Book Talk

In this edition of the Book Talk podcast Ryan Van Winkle interviews bestselling Chocolat author Joanne Harris, biologist and science writer Aarathi Prasad and Dr Karin Kukkonen, an academic specialising in the history of graphic novels. Peaches for Monsieur le Curé is the third in Joanne Harris's series of books about Vianne Rocher, the chocolatier first introduced in her bestseller Chocolat. Joanne talks to Ryan about the challenges of revisiting a familiar character and explains why "if you want to create characters that people believe in then they can't be immune to life". She also gives a brillaint reading that exemplifies the sensory quality of her writing. Shortlisted for Salon's Transmission prize, Aarathi Prasad's first book Like A Virgin: How Science is Redefining the Rules of Sex provoked headlines when it was first published, due to its suggestion that technology could be making males unnecesarry in the reproductive process. She explains the quite startling details behind the headlines in this fasc