Podcast: The Off-Topic Book Club review The Spy and I’ll Take You There
In a summer reading special, The Off-Topic Book Club discuss The Spy, a novel about Mata Hari by Paulo Coelho as well as I’ll Take You There the latest novel by Wally Lamb.
Coelho’s The Spy tells the story of the famous dancer Mata Hari, who shocked and delighted audiences, as a confidante and courtesan. But as paranoia consumed a country at war, Mata Hari’s lifestyle brought her under suspicion. In 1917 she was arrested in her hotel room on the Champs–Élysées and accused of espionage. Told through Mata Hari’s final letter, The Spy is the story of a woman who dared to break the conventions of her time, and paid the price.
Wally Lamb’s I’ll Take You There follows Felix Funicello, a sixty-year-old scholar who is confronted by an unanticipated guest: the ghost of Lois Weber. Once a trailblazing motion picture director from Hollywood’s silent film era, Lois invites Felix to sit back and watch a new feature on the big screen – scenes from Felix’s life.
The book club weighs in on both books and the conversation goes off-topic, once again, and the club discusses famous ghosts, World War 1 photography and Lord Snowdon.
LISTEN HERE
The Spy, by Paulo Coelho, Hamish Hamilton, RRP $37.00, order online here
I’ll Take You There, By Wally Lamb, Hutchinson, RRP $37.00 order online here
READ AHEAD
For our next book club we will be discussing Gastrophysics by Charles Spence. The book, out in April, is billed as Freakonomics for eating: a ground-breaking and tasty book by the world-leading expert in sensory science. Pre-order your copy here.
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Podcast: The Off-Topic Book Club review Mount! by Jilly Cooper
