Date: 2008-06-01
Name(s): Aswānī, ʻAlāʼ, 1957-, Stinson, Mary (Producer), Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: For once, a dust jacket didn't lie: ʻAlāʼ Al-Aswānī's novel The Yacoubian Building is indeed a best-seller in the Arab world and certainly has stirred up plenty of controversy. Probably the most popular novelist in the Arab world, Al-Aswany joins Eleanor Wachtel this week on Writers & Company to talk about his novel, which "reveals the political corruption, sexual repression, religious extremism, and modern hopes of Egypt today."
Date: 2016-02-07
Name(s): Buruma, Ian, Rabinovitch, Sandra, Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: Eleanor speaks with Dutch novelist, journalist and public intellectual, Ian Buruma. His new book Their Promised Land is about his German-Jewish, English grandparents, and the letters they wrote to each other every day while separated by two world wars.
Date: 2012-09-30
Name(s): McEwan, Ian, Stinson, Mary (Producer), Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: Eleanor Wachtel speaks with one of England's leading novelists, Ian McEwan. His new novel, Sweet Tooth, is about the private side of Cold War espionage.
Date: 2007-06-17
Name(s): McEwan, Ian, Stinson, Mary (Producer), Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: Eleanor Wachtel speaks with one of England's finest writers, Ian McEwan. They talk about his post-9/11 novel, Saturday, and his latest dysfunctional romance, On Chesil Beach.
Date: 2022-10-30
Name(s): McEwan, Ian, Rabinovitch, Sandra, Swailes, Katy, Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: Ian McEwan is one of Britain's leading novelists. He's the author of such acclaimed works as the Booker Prize-winning Amsterdam and the hugely popular Atonement, which was made into an Oscar-nominated movie. Now, McEwan's back with a new book, Lessons - a story about a fictional alter-ego, Roland, with whom he shares an intimate background... until a transformative event leads Roland down a very different path.
Date: 2006-02-19
Name(s): Khūrī, Ilyās, Stinson, Mary (Producer), Wachtel, Eleanor, Zarou, Elias
Description: This week on Writers & Company, a conversation with Lebanese writer Ilyās Khūrī (Elias Khoury). His latest novel, Gate of the Sun, is an evocative picture of the Palestinians' loss of their homeland. Includes a clip of Canadian actor Elias Zarou reading from the epigraph of Gate of the Sun, in translation.
Date: 2022-10-16
Name(s): Le Tellier, Hervé, 1957-, Rabinovitch, Sandra, Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: In his provocative novel, The Anomaly, French writer Hervé Le Tellier asks a simple but compelling question: what would it be like to meet yourself? That question is at the heart of his remarkable story, which blends speculative fiction, noir thriller, satirical comedy and romance. Winner of France's Prix Goncourt, the novel sold a record-breaking million copies at home and is being translated into 40 languages. *Note: The audio for this episode was recorded during the Covid-19 lockdown and…
Date: 2019-05-12
Name(s): Perry, Imani, 1972-, Rabinovitch, Sandra, Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: In Looking for Lorraine, Imani Perry explores Hansberry's significant impact as both a writer and civil rights activist. Perry spoke to Eleanor while in Toronto for TIFF's Books on Film series.
Date: 2021-10-31
Name(s): Powers, Richard, 1957-, Rabinovitch, Sandra, Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: Richard Powers spoke with Eleanor Wachtel about his passion for writing novels that explore our relationship with the natural world. His new novel, Bewilderment, is a finalist for the 2021 Booker Prize. This conversation is presented in partnership with the Vancouver Writers Fest and the Toronto International Festival of Authors. *Note: The audio for this episode was recorded during the Covid-19 lockdown and contains occasional low-level equipment-related distortion.
Date: 2021-09-12
Name(s): Sahota, Sunjeev, 1981-, Swailes, Katy, Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: To launch the 32nd season of Writers & Company, Eleanor Wachtel speaks to 2021 Booker Prize-longlisted author Sunjeev Sahota. Inspired by a story about his great-grandmother, the British writer's evocative new novel, China Room, explores themes of belonging, oppression and the pursuit of freedom, as it alternates between 1929 India and 1999 Britain. *Note: The audio for this episode was recorded during the Covid-19 lockdown and contains occasional low-level equipment-related distortion.
Date: 2021-05-30
Name(s): Nunez, Sigrid, Rabinovitch, Sandra, Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: American novelist Sigrid Nunez talks to Eleanor Wachtel about her latest book, What Are You Going Through, which explores love, friendship, death, grief and art in surprising and moving ways.
Date: 2021-11-21
Name(s): Franzen, Jonathan, Swailes, Katy, Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: This week, Jonathan Franzen — the author who's been dubbed "the great American novelist." He joins Eleanor Wachtel to talk about his new blockbuster, Crossroads, which revolves around a family in crisis in 1970s Illinois. *Note: The audio for this episode was recorded during the Covid-19 lockdown and contains occasional low-level equipment-related distortion.
Date: 2021-04-04
Name(s): Khushwant Singh, 1915-2014, Langa, Mandla, 1950-, Rabinovitch, Sandra, Wachtel, Eleanor, Wright, Alexis, 1950-, Ṣāliḥ, al-Ṭayyib
Description: Writers & Company presents highlights from some of the many timely and topical special series recorded on location, with writers from India, South Africa, Sudan and Australia.
Date: 2018-06-24
Name(s): Ondaatje, Michael, 1943-, Stinson, Mary (Producer), Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: The Canadian literary icon joined Eleanor Wachtel onstage at the Rialto Theatre in Montréal. His new novel, Warlight, is being hailed as a masterpiece.
Date: 1997-03-23
Name(s): Desai, Anita, 1937-, Stinson, Mary (Producer), Wachtel, Eleanor
Description: Interview with East Indian novelist Anita Desai. She writes with elegance and sensitivity about the collision of cultures. In Baumgartner's Bombay and Journey to Ithaca she explores what happens when West goes East... what they're looking for, and what they'll find.
