Take Four Books
Take Four Books
Podcast Description
Presenter James Crawford looks at an author's latest work and delves further into their creative process by learning about the three other texts that have shaped their writing.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on the creative processes of contemporary authors, often delving into themes of influence and inspiration by examining their most recent publications and related texts. Episodes include discussions with best-selling authors such as Emma Healey on her book Sweat, Michelle de Kretser on Theory & Practice, and Paul Theroux discussing The Vanishing Point, providing listeners with a rich understanding of literary connections.
Presenter James Crawford looks at an author’s latest work and delves further into their creative process by learning about the three other texts that have shaped their writing.
The Booker Prize-winning Scottish author, Douglas Stuart, speaks to Take Four Books about his latest novel, John Of John, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other works of fiction.
John Of John follows the character of John-Calum Macleod who, when his art school education comes to an end, catches the ferry home to the island of Harris to find that not much has changed except for him. In the windswept croft where he grew up, Cal resumes his old life, caught between the two poles of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, weaver, and pillar of their local Presbyterian church, and his Glaswegian grandmother Ella, who has kept a faltering peace with her son-in-law for decades.
For his three influences Douglas chose: The Lost Language of Cranes, by David Leavitt from 1986; Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson, from 2004; and John McGahern’s Amongst Women, from 1990.
This episode was recorded at the Hay Festival 2026.
Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was an BBC Audio Scotland production.
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