This week, George Saunders discusses his new work, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. He pairs iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, with essays intended for anyone interested in how fiction works. He also discusses why the Russian short story is more relevant than ever in these turbulent times. (more…) ...
This week on The Book Show, novelist and playwright Ayad Akhtar. Akhtar is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His latest work is Homeland Elegies, a deeply personal work about identity and belonging in a nation coming apart at the seams. It blends fact and fiction to tell an epic story of longing […] ...
This week, host Joe Donahue speaks with New York Times bestselling author and former host of MSNBC’s Hardball, Chris Matthews. The pair discuss Matthews’ new book; “This Country: My Life in Politics and History,” which offers a panoramic portrait of post–World War II America through the story of his life and career. Photo courtesy of Simon & Schuster. ...