December 26, 2002
Guests: Hilton Als and Deborah Treisman from The New Yorker Magazine. Als is a staff writer, Treisman is the new fiction editor, starting January 1, 2003.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky.
December 19
City of the Beasts/Isabel Allende
The noted author of such novels as "House of the Spirits" and "Portrait in Sepia" tries her hand at a young adult novel which combines a lost civilization motif with implications of ecological disaster.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky.
December 12
Review program.
Background to Danger/Eric Ambler. A 1937 thriller that reads as if it was written today. RW & RAL
Blue Shoe/Anne Lamott. Funny and perceptive novel of a Marin woman struggling to raise a son and have a life. RW
Traveling Mercies/Anne Lamott. Essays on Lamott and her spirituality. More fun than you'd imagine. RW
The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film/Michael Ondaatje. Quite simply one of the best books ever published about film. Conversations between one of Hollywood's premiere film editors and the author of "The English Patient."
Hosts: Richard Wolinsky/Richard A. Lupoff
December 5
The Conversation: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film/Michael Ondaatje
Superb series of interviews conducted between the author of "The English Patient" and the editor of such films as "Apocalypse Now" and the Godfather trilogy. One of the best books ever created on the subject.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
November 28
Blue Shoe/Anne Lamott
Traveling Mercies/Anne Lamott
Blue Shoe is a very funny, brilliantly written novel about one woman's search for happiness. Traveling Mercies is a collection of essays, mostly written for Salon, about Lamott's own search for meaning. Lamott is an extremely entertaining writer.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
November 21
The Book of Illusions/Paul Auster
Lulu on the Bridge (film by Paul Auster)
Timbuktu/Paul Auster
The Book of Illusions is a gorgeously written meditation on silent film, artistic expression, grief, and love, which concerns the life and work of a fictional film comedian. Lulu on the Bridge, available on video and DVD, looks at similar themes in a different way. Timbuktu is a strange book about (literally) a dog's life, though of course the character really isn't a dog, is he?
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
November 14
Three Plays by Mart Crowley including The Boys in the Band
The Men From The Boys/Mart Crowley
Crowley's three autobiographical works are available in a trade paper collection that shows his breadth as a playwright. The Men From The Boys, his sequel to The Boys in the Band, can be seen through December 8th at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre. An uneven play which works best when the original Boys take center stage, The Men from the Boys is definitely worth a look, doubly so since less than glowing reviews could hinder any future productions.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
November 7
Just Lucky I Guess/Carol Channing
Rambling memoir by the noted Broadway star, by turns fascinating and funky, and clearly not ghost-written, for better or worse. Channing's a hoot.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
October 31
Step Across This Line/Salman Rushdie
The author of such novels as Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses is back with a superb collection of essays about art and about his years under the Ayatollah's fatwa. Excellent collection, beautifully written.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
October 24
Pre-emption.
October 17
Blood of Victory/Alan Furst
Atmospheric thriller set in Eastern Europe and Paris during the early days of World War II by a new master of the genre.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky.
October 10
The Partly-Cloudy Patriot/Sarah Vowell
A funny and pithy collection of essays by the NPR commentator and late-night talk show guest.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
October 3
Book Review Program
The Feesters In The Lake/Bob Leman, published by Summerhouse/Darkside Press, and Superb collection of science fiction short stories available at www.darkside press.com. RL
Turquoise Days/Alaster Reynolds, published by Golden Gryphon Press. Another excellent collection of science fiction short stories available at www.goldengryphon.com. RL
The Vampire Masters and Other Horror Stories/Edmond Hamilton. Uncollected horror stories by an sf master, available at www.haffnerpress.com. RL
Blood of Victory/Alan Furst. See Oct. 17 for review. RW
Hosts: Richard Wolinsky/Richard A. Lupoff
September 26
Perdido Street Station/China Mieville
The Scar/China Mievill
A blend of science fiction and fantasy, these two long novels showcase the talents of this up-and-coming young British writer.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
September 19
Standing in the Rainbow/Fannie Flagg
The second half of the Twentieth Century, as viewed from America's heartland, Flagg's fictional town of Elmwood Springs, Missouri. Delightful Americana, not for those seeking the dark and edgy.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
September 12
Pasadena/David Ebershoff
A new take on Wuthering Heights, set in the early part of the 20th Century in Southern California. Slow and filled with minutae, heavy on detours, diversions, and description. Very good, if you like that sort of book.
Interviwer: Richard Wolinsky
September 5
A Simple Habana Melody/Oscar Hijuelos
The author of The Mambo Kings returns to his roots in Cuban music with this tale of a fictional composer's life from his early days in Havana to Paris in the '30s and time in a Concentration Camp during World War II. A superb panorama that did not receive the acclaim it should have.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
August 29
Back Then/Anne Bernays & Justin Miller
A fond, though not overly nostalgic, look back at life in the '50s literary scene in New York City. A fine memoir, if at times confusing.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky.
August 22
Florence,A Delicate Case/David Leavitt
The author of novels such as "The Lost Language of Cranes" and "While England Sleeps" has created a short and brilliant look at the city of Florence, Italy, focusing on its English expatriate community.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
August 15
The Season of Lillian Dawes/Katherine Mosby
Coming of age novel set in New York in the 1950s as a teenager falls in love with a mysterious woman. Very much in the Fitzgerald vein and good for a change-of-pace summer read.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
August 8
Book Reviews
The Devil's Redhead/David Corbett. Problematic first novel by a professional private eye. The story falls apart after 150 pages, but Corbett still shows promise. RAL
Pasadena/David Ebershoff. Overlong historical novel set in Southern California in the period between the wars, partly a history of life in the San Gabriel Valley and partly a retelling of Wuthering Heights. Good, if this is your kind of book. RW
Open A New Window: Broadway Musicals in the 1960s/Ethan Mordden. Mordenn's cultural histories are treasure troves of information and witty writing. If you're an opera buff, look for his book "Diva." RW
Hunter & Hunters/Frederic Brown. Excellent collection of short stories by a master of science fiction & mystery. RAL
The World At Night/Alan Furst
Red Gold/Alan Furst (sequel)
Brilliant books set in the early days of World War Ii in Paris by a latter-day Eric Ambler. RW
August 1
Coming Soon/John Barth
Rebroadcast of an interview recorded in fall, 2001. The interview is great, the book is awful. Read Barth's earlier books, including The Sot-Weed Factor, The Floating Opera, End of the Road and Giles Goat-Boy instead..
Interviewers: Richard Wolinsky/Richard A. Lupoff
July 25
Bel Canto/Ann Patchett
Rebroadcast. of an interview recorded in spring, 2001. Brilliant novel of a hostage takeover in Peru, now available in paperback.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
July 18
Tribute to Stephen Jay Gould
An interview recorded in January 1996 with the late evolutionary biologist.
Interviewers: Richard Wolinsky/Richard A. Lupoff
July 11
The Wailing Wind/Tony Hillerman
Seldom Disappointed/Tony Hillerman
The Wailing Wind is the latest Leaphorn/Chee mystery and Seldom Disappointed is Hillerman's memoir of his life. The Wailing Wind is not amongst Hillerman's best, though as always, he's a pro. The memoir is a good read, but for Hillerman fans only.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
July 4
Reporting Back: Notes on Journalism/Lillian Ross
A combination memoir/collection in which the long-time New Yorker writer discusses her career and how she perceives the role of the journalist. Despite her best efforts to teach what she's learned, it's still Ross' fascinating Talk of the Town profiles that carry the day.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
June 27
The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits/Emma Donoghoe
Strange and macabre short stories based on historical oddities, with a feminist twist from this Irish writer with a cult following.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
June 20
Oxygen/Andrew Miller
Well-written literary novel that cross-cuts between an elderly woman dying of cancer in England, and an older gay man in Paris coming to grips with memories of Hungary in 1956.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
June 13
Book Reviews
Reporting Back: Notes on Journalism/Lillian Ross. Excellent memoir cum compilation of New Yorker profiles. RW
Being Red/Howard Fast.Superb autobiography of the noted writer and activist, written and published in 1991. RAL
Background to Danger/Eric Ambler. Written in the late 1930s, this spy thriller reads as if it could have been published today. Brilliant. RAL
Florence, A Delicate Case/David Leavitt. Superb entry in Bloomsbury's Writer & The City series of travel books.
Lost Horizon/James Hilton. A plane hijacking. War in Kashmir. Violence in Afghanistan. Today's headlines? Not quite. Just the beginning of Hilton's 1933 classic, more timely than ever. RAL/RW.
June 6
City of Bones/Michael Connolly
Excellent addition to Connolly's Harry Bosch series of detective novels set in L.A.; this one examines the discovery of 20-year-old bones and how the media plays with the story.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
May 30
Spies/Michael Frayn
Copenhagen/Michael Frayn
Spies is a slow, multi-layered rumination on the past, a boy's life in England in World War II; Copenhagen is a brilliant play about a meeting during World War II between physicists Werner Heisenberg and Neils Bohr.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
May 27
What You Owe Me/Bebe Moore Campbell
Long, involving family saga about a young black woman and her need to avenge a wrong.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
May 23
Sacrament of Lies/Elizabeth Dewberry
Thriller set in Louisiana's capital by a noted Florida playwright.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
May 20
Deep in the Shade of Paradise/John Dufresne
A funny and sometimes brilliant literary novel about life in Louisiana.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
May 16
Book Reviews
The Eyre Affair/Jasper Fforde. Over-rated but enjoyable bibliophile science fiction. RW/RAL
Sick Puppy/Carl Haiassen. Funny thriller set in Florida with an ecological theme. Now in paper. RW
The Hook/Donald E. Westlake. Serious look at the book industry disguised as a minor thriller, and an important work. Now in paper. RW
Blinded by the Right/David Brock. The right-wing conspiracy is real. Essential reading for Americans today. RW
May 9
Hell to Pay/George P. Pelecanos
Well-written crime/noir novel set in Washington D.C.'s inner city, featuring two detectives dealing with their own demons. Takes a little too long to get going, but still first-rate.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
May 2
The Snow Garden/Christopher Rice
What starts out as a well-done character study of young gays with angst turns into an overripe thriller. Rice is the 23 year old son of writer Anne Rice.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky.
April 25
Atonement/Ian McEwan
McEwan's attention to detail is eye-opening in this novel set in England in the years before World War II about a precocious teenager and the accusation she makes that destroys the lives of several people,
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
April 23, Tuesday, noon, Living Room
The Great Movies/Roger Ebert
Short essays on a hundred great films, and first of several volumes. An excellent primer and guide for the discerning movie lover. Copies of this program are available through the "Living Room" show on KPFA.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
April 18
Pre-emption.
April 11
Up Country/Nelson DeMille
A long rumination on Vietnam and its effects twenty-five years later, disguised as a mystery thriller. Surprisingly, it works.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky.
April 4
Tepper Isn't Going Out/Calvin Trillin
A novel about parking in New York, and a satire on former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Interviewers: Richard A. Lupoff & Richard Wolinsky
March 28
The River's Tale: A Year on the Yangtse/Edward A. Gargan
Superb travel book concerning life today in Southeast Asia, by the Asian correspondent for Newsday.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
March 21
Roscoe/William Kennedy.
Machine politics in Albany. Perhaps Kennedy's most accessible novel.
Interviewers: Richard A. Lupoff & Richard Wolinsky
March 14
Book Reviews
Roscoe/William Kennedy. Well-written look at machine politics in Albany NY. RW/RAL
Tepper Isn't Going Out/Calvin Trillin. Slight satire of life in New York, pre-September 11th. RW/RAL
Insect Dreams/Marc Estrin. Imaginative but overbaked sequel to Kafka's Metamorphosis. RAL
The Passion of Artemisia/Susan Vreeland. Spare but perhaps oversimplified historical fiction.RW
Lost Pages/Paul DiFillipo. Brilliant short stories that take fiction characters on alternative side-trips.RAL
In The Stone House/Barry Malzberg. Excellent and imaginative collection of short stories. RAL
Stupid White Men/Michael Moore. A populist and damning look at George W. Bush and his zeitgeist. RW
March 7
More, Now, Again/Elizabeth Wurtzel
Subtitled "A Memoir of Addiction." Well-written and extremely self-indulgent memoir by the author of Prozac Nation.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
February 28
Pre-empted for national fund-raising.
February 21
Girl in Hyacinth Blue/Susan Vreeland
The Passion of Artemisia/Susan Vreeland
Two novels about art, the first concerning a Vermeer painting, the most recent an episodic one about the life of Italian post-Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Paintings from both books can be seen on the author's website, www.svreeland.com
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
February 14
Fraud/David Rakoff
Coming Soon!/John Barth
The Shining, a film by Stanley Kubrick, written by Diane Johnson.
The San Francisco Chronicle, a daily newspaper, discussed by former employee Barbara Shulgasser-Parker.
Previously unaired out-takes from earlier programs.
Hosts: Richard A. Lupoff & Richard Wolinsky
February 7
The Nautical Chart/Arturo Perez-Reverte
An important literary novel in the form of noir fiction, from one of Europe's leadng contemporary authors.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky.
January 31
The Agent/Arthur W. Kebanoff
A dreadfully written memoir by an agent detailing his fight with major publishers over the rights to e-books. -RAL
The rest of this program was a discussion of e-books and print-on-demand books.
Hosts: Richard A. Lupoff & Richard Wolinsky
January 24
The Amber Spyglass/Philip Pullman
Third in the acclaimed "His Dark Materials" fantasy trilogy, winner of the 2001 Whitbread Prize for Fiction.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky.
January 17
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtse/Peter Hessler
Superb memoir of time spent in the late 1990s as a Peace Corps volunteer in China. Now out in trade paper.
Interviewer: Richard Wolinsky
January 10
Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere/Jan Morris
The noted travel writer and historian looks at the city of Trieste and its meaning in a changing world.
Interviewers: Richard A. Lupoff & Richard Wolinsky.
January 3
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay/Michael Chabon
Brilliant novel concerning the history of comic books during the 1940s. Originally broadcast January 11, 2001. Pulitzer Prize winner.
Interviewers: Richard A. Lupoff & Richard Wolinsky..
