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Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and literature from around the world

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Book at Bedtime: The Thrill of It All

Joseph O'Connor

Neville Teller

Gemma McMullan

Philip Glenister

Book at Bedtime: The Thrill of It All: Episode 5

The Thrill of It All

Episode 5

BBC Radio 4 - Book at Bedtime, The Thrill of It All, Episode 5

Are the fortunes of the band about to change?

An astonishing message on the answering machine offers the band the break they have been longing to hear.

Spanning 25 years, Joseph O' Connor's new novel The Thrill of It All rewinds and fast-forwards through an evocative soundtrack of struggle and laughter. It deals with the formation of a band in the early 80's in Luton, their struggle for recognition, playing low dives, living in transit vans culminating in overnight worldwide success. Then the inevitable, "artistic differences!"

This is an incredibly warm-hearted and uplifting story for anyone who has ever loved a song.

Author ..... Joseph O'Connor
Abridger ..... Neville Teller
Producer ..... Gemma McMullan
Reader ..... Philip Glenister

The Author

Joseph O'Connor is the author of eight novels: Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes, The Salesman, Inishowen, Star of the Sea, Redemption Falls, Ghost Light and The Thrill of it All. He has also written radio diaries, film scripts and stage-plays including the multiple award-winning Red Roses and Petrol and an acclaimed adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's novel My Cousin Rachel.

His novel Star of the Sea was an international bestseller, selling more than a million copies and being published in 38 languages. It won France's Prix Millepages, Italy's Premio Acerbi, the Irish Post Award for Fiction, the Neilsen Bookscan Golden Book Award, an American Library Association Award, the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Hall of Fame Award, and the Prix Litteraire Zepter for European Novel of the Year. His novel Ghost Light was chosen as Dublin's One City Book novel for 2011. He received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature in 2012.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Joseph O'Connor's novel spans 25 years and charts the rise and fall of a rock band

Joseph O'Connor's novel spans 25 years and charts the rise and fall of a rock band, from its struggle for recognition in early-80s Luton to the inevitable artistic differences.

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