Book Talk

Journeys - both literal and literary - weave through the latest edition of Book Talk, which sees host Ryan Van Winkle sit down with authors Olivia Lang, Sarah Hall, Pedro Lenz and translator Donal McLaughlin to talk about their latest projects. Granta Best Young British Novelist Sarah Hall reads a creepy excerpt from her new short story collection, The Beautiful Indifference, and discusses the very human need to fight, and how modern-day living has stripped us of the opportunity to do so. Find out where she got the inspiration for her excerpted story, She Murdered Mortal He, and why she finds it easiest to write short stories on the road. How does a Swiss German novel wind up being translated to Glaswegian Scots? With a little inspiration from James Kelman and some unique urban landscapes. Ryan discusses Donal McLaughlin's translation of Pedro Lenz's novel, Naw Much of a Talker, and discovers what's really important in a good translation (and it's not necessarily being slavishly faithful to the source!). F