Tom's Book Club

Jonathan Coe joins Tom’s Book Club to discuss Lessons in Harmony, his new historical novel about the composers Maurice Ravel and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Set in Belle Époque Paris in 1907, the novel imagines the unlikely friendship between the charismatic French composer and his English counterpart, exploring music, national identity, friendship and the approach of the First World War. Alongside them is Mylo, Ravel’s devoted acolyte, whose story becomes increasingly entangled with their lives.

In this conversation, Jonathan Coe discusses what drew him away from the contemporary Britain of his earlier novels and towards historical fiction, the research behind bringing Ravel and Vaughan Williams to life, and the relationship between music and literature.

We explore the novel’s unusual structure, its fictional manuscript, humour in fiction, and Coe reflects on his own musical interests.

If you enjoy literary fiction, historical novels, contemporary literature, classical music, Maurice Ravel, Ralph Vaughan Williams and conversations about books, writing and the creative process, this episode of Tom’s Book Club is for you.
📚 Buy books discussed on the podcast through the Tom’s Book Club Bookshop.org page: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/TomsBookClub

Tom’s Book Club may earn a small commission from purchases made through our Bookshop.org link, at no extra cost to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

M. John Harrison joins Tom’s Book Club to discuss The End of Everything, his unsettling, darkly satirical novel shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize.

Set in a world where government barely functions, Europe has been mislaid and strange new creatures inhabit the seas, the novel follows Phillip Tennent, a beachcomber who makes his living collecting artefacts washed ashore. But when he discovers something he cannot keep, he must take it inland, with potentially catastrophic consequences. Blending literary fiction, science fiction and dark humour, The End of Everything explores a world that no longer makes sense, and the limits of what we can ever truly understand.

In this conversation, M. John Harrison discusses the origins of the novel, the influence of the 2008 financial crisis, and how he developed its strange and unsettling world. We explore the mysterious iGhetti, the novel’s playful references to technology and consumer culture, and the different interpretations readers bring to a story that resists easy explanation. Harrison also talks about the influence of film on his writing, the challenge of balancing the extraordinary with the mundane and which of his books readers should explore next.
📚 Buy books discussed on the podcast through the Tom’s Book Club Bookshop.org page: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/TomsBookClub

Tom’s Book Club may earn a small commission from purchases made through our Bookshop.org link, at no extra cost to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Min Jin Lee, the bestselling author of Pachinko, joins Tom’s Book Club to discuss American Hagwon, her epic new novel about family, education, immigration and the sacrifices parents make for their children. Already a bestseller in the UK and US, American Hagwon follows the Koh family across continents and generations, from Seoul to Sydney and California, as they search for a better future.

In this conversation, Min Jin Lee explores why education carries such enormous importance in Korean culture, the pressures placed on children to succeed, and whether parents can find a balance between ambition and their children’s happiness.

Min Jin Lee also talks about her meticulous research, developing complex characters, and how writing fiction can help us understand other people’s perspectives. She reflects on her journey from corporate law to becoming a novelist, the decade-long process of writing American Hagwon, and why she writes.

If you enjoy literary fiction, family sagas, contemporary Korean literature, Pachinko, and conversations about books and the ideas behind them, listen to this episode of Tom’s Book Club.
📚 Buy books discussed on the podcast through the Tom’s Book Club Bookshop.org page: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/TomsBookClub

Tom’s Book Club may earn a small commission from purchases made through our Bookshop.org link, at no extra cost to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Luke Kennard joins Tom’s Book Club to discuss Black Bag, his offbeat novel shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize. A penniless actor takes a job wearing an oversized black bag as part of a university experiment, with unexpected consequences for love, friendship and the possibility of turning the whole thing into a business.

We discuss the novel’s exploration of masculinity, the real-life experiment that inspired the story and how writing in the first person unlocked something new for him.

A conversation about contemporary fiction, the creative process and the absurdities of being human.
📚 Buy books discussed on the podcast through the Tom’s Book Club Bookshop.org page: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/TomsBookClub

Tom’s Book Club may earn a small commission from purchases made through our Bookshop.org link, at no extra cost to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roddy Doyle joins Tom’s Book Club to talk about A Ghostly Little Book, a new collection of contemporary ghost stories from five acclaimed writers.

Ghost stories have fascinated writers for centuries, from Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens to Shirley Jackson and Toni Morrison. In A Ghostly Little Book, Roddy Doyle is joined by Olga Ravn, Eliza Clark, Tom Crewe and Helen Oyeyemi, each offering a different take on what a ghost story can be — from strange and unsettling to funny, moving and genuinely frightening.

In this conversation, Roddy Doyle discusses where his story came from, what makes a great ghost story and the difference between writing a short story and a novel.

We recorded the conversation the day after the 2026 Booker Prize shortlist was announced, giving us the chance to look back at Roddy's experience as Chair of the Booker Prize judges in 2025. He talks about the experience of reading so many novels as a judge, how it changed the way he reads, and what it was like returning to the Booker Prize more than 30 years after winning it himself.

Roddy Doyle won the Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and is the author of thirteen novels, as well as books for children, plays and screenplays.

If you're interested in Roddy Doyle, A Ghostly Little Book, ghost stories, Irish literature, the Booker Prize, contemporary fiction, short stories, writing and the creative process, this episode offers an in-depth conversation with one of Ireland's most celebrated writers.

A Ghostly Little Book is out now.
📚 Buy books discussed on the podcast through the Tom’s Book Club Bookshop.org page: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/TomsBookClub

Tom’s Book Club may earn a small commission from purchases made through our Bookshop.org link, at no extra cost to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.