt's ambitions with the novel paid off; it is clearly a book with much to say about the connections between art and life, but is it a compelling read too?

They also discuss the many characters that populate The Goldfinch, and question whether Tartt's female characters are as fully-formed as the men, as well as considering the book's parallels with Dickens, Dostoevsky and other literary titans.

If you have read The Goldfinch, we’d love to hear what you thought - add your comments on our Book Talk web page at ScottishBookTrust.com, on Twitter @ScottishBkTrust or on Facebook.

Paul Gallagher is joined by The Scotsman features writer Lee Randall and freelance journalist and books blogger Nicola Balkind to discuss Jennifer Egan’s 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winner A Visit from the Goon Squad, as well as choosing some related reading recommendations.

Driven less by a progressing narrative or a central character than by several overriding themes - passing time, changing relationships and the nature of the music industry to name a few – A Visit from the Goon Squad investigates these themes through 13 distinct chapters, each of which focuses on a different character, all of whom are in some way connected to each other.