
Lanchester, Groff and Costello — reviewed by Hannah Kent and Tim Rogers
From The Bookshelf by ABC Australia
March 20, 2026 · 59 min
About this episode
The episode reviews three books, exploring themes of resentment, revenge, and the inner lives of women.
What if the most talked‑about streaming show of the moment was a mirror reflecting your most private fears and failures? That unnerving question sits at the heart of John Lanchester’s Look What You Made Me Do, a sharp novel about resentment, revenge, money, class and generational unease. Plus: the art of the short story, as Hannah Kent reads and reflects on Lauren Groff’s new collection Brawler; and a woman’s inner life rendered with quiet and devastating precision in Mary Costello’s A Beautiful Loan. BOOKS John Lanchester, Look What You Made Me Do, Faber Lauren Groff, Brawler, Hutchinson Heinemann Mary Costello, A Beautiful Loan, Text GUESTS Hannah Kent, novelist behind the phenomenon Burial Rites + The Good People, Devotion and Always Home, Always Homesick Tim Rogers, author of Detours; frontman of You Am I, The Hard-Ons and various musical escapades. His solo tour Le Charme Defensif kicks off this week OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Andrew O'Hagan, Caledonian Road Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights Michelle de Krester, Theory and Practice Jacqueline Maley, Lonely Mouth Erin Somers, The Ten Year Affair James Joyce, The Dubliners; The Dead Thomas Mann, The Magic…
People in this episode
Hosts: Kate Evans, Cassie McCullagh
Guests: Hannah Kent, Tim Rogers
Topics covered
- literature
- book reviews
- short stories
- class and money
- generational unease
Keywords
- John Lanchester
- Lauren Groff
- Mary Costello
- book review
- literature
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Look What You Made Me Do, Brawler, A Beautiful Loan, Caledonian Road, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Theory and Practice, Lonely Mouth, The Ten Year Affair, The Dubliners
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