Author Martin Cruz Smith talks about his novel Gorky Park. Presented by Harriett Gilbert from California in a special co-production with San Francisco radio station KALW Published on February 24, 2004.

Martin Cruz Smith

Harriet Gilbert discusses JD Salinger's classic novel The Catcher in the Rye with a studio audience, including questions from BBC World Service listeners as far afield as Nepal and the Czech Republic. She's in New York's Algonquin Hotel, long-time hangout of our reclusive writer, and answers your questions with the help of authors David Gilbert and Joanna Rakoff.  JD Salinger wrote the book in 1951, and died in 2010.



(Photo: JD Salinger)

(Credit: AP) Published on April 4, 2015.

JD Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye

World Book Club talks life, sex, drugs, if not rock ‘n’ roll to chart-topping Irish writer Marian Keyes about her best-selling novel Rachel’s Holiday. She answers BBC listeners' questions from around the world, and also reads several passages from her novel, about feisty 27-year-old Rachel, who is sent to a rehab clinic because of her addiction to drugs. Both funny and moving, Rachel’s Holiday examines the pain of addiction and depression, revealing a darker than usual side to Marian’s writing. The programme is presented by Harriett Gilbert.



(Photo: Marian Keyes. Credit: Barry McCall) Published on May 2, 2015.

Marian Keyes - Rachel's Holiday

US literary superstar Jonathan Franzen talks about his hugely acclaimed novel Freedom. An epic of contemporary love and marriage, Freedom charts the exploits of the Berglund family, capturing the temptations and burdens of liberty, the thrills of teenage lust, the frustrations of trying to change the world, and the sobering compromises of middle age. 



In fixing his unflinching gaze on the memorable trio of characters, Patty, Walter, and reprobate rockstar Richard Katz and on how they struggle to live in an ever more confusing world, Franzen has produced an indelible and deeply moving portrait of 21st Century America.



(Photo: Jonathan Franzen. Credit: Getty Images) Published on November 7, 2015.

Jonathan Franzen - Freedom

From Alice Walker to Chinua Achebe, the world's greatest authors discuss their best known novel. This monthly programme, presented by Harriett Gilbert, includes questions from BBC World Service listeners.

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