Bookends with Mattea Roach

Imagine your entire family … immediate and extended … living in one apartment complex together. Karan Mahajan’s latest novel, The Complex, follows four generations of a family across India and America in the 1970s. In Delhi, most of the family lives in a crumbling residential compound. They’re the descendants of a political legend, and the family longs to return to their era of greatness. These family tensions mirror the country of India itself, which is changing politically, economically and socially as the Hindu nationalist movement begins to take shape. This week, Karan tells Mattea Roach about the real history behind the book, writing an organic political story and his complicated relationship with home.

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If an asteroid was hurtling towards Earth, and you had no other choice … would you upload your mind to a computer to survive? Robert J. Sawyer explores that dilemma in his new novel, The Downloaded 2: Ghosts in the Machine. The Canadian sci-fi legend’s latest is all about technology and identity at the end of the world … and as someone who has thought a lot about mortality, Robert has a unique perspective on how technology, humanity and death align. Robert tells Mattea Roach about why he likes to write about cheating death, the harmony of science and religion and a personal experience he’s sharing for the first time.

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Coast to coast, province to province, soccer pitch to hockey rink … there’s no one Canadian experience, and no one Canadian story. This week, Bookends is highlighting four Canadian writers we’ve featured on the show so far. From a hockey drama in the maritimes, to Canadian soldiers in the Second World War, to a long journey North, these stories about Canada might surprise you … or they might remind you of home. In this special Canada Day edition of the show, we’re revisiting Mattea Roach’s conversations with Jack Wang, Tyler Hellard, Alison McCreesh and Conor Kerr.

Hear the full conversations here:
Jack Wang: Reimagining the lost stories of Chinese Canadians during WWII
Meet hockey’s greatest (fictional) goon
Alison McCreesh: Exploring the magic and nuance of life in the North in her latest graphic novel
Capitalism, dating apps and why we love Edmonton

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When Marjane Satrapi died earlier this month, we lost an acclaimed graphic novelist and filmmaker … and a voice that explored Iranian society in a wholly unique way. You might know Marjane from her celebrated graphic memoirs Persepolis and Persepolis II. They’re about her experience growing up in an unconventional household during Iran’s Islamic revolution, and the screen adaptation was nominated for an Academy Award. This week, we’re revisiting Eleanor Wachtel’s 2011 conversation with Marjane about her book Chicken with Plums. They spoke about Marjane’s relationship to her home country, how her family influences her work and appreciating the beauty of life’s small moments.

Check out the rest of the Writers & Company archive: https://digital.lib.sfu.ca/writers-company

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Fatherhood isn’t easy. It might be hard to put the experience into words … but Jordan Abel’s new poetry collection does just that. Dad Era is addressed to Jordan’s daughter Phoenix. Through free verse, pictures and a mix of ideas both personal and universal, the collection explores the nuances of fatherhood, Indigenous parenting and what it’s like to raise a child in a world that gets more uncertain by the day. Like his previous work, Dad Era showcases Jordan’s ability to be a literary DJ — he loops, cuts and fades together words, artwork, and documents, giving readers fresh perspectives on fatherhood and Indigenous joy, past and present.

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