Sunday 16:00-16:30, repeated Thursday 16:00-16:30, except first Sunday in the month when it is replaced by Book Club.
Open Book spotlights new fiction and non-fiction, picks out the best of the paperbacks, talks to authors and publishers, and unearths lost masterpieces.
This week
Sunday 18 November 2007
Mariella Frostrup talks to Andrew O'Hagan about the books behind the myth of Norman Mailer.
Norman Mailer
Mariella is joined by the novelist Andrew O’Hagan to consider the work of the great American writer Norman Mailer, who died last week. Andrew chooses his favourite books from Mailer’s large output, and explains why he thinks The Naked and the Dead is one of the greatest books written about war.
The Naked and the Dead- Norman Mailer
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
The Armies of the Night- Norman Mailer
Publisher: Plume
Marilyn: A Biography of Marilyn Monroe- Norman Mailer
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
The Executioner's Song - Norman Mailer
Publisher: Arena Books
Why Are We in Vietnam? - Norman Mailer
Publisher: Saint Martin's Press
End of the Hardback Mariella considers whether the hardback is on the way out, as a major publisher announces plans to concentrate on paperback fiction. Andrew Kidd of Picador comes in to explain.
Football and fiction A week before the William Hill Sports Book of the Year is announced, Wayne Rooney’s ghostwriter Hunter Davies asks whether there has ever been a great football novel.
Bumper Book of Football - Hunter Davies
Publisher: Quercus
Books for All News of a scheme aimed at promoting books to readers from ethnic minority backgrounds. Samenua Sesher, of Arts Council funded project Decibel and Londonstani writer Gautam Malkani join Mariella.
