What do we mean by perfection and is the pursuit of it a pointless exercise? We hear from poet Charly Cox about why just the word alone is enough to induce anxiety, Sebastian Faulks considers where in the arts perfection might lie and why capturing it might mean a journey to perfection and then back again. Finally we hear from novelist Gabriel Tallent who shares the sheer blood, sweat and tears of writing his debut novel.
BOOKS MENTIONED: She Must Be Mad, Paris Echo, Love Is Blind, My Absolute Darling, Dept of Speculation, Ink, Carol, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

4. PERFECTION with Charly Cox, Sebastian Faulks and Gabriel Tallent

Going beyond the book with a wide range of authors to discover the story behind the books we love.

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Books

The concept of following Brooklyn with a sequel took even the author by surprise, but after 15 years the story of Eilis continues in Long Island. We spoke with Colm Tóibín about his rigorous approach to avoiding the tedious, his long working relationship with editor Mary Mount and his connection to his hometown Enniscorthy in County Wexford, Ireland.

Colm Tóibín

Some debuts are so assured and so distinctive that you just have to know more about what went into their creation. Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of Time is one such debut. We sat down with her to discover how the book was originally meant to be something else entirely, the inspirations behind its brilliant plot, and how she managed to balance comedy and trauma in such an entertaining read.

Kaliane Bradley

With a novel that spans twenty years, marked by three celestial events and characters with their feet firmly on the ground, we sat down for a fascinating conversation with former Waterstones Book of the Year author, Sarah Perry. How do faith and science intersect, what do we really mean by love, friendship and family, and when our orbits bring us back together how do we mark this significance?

Sarah Perry

On 12 Aug 2022, over 30 years after a fatwa had been ordered against him, Salman Rushdie was attacked as he was about to give a public lecture at the Chautauqua​ Institution. By his own admission, he shouldn’t have survived such serious injuries. So what was it that helped him to persevere and how has it changed his outlook on life. We spoke with him about the hard work of recovery, the need to write about the ordeal, and what it means to have a second chance at living.

Salman Rushdie

Fresh from breaking hearts with the TV adaptation of his bestselling One Day, David Nicholls came in to talk to us about his new novel, You Are Here, which introduces us to Marnie and Michael, two souls on an epic walk, on the precipice of a new friendship, and maybe more. We sat down to talk about his love of walking, music and, well... love.

4. PERFECTION with Charly Cox, Sebastian Faulks and Gabriel Tallent

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