Literary Friction - Journalism with Tania Branigan

When journalists write books, how do they balance the potentially tricky relationship between weaving a compelling narrative and sticking to the facts? What's the role of storytelling in reportage? And what are the ethics of reporting on other peoples' lived experiences? This month our guest is Tania Branigan, foreign leader writer at The Guardian and author of Red Memory: Living, Remembering and Forgetting China’s Cultural Revolution. Tania was a correspondent in China for seven years, and Red Memory is about the Cultural Revolution, a decade of upheaval, purging and torture that began under Chairman Mao in 1966. Crucially, it’s also about the act of both remembering and forgetting this period, and the role the Chinese government and people have played in that process. Listen in for our chat with Tania, an exploration of journalism in literature and all the usual recommendations.

Recommendations on the theme, Journalism:

Octavia: Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion

Carrie: The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean

General recommendations:

Octavia: Archaeology of Loss by Sarah Tarlow

Tania: The Soviet Century, archaeology of a lost world by Karl Schlogel

Carrie: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell by Susanna Clarke

Find a list of all recommended books at: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/feb-2023-journalism-with-tania-branigan

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