Open Book

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BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Programme looking at new fiction and non-fiction books

Programme looking at new fiction and non-fiction books, talking to authors and publishers and unearthing lost classics

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Open Book: Raven Leilani

17/01/2021

Raven Leilani

BBC Radio 4 - Open Book, Raven Leilani

Elizabeth Day talks to debut writer Raven Leilani.

Elizabeth Day is joined by Raven Leilani, whose novel Luster is one of the most hotly tipped debuts of 2021.

Luster by Raven Leilani tells the story of Edie, a drifting 20-something woman in New York who begins an affair with a married man, and finds herself moving into his marital home.  It's a  darkly comic novel about the shifting tensions between race, sex, money and identity, constantly questioning the balance of power. Raven Leilani talks to Elizabeth Day about her debut.
Also on the programme, the life and work of twentieth century  Danish writer Tove Ditlevsen. Her tumultuous  biography -  she struggled with drug addiction and mental health problems, and was married four times - has often overshadowed her work but now she is enjoying a renaissance and being celebrated for her writing.  Olga Ravn and Jessica Harrison explore her literary strengths. 
And Canadian writer Eric Dupont sends us a postcard from Montreal.

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

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