Bookends with Mattea Roach

What would you do if you were stuck reliving the same day on loop? Splurge with your ever-replenishing bank account? Travel, so you can experience more than one season? Would it feel freeing, or lonely? In Solvej Balle's series On the Calculation of Volume, Tara Selter is stuck reliving the same November 18th. Nearly 40 years after the idea first came to Solvej, her time loop tale is speaking to readers around the world with its explorations of love, hope, despair and isolation. Solvej tells Mattea about why she initially resisted writing this story, the upside of aloneness, and what she really thought of the movie Groundhog Day.

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Is it magic ... or is it Siri?
R.F. Kuang raises a little hell

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When Nussaibah Younis decided to write a book about ISIS brides, everyone expected it to be an academic tome. Instead, she wrote a raunchy satire about a woman who takes a job in a warzone to get over a recent heartbreak. Nussaibah's debut novel, Fundamentally, sees protagonist Nadia in over her head working for the UN in Baghdad. But her sense of purpose renews when she connects deeply with Sara, a young ISIS bride who Nadia becomes intent on saving. Drawing on her own professional experience, Nussaibah tells Mattea Roach why the UN's work culture is ripe for satire, why the conversation about ISIS brides needs nuance and what it really takes to deradicalize someone.

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Exploring the shady side of charity organizations
Need cash fast? Become a corpse bride today

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Fran Lebowitz is a legendary writer and critic. She’s made a career of sharing hot takes without apology, and she didn’t hold back when she joined Mattea Roach for a special on-stage event in Toronto. You might know Fran from her books Metropolitan Life and Social Studies or her appearances in two Martin Scorsese documentaries. Fran is perhaps most famous for sharp social commentary — from airplane fashion, to the silly questions asked by educated youth, to the return of smoking ... Fran had plenty to share with the Toronto crowd.

Photo credits to Brigitte Lacombe.

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Scaachi Koul calls herself a professional ex-wife
For Louise Penny, stories come from hurt

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It’s easy to glamorize small town life … but Kevin Hardcastle’s new novel, County Road Six, is all about the darkness lurking in rural Canada. When Arthur O’Hare dies, his three daughters return to the family farm to sort through what he left behind. But what they inherit is more than land — it’s a shadowy history they never knew existed. County Road Six is a dramatic thriller about economic decline, family secrets and the lengths people will go to survive. It’s a compelling and unsettling story that pulls from Kevin’s own background growing up as a working class kid in rural Ontario. This week, Kevin tells Mattea Roach about exploring the rural Canadian experience, adding elements of horror to his stories and why towns can be more dangerous than cities.

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The beauty and despair of Appalachia
Buffoon or genius? What makes a cult leader?

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A glamorous life and career in New York’s fashion industry was everything Douglas Stuart worked for. So why did he walk away from it all? And how did he go from fashion designer to Booker Prize winning author? Douglas’s first two novels, Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, were critically acclaimed hits. He continues the streak with John of John, a moving novel about a young man returning home to a remote Scottish island steeped in religion and tradition. It’s one of the hottest books of spring and an Oprah’s Book Club pick. This week, Douglas joins Mattea Roach to talk about his major career change, diving into Hebridean culture and drawing on his own upbringing for the novel.

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For Jeanette Winterson, stories are essential to survival
Why you can’t forget your first love

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