Read This – Details, episodes & analysis

Catherine Chidgey is wildly underread in Australia. The multi-award winning New Zealand writer has written nine novels and her latest, The Book of Guilt, was described as “compulsively readable” by The Guardian. This week, Michael sits down with Catherine for a discussion about why WWII continues to hold the public’s imagination, how she plans out her books, and which contemporary New Zealand writers we should all be reading.   Reading list: In a Fishbone Church, Catherine Chidgey, 1998 The Wish Child, Catherine Chidgey, 2016 Remote Sympathy, Catherine Chidgey, 2020 Pet, Catherine Chidgey, 2023 The Book of Guilt, Catherine Chidgey, 2025   You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.    Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram Guest: Catherine Chidgey

The seed of the idea for Irish author Kevin Barry’s latest novel was planted more than 25 years ago. But it wasn’t until late into the pandemic as he was walking in the countryside and had a vision of a young couple on horseback riding double that he decided to write The Heart in Winter. Set in 1890s Montana, the book is a savagely funny and achingly romantic tale of young lovers on the lam. On this week’s episode Michael chats with Kevin about The Heart in Winter and why these days, glamorous sentences are not the most important thing in his writing.   Reading list: City of Bohane, Kevin Barry, 2011 Beatlebone, Kevin Barry, 2015 Night Boat to Tangier, Kevin Barry, 2019 The Heart in Winter, Kevin Barry, 2024   Underworld, Don DeLillo, 1997   You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.    Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram Guest: Kevin Barry

The opening scene of Chris Flynn’s fourth and latest novel, Orpheus Nine, came to him in a dream. Not long after, he had the whole story down from start to finish. This week, Chris and Michael sit down for a conversation about the falsity of certitude, how trauma can re-shape a community, and what The Exorcist, the Bible, and Winnie the Pooh all have in common.   Reading list: A Tiger in Eden, Chris Flynn, 2012 The Glass Kingdom, Chris Flynn, 2014 Mammoth, Chris Flynn, 2020 Here Be Leviathans, Chris Flynn, 2022 Orpheus Nine, Chris Flynn, 2025   The Cracked Mirror, Christopher Brookmyer, 2024   You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.    Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram Guest: Chris Flynn

Over four decades Niall Williams has made a name for himself as one of Ireland’s leading novelists. In his latest novel, Time of the Child, Niall returns to the fictional village of Faha, in west Ireland, the setting of his previous book, This Is Happiness. Time of the Child centres on the notion of familial love, and as he explains to Michael in this week’s episode, Niall couldn’t have written it without becoming a grandfather himself.   Reading list: Four Letters Of Love, Niall Williams, 1997 As It Is In Heaven, Niall Williams, 1999 History of the Rain, Niall Williams, 2015 This Is Happiness, Niall Williams, 2019 Time of the Child, Niall Williams, 2024   Unsettled, Kate Grenville, 2025   You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.    Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram Guest: Niall Williams

Turkish-born, Paris-based writer Ayşegül Savaş’s third novel opens with a young, ex-pat couple who are apartment hunting. Both foreigners in the city they live in and unburdened from the usual familial obligations, their days are marked by small pleasures: shopping at a local flea market, drinking coffee together before work, and taking long walks in the park. Like so much of Ayşegül’s writing, The Anthropologists is interested not just in foreignness, but what it means to establish traditions and rituals when you are starting anew. This week, Michael chats with Ayşegül about this latest novel and why she is trying to make foreignness the status quo.   Reading list: Walking on the Ceiling, Ayşegül Savaş, 2019 White on White, Ayşegül Savaş, 2021 The Anthropologists, Ayşegül Savaş, 2024 The Wilderness, Ayşegül Savaş 2024   The Confidence Woman, Sophie Quick, 2025   You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.    Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter Guest: Ayşegül Savaş

Colm Tóibín is regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest authors — and for good reason. With a career spanning 30 years and 11 award-winning novels under his belt, Colm is beloved both at home and abroad. In his latest book, Long Island, Tóibín returns to familiar territory with a sequel to 2009’s best-selling Brooklyn. This week, he and Michael discuss what it means to write a sequel, the importance of James Baldwin’s writing, and, of course, Costco.   Reading list: The Heather Blazing, Colm Tóibín, 1992 The Master, Colm Tóibín, 2004 Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín, 2009 Nora Webster, Colm Tóibín, 2014 Long Island, Colm Tóibín, 2024   You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.    Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram Guest: Colm Tóibín

Tanzanian-born, London-based author Abdulrazak Gurnah was midway through writing his latest novel, Theft, when he received a call letting him know he’d won the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature. After more than a year of events and literary obligations, he finally returned to Theft, with more enthusiasm than ever. This week, Michael sits down with Abdulrazak to discuss his writing, the phenomenon of tourism and his latest book.   Reading list: Paradise, Abdulrazak Gurnah, 1994 By the Sea, Abdulrazak Gurnah, 2001 Desertion, Abdulrazak Gurnah, 2005 Theft, Abdulrazak Gurnah, 2025   Eurotrash, Christian Kracht, 2024   You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.    Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter Guest: Abdulrazak Gurnah

Tasmanian writer Robert Dessaix is a man of many talents when it comes to the written form – from travel memoir and fiction to biography and philosophy, he’s done it all. He became a household name for many listeners to ABC Radio following a long stint hosting the beloved show Books and Writing. Now, at 81, Robert is back with a new memoir. This week, Michael is joined by Robert for a conversation about memory, dance, and being a chameleon.   Reading list: A Mother’s Disgrace, Robert Dessaix, 1994 Corfu, Robert Dessaix, 2001 Twilight of Love, Robert Dessaixt, 2004 Chameleon, Robert Dessaix, 2025   Perfection, Vincenzo Latronico, 2025   You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.    Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram Guest: Robert Dessaix

Writer Sonia Orchard was in her 40s when a revelation during a therapy session turned her life upside down. Could the relationship she’d had in her teens with a man more than a decade older in fact be abuse? In her new memoir, Groomed, Sonia investigates her own story, sharing her gruelling journey through the justice system, and shines a light on the failures – social, structural, legal – that entrench and prolong the trauma for victim survivors. This week, she speaks with Michael about the power of reclaiming her story.   Reading list: The Virtuoso, Sonia Orchard, 2009 Into the Fire, Sonia Orchard, 2019 Groomed, Sonia Orchard, 2025   You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.    Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter Guest: Sonia Orchard

In Andrea Goldsmith’s ninth and latest novel, The Buried Life, she unpicks the relationships between people and the undercurrents of doubt and faith that define a life. But more than anything else this is a book that is first and foremost concerned with death. It’s a subject that has long fascinated Andrea, something she discusses deeply with Michael on this week’s episode.   Reading list: Reunion, Andrea Goldsmith, 2009 The Memory Trap, Andrea Goldsmith, 2013 Invented Lives, Andrea Goldsmith, 2019 The Buried Life, Andrea Goldsmith, 2025   Andrea Goldsmith’s List of Books on Death & Grief   You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.    Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram Guest: Andrea Goldsmith