Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Homage To Keith Moon | 20140303 | 20140304 (R4) | Highlights from an entertaining and idiosyncratic series of essays from James Wood, the leading literary critic of his generation. It's a collection which ranges widely, from a loving analysis of Keith Moon's drum technique to the intentions, gifts and limitations of some of our most celebrated modern novelists, including Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan. 1.THE FUN STUFF: HOMAGE TO KEITH MOON Wood analyses the lost genius of Moon and his ability to create magic out of mayhem, relating this to his own experience of learning to play drums as a boy. Abridged by Eileen Horne Reader: Peter Firth A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4 Highlights from a collection of essays by James Wood. | |
| 2. Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go | 20140304 | 20140305 (R4) | Highlights from an entertaining and idiosyncratic series of essays from James Wood, the leading literary critic of his generation. It's a collection which ranges widely, from a loving analysis of Keith Moon's drum technique to the intentions, gifts and limitations of some of our most celebrated modern novelists, including Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan. Wood considers a masterwork that melds sci-fi with literary fiction - a cloning story that 'combines the fantastic and realistic till we can no longer separate them'. Abridged by Eileen Horne Reader: Peter Firth A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4 Highlights from a collection of essays by James Wood. | |
| 3. Marilynne Robinson | 20140305 | 20140306 (R4) | Highlights from an entertaining and idiosyncratic series of essays from James Wood, the leading literary critic of his generation. It's a collection which ranges widely, from a loving analysis of Keith Moon's drum technique to the intentions, gifts and limitations of some of our most celebrated modern novelists, including Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan. Wood looks at the religious sensibility of the American author whose Pulitzer Prize winning Gilead was one of the most 'unconventional...popular novels of recent times. Abridged by Eileen Horne Reader: Peter Firth A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4 Highlights from series of essays from James Wood. | |
| 5. Packing My Father-in-law's Library | 20140307 | 20140308 (R4) | Highlights from an entertaining and idiosyncratic series of essays from James Wood, the leading literary critic of his generation. It's a collection which ranges widely, from a loving analysis of Keith Moon's drum technique to the intentions, gifts and limitations of some of our most celebrated modern novelists, including Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan. Wood describes disposing of his late father in law's library, and considers whether our personal collections of books hide us more than reveal us to our descendants. Abridged by Eileen Horne Reader: Peter Firth A Pacficus production for BBC Radio 4 Highlights from a series of essays from James Wood. | |
| 04 | Containment: Trauma And Manipulation In Ian Mcewan | 20140306 | 20140307 (R4) | Highlights from an entertaining and idiosyncratic series of essays from James Wood, the leading literary critic of his generation. It's a collection which ranges widely, from a loving analysis of Keith Moon's drum technique to the intentions, gifts and limitations of some of our most celebrated modern novelists, including Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan. 4. CONTAINMENT: TRAUMA AND MANIPULATION IN IAN McEWAN Wood admires and critiques the author of Atonement, Enduring Love and On Chesil Beach - 'the great contemporary stager of traumatic contingency as it strikes ordinary lives'. Abridged by Eileen Horne Reader: The Fun Stuff A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4 Highlights from an entertaining and idiosyncratic series of essays from James Wood. |