Said the Dead, The Thornbacks, and Deborah Levy’s latest

About this episode

Kate Evans discusses three new literary releases with guests Bernadette Brennan and Beejay Silcox.

Kate Evans is joined by Bernadette Brennan and Beejay Silcox to talk three striking new releases: Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s Said the Dead, a haunting, archive-rich exploration of a derelict Irish asylum; Chloe Wilson’s The Thornbacks , a darkly comic debut of morticians, dating apps and unsettling female entanglements; and Deborah Levy’s My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein , a playful meditation on literary life in Paris. ~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Amitav Ghosh, Ghost-Eye Susan Choi, Flashlight S.A. Cosby, works Doireann Ní Ghríofa, A Ghost in the Throat Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle Angela Carter, Wise Children Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides Daisy Johnson, Sisters Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects Oyinkan Braithwaite, My Sister the Serial Killer Deborah Levy, works Kim Scott, Benang Alexis Wright, Carpentaria Francesca Wade, Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain, Bone Horn Erin Vincent. Fourteen Ways of Looking Claire Thomas, On Not Climbing Mountains Gwendoline Riley, The Palm House Chloe Wilson, Hold Your Fire Robin Robertson, The Long Take Joseph Furphy, Such is Life Elizabeth Jolley…

People in this episode

Host: Kate Evans

Guests: Bernadette Brennan, Beejay Silcox

Topics covered

• new book releases
• literary discussions
• female authors
• Irish literature
• dark comedy

Keywords

• literature
• book reviews
• Deborah Levy
• Doireann Ní Ghríofa
• Chloe Wilson

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Said the Dead, The Thornbacks, My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein, Ghost-Eye, Flashlight, works, A Ghost in the Throat, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Wise Children, The Virgin Suicides

More episodes of The Bookshelf

• Andrew Sean Greer, Ilka Tampke and a Lighthouse at the Edge of the World · June 12, 2026 · 55 min
• New fiction from three major voices: Maggie O'Farrell, Ann Patchett, Christine Balint · June 5, 2026 · 55 min
• Launching ABC Radio National’s 2026 Top 100 Books countdown at SWF · May 22, 2026 · 55 min
• New Douglas Stuart, a riff on Henry Lawson, Lena Dunham’s Famesick and a Greek island eco-thriller · May 15, 2026 · 55 min
• Elizabeth Strout, Daniel Kehlmann and a Genre‑Bending Debut · May 8, 2026 · 55 min
• Amanda Lohrey. Deepa Anappara. International Booker: Reviewed · May 1, 2026 · 59 min