Elif Shafak and Donal Ryan

Award-winning authors, Donal Ryan and Elif Shafak, join Joe Haddow for a war of the words.

Elif's new novel - 'In One Brief Moment All Eternity' - is an imaginative re-telling of Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary' - told from 30 different characters. Some of them are based on real-life people, whilst others are completely made up (and not necessarily human!)

Donal's latest novel - "Where Are The Kings" - is a poignant coming-of-age story set in rural Ireland. It follows a young boy, navigating the tragic loss of his mother.

The authors discuss their books and the inspirations behind them, as well as touching on themes of grief and loss. They also talk about art, literature - and the awful stats of how many libraries are closing in the UK (and around the world).

THE BOOK OFF

'Johnny Got His Gun' by Dalton Trumbo

VS

'Homer-Haunted' by Henry Power

'Where Are The Kings' by Donal Ryan

Something terrible has happened to Jack but no one seems to want to talk about it.

His uncles can tell him about everything from quantum physics to how to hunt for deer, but they can’t seem to tell him anything about their own sister or why Jack doesn’t feel sad for her in the way he should, or why Grandad tries to shoot Jack’s dad when he gets out of the hospital.

Still, there’s work to be done in the oily wonderland of his uncles’ garage; there’s his beautiful aunt Rose to hypnotise him and his loving grandparents to console him; then there’s JJ, who wants to fight him one day and save him the next.