In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and other special guests.

In this episode, we’re exploring the heaven of Michael Frayn’s Sweet Dreams with Frayn expert Katrine Antonsen.

Sweet Dreams follows the afterlife of Howard Baker, a middle-class, educated professional. In the first chapter, he dies in a car accident and finds himself in a strange city which seems to be tailor made for him. As his afterlife progresses, he replaces leisure and enjoyment with a recreation of his earthly life, complete with his wife, his children and his friends. But the monotonous comfort of the celestial suburbs inspire him to go on a philosophical journey in the hope of meeting God.

Michael Frayn was born in 1933 in London, where he still lives. He is perhaps best known for his work for the stage, including the plays Noises Off and Copenhagen. He has written eleven novels, with Spies winning the Whitbread Prize for best novel in 2002. Frayn has also written memoir, journalism, philosophy, several screenplays, and translated the works of Anton Chekov and Leo Tolstoy.

Katrine Antonsen is currently a lecturer in English Literature at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy in Trondheim, Norway. She completed her PhD in the works of Micheal Frayn in 2018. She has written and lectured about Frayn in both Britain and Norway, and has introduced a Norwegian-language performance of Noises Off with a lecture at the Trøndelag Teater, Trondheim.

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BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

By Michael Frayn:

A Very Private Life (1968)

Make and Break (1980)

Noises Off (1982)

A Landing on the Sun (1991)

Now You Know (1993)

Copenhagen (1998)

Spies (2002)

By others:

England, England by Julian Barnes (1998)

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LINKS

International Anthony Burgess Foundation

Burgess Foundation newsletter at Substack

The theme music for the Ninety-Nine Novels podcast is Anthony Burgess’s Concerto for Flute, Strings and Piano in D Minor, performed by No Dice Collective.

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