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In this podcast, we’ll talk to novelist James Meek about his new book, We Are Now
Beginning Out Descent, a most unusual story about a 30-something war correspondent who finds himself at a philosophical crossroads.
On one hand, he wants to write a sensational thriller and make sacks of cash. On the other, he desperately wants to create a book of genuine worth and meaning. He’s searching for true, lasting love, while at the same time, he’s convinced that it likely doesn’t exist. And while all this is going on, Meek takes us to the battlefields of the middle east, for an unflinching look at the horrors of modern war.
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In this AudioBook podcast, we’re going to be hearing British actor Jack Davenport, who
many of us will know from The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Pirates of the Caribbean, reading from Steven Hall’s debut novel, The Raw Shark Texts. The Raw Shark Texts takes us into the life of Eric Sanderson, a young man who wakes up one day, and has absolutely no idea of who he is or where he came from. While Eric stumbles around trying to piece together his life, he starts receiving messages from his former self. The old Eric, warns the new Eric, that he ’s being relentlessly pursued by a Word Shark, a terrifying creature that exists in the flows and streams of language, as well as human interaction.
While Eric flees from the shark, he’s forced to deal with a potentially dodgy psychiatrist, as well as what really happened to Clio, the love of his life, and in so doing, he finds himself delving into the recesses of humanity’s collective memory.
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In this latest podcast featuring new AudioBooks from HarperCollins, we’ve got a real audio
treat for you. Noted Canadian Arts Journalist Laurie Brown, the host of CBC Radio Two’s The Signal, reads from award winning author Barbara Gowdy’s latest novel, Helpless.
This is a provocative book on many levels. First, Gowdy dares to take us into the psyche of a pedophile-in-the-making. Ron is a vacuum cleaner repair man who has convinced himself that Rachel, a beautiful young girl he’s fascinated with, needs to be saved from her mother. Ron builds a special room for Rachel, a place full of games and toys, and–during a terrible storm–kidnaps Rachel and take her there.
Rachel’s Mom - Celia - another very provocative character, works at a video store during the day and plays at a piano bar in the evening. She’s a single Mom raising her daughter in Cabbagetown - an eclectic area of Toronto - a place where the well to do live cheek by jowl with some pretty colourful, and occasionally, downright dangerous characters.
And then there’s Ron’s girlfriend Nancy. She’s getting a wee bit long in the tooth and knows that there won’t be a lot of new men coming along. Nancy thinks Ron’s a nice guy, but every so often she gets to wondering - What’s going on down there in that room?
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This podcast is the second in our series of excerpts from terrific new AudioBooks. This
time, we’ll be listening to the beginning of Heather O’Neill’s debut novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals. This book was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award, as well as winning CBC Radio’s prestigious Canada Reads. It’s no wonder all of Canada was reading it. It follows the life of Baby, a young girl living on the mean streets of Montreal, with no mother, and a junkie drifter for a father. Once she turns 13, Baby attracts the eye of Alphonse, the neighbourhood pimp, who senses a good opportunity. O’Neill uses the first person point of view, so we can watch as a young girl, on the cusp of adulthood, navigates life in a dangerous urban jungle. Baby continually reinvents herself, to maintain a sense of innocence, and this requires resilience, and the incredible power of imagination.
Miriam McDonald, one of the stars of Degrassi: The Next Generation, reads.
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For the next couple of podcasts, we’re going to try something different. We’re going to
give you the chance to hear riveting excerpts from brand new audio books.
In this episode, we have a sample from Remembering the Bones, the latest novel from Frances Itani, the author of the highly acclaimed, award winning novel Deafening.
Remembering the Bones is a particularly intriguing story, since it all takes place inside the mind of Georgie, an 80 year old woman who has just gotten behind the wheel of her automobile to drive herself to the airport. Destination? England. She’s one of a select handful of individuals who have been invited to London to meet the Queen.
Georgie’s so distracted by mentally making sure that she hasn’t forgotten a single thing, that in a split second she loses control of her car, crashes through a guard rail, soars over the edge of a cliff and ends up at the bottom of a ravine.
The passage we are about to hear is narrated by Jackie Burroughs. Who better to bring life to such an intense inner drama than one of Canada’s most celebrated actresses?
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In this prosecast, I’m chatting with Sandra Gulland (author of the Josephine B Trilogy) 
about her latest epic, Mistress of the Sun. This richly detailed story follows the life of Petite, a high spirited, but intensely devout young girl, who is placed into the service of the French court. Things take a turn when Petite meets, and falls instantly in love, with Louis XIV.
Mistress of the Sun is vintage Gulland: magnificent castles, dangerous dwarves, masked balls, demonic horses, black magic, hunchbacked princesses and a love story that just won’t quit. I spoke with Sandra Gulland from her home in rural Ontario.
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