Take Four Books

The acclaimed Irish writer Andrew Meehan talks about his novel Hey Man and explores its link to three other works with presenter James Crawford.

Hey Man tells the story of a unique, challenging and beautiful friendship between Ian and Tommy as they navigate three chapters of their lives, from a care-free summer in London to the ritual and peace a Benedictine monastery.

For his three influences, Andrew chose Amy Bloom's White Houses (2018), Lorrie Moore's Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? (1994), and Marilynne Robinson's Gilead (2004).

Producer: Caitlin Sneddon

The best-selling American author John Grisham speaks to Take Four Books about his latest novel, The French Illusion, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other works.

The French Illusion begins with Paul and Chelsea Tanner’s fairytale wedding. But their honeymoon to Paris takes a shocking turn when they are kidnapped while on a day trip to the French countryside.

For his three influences John chose: John Le Carre’s The Little Drummer Girl (1983); John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939) which won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; and finally Harper Lee’s best-selling American classic, To Kill A Mockingbird (1960).

Producer: Dominic Howell

The award-winning Jamaican novelist Marlon James on his Booker-shortlisted novel The Disappearers, as he and presenter James Crawford explore its connections to three other books.

The Disappearers starts with eight men in Jamaica in 1988 meeting in private to rehearse a play. The group are attacked by a violent mob, and for the survivors, recovery is as much emotional as it is physical. Through the lives of the men, the novel explores the realities of queer life in Jamaica during the 1980s and 1990s.

For his three influences, Marlon chose Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters (1990), John Rechy’s The Sexual Outlaw (1977), and Roberto Bolaño’s The Savage Detectives (2007).

Producer: Rachael O’Neill

The award-winning writer Louise Kennedy speaks to Radio 4's Take Four Books about her latest novel, Stations, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other literary works.

Stations follows Róisín McCaffrey as she meets and Red Camelin as a teenager in their small Irish hometown in 1982. Red's reputation for trouble precedes him – but Róisín finds herself swept up in his storm, and soon their connection deepens.

For her three influences Louise chose: I Could Read The Sky by Timothy O’Grady and Steve Pyke (1997); The Grass Arena by John Healey, now printed as a Penguin Classic, (1988); and J.D Salinger's Franny and Zooey (1961).

Louise Kennedy grew up a few miles from Belfast. She is the author of the acclaimed short-story collection, The End of the World Is A Cul de Sac which won the John McGahern Prize. Her debut novel Trespasses, published in 2022, has been translated into over twenty languages. It won Eason Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards, Best Debut at the British Book Awards and the McKitterick Prize, and was also shortlisted for several awards including the Women's Prize for Fiction, the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and Barnes and Noble Discover Prize.

In 2025, Trespasses was made into a limited TV series by Channel 4, starring Lola Petticrew, Tom Cullen and Gillian Anderson. Before starting her writing career, Kennedy spent nearly thirty years working as a chef. She lives in Sligo.

Producer: Dominic Howell

The award-winning Irish writer, Donal Ryan, speaks about his latest novel, Where Are The Kings, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other books. Set in rural Ireland, Where Are The Kings, follows the character of Jack between the ages of twelve and fourteen as he attempts to deal with his mother's sudden death for which he feels a measure of guilt.

Donal has won Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards three times. In 2025 he won the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, and he has twice been longlisted for the Booker Prize.

For his three influences Donal chose: Emma Donoghue’s Room (2010) which was later turned into a film five years later directed by Lenny Abrahamson; Frank McCourt’s best-selling memoir Angela’s Ashes (1996); and Kent Haruf’s Plainsong (1999).

Producer: Dominic Howell

The award-winning Irish writer Sebastian Barry speaks to Take Four Books about his latest novel, The Newer World, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other books.

The Newer World takes us back into post-civil war America as we follow the character of Tennyson Bouguereau, a formerly enslaved man, and nascent singer as it turns out, who is forced to leave his home for fear of being killed, and heads to Nashville, until a surprising trip to Victorian England changes things.

Sebastian Barry was the laureate for Irish Fiction from 2018 to 2021 and is a two-time winner of both the Costa Book of the Year and the Walter Scott prize for historical fiction. For his three influences he chose: The American Spelling Book by Noah Webster (1783); Army Life in a Black Regiment by Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1869); and A Journey in the Back Country by Frederik Law Olmstead (1860).

Producer: Dominic Howell

The New York writer and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Colson Whitehead, speaks to Take Four Books about his latest novel, Cool Machine, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other books. In three interlinking stories, Cool Machine - the final instalment in Colson's Harlem Trilogy - showcases the grit and grandeur of 1980s New York through its underground wheeler-dealer protagonist, Ray Carney, who runs a furniture business on 125th Street with a lucrative side hustle.

For his three influences Colson chose: Junky by William Burroughs (1953); One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1967); and The Hunter by Richard Stark (1962). Richard Stark was the pen name of Donald Edwin Westlake.

This episode was recorded at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Producer: Dominic Howell

Presenter James Crawford speaks to award-winning Mexican American novelist and essayist Valeria Luiselli about her latest novel, Beginning Middle End, and its three key literary influences.

In the novel, a mother and her twelve-year-old daughter travel across a wildfire-stricken Sicily in search of family history, archaeology, and the inner-workings of story itself. Along the way, the mother remains in contact with her own mother in Mexico, who may be beginning to experience dementia.

Valeria’s three influences are Natural History by Pliny the Elder (1st century AD), Dart by Alice Oswald (2002), and On Nature by Empedocles (c.450 BC).

The audio extract comes from the audiobook of Beginning Middle End.

Producer: Rachael O'Neill

The writer M. John Harrison speaks to Take Four Books about his latest novel, The End of Everything, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other works. The End of Everything follows the characters of Phillip Tennent and his elderly aunt Marnie. A crisis has happened. The exact nature of which remains obscure, but government barely functions, the seas are full of new creatures and Europe has been mislaid. Is this the end?

For his three influences M. John Harrison chose: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham which was published in 1961 and released as a film two years later; Drought by J. G. Ballard from 1965; and a short story called The Same Dog by Robert Aickman from 1974.

Producer: Dominic Howell

Presenter James Crawford speaks to American author and humourist David Sedaris on his new collection of essays, The Land and Its People. From navigating the realities of ageing to reflecting on his personal relationships, Sedaris explores a wide range of experiences across the book's 28 essays.

He also discusses the three works that inspired the collection: Raymond Carver's Cathedral (1981), Joy Williams's Taking Care (1982), and Alan Bennett's Talking Heads (1988).

Producer: Rachael O’Neill