Sarah Moss

Sarah Moss

Author: BBC Radio 4 March 6, 2022 Duration: 27:45

Sarah Moss joins James Naughtie to answer listener questions about her novel The Tidal Zone - a story of healthcare, parenting, and the echoes of the past.

Adam and Emma are parents to 15 year old Miriam and 8 year old Rose. One day, Miriam collapses at school: her heart briefly stopped beating. She is rushed to hospital. The Tidal Zone considers the impact of this event on Miriam, and all of her family, as they spend time in hospital and then learn to live with what has happened. Interwoven with this story of contemporary family life, is the story of the re-building of Coventry Cathedral after the Second World War, the subject of Adam's academic research. The novel ask questions about how we rebuild and recover after trauma, and how we learn to live with history, both personal and political.

Our next recordings for Bookclub are with Karen Joy Fowler and Nick Harkaway. Follow the links on the website to take part and ask a question.


For over two decades, Bookclub from BBC Radio 4 has offered a unique and intimate space where literature is unpacked by the very people who brought it to life. Guided by the insightful James Naughtie, each episode gathers a small group of engaged readers for a candid conversation with an acclaimed author about one of their most significant works. This isn't a formal literary critique, but a deep, spoiler-filled discussion that feels like the best kind of book group meeting. Listeners are invited to sit in as the author revisits their creation, often sharing surprising stories about their inspiration, the challenges they faced during writing, and how they feel about the work years later. The questions from the readers are always thoughtful and often unexpected, leading to revelations that shed new light on familiar novels. This podcast provides a rare opportunity to move beyond the page and understand the craft, the choices, and the person behind a beloved book. It’s a consistently enriching experience for anyone who has ever finished a novel and immediately wished they could ask the author, "How did you do that?" or "What did you really mean here?" Tune in for thoughtful, revealing, and deeply human conversations that will change the way you think about your favorite stories.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Bookclub
Podcast Episodes
Kit de Waal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:40
Presented by James Naughtie, BBC Radio 4's Bookclub, speaks to the award-winning writer Kit de Waal about her heart-rending debut novel, My Name Is Leon. Published in 2016 by Penguin it's the story of two brothers separa…
Tom Holland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:37
Presented by James Naughtie, Bookclub speaks to the award-winning writer, historian, and podcaster, Tom Holland, about his book Rubicon, which looks at the triumph and tragedy of the Roman Republic. Originally published…
Joanne Harris: Chocolat [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:35
Led by presenter James Naughtie, the writer Joanne Harris takes questions from a BBC Bookclub audience on her best-selling novel, Chocolat. Published in 1999, the book follows the character of Vianne Rocher, a chocolate-…
Natalie Haynes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:41
Led by presenter James Naughtie, a BBC Bookclub audience in Glasgow speaks to the author Natalie Haynes about her 2019 novel - A Thousand Ships - which retells the ancient Greek myths from a woman's perspective. Penelope…
Michel Faber [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:26
This month BBC Radio 4's Bookclub, presented by James Naughtie, speaks to the writer Michel Faber about his debut novel, Under the Skin. Published in the year 2000 by Canongate it went on to be shortlisted for the Whitbr…
Christopher Brookmyre [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:46
This month, Bookclub, presented by James Naughtie, speaks to the author Christopher Brookmyre, as he takes questions from a live BBC audience about his debut novel, Quite Ugly One Morning. The book is a pacey crime thril…
Sara Collins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:49
This month, BBC Bookclub, presented by James Naughtie, speaks to the writer Sara Collins, as she takes questions from a live audience about her award-winning debut novel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton. Sara was the…
Richard Osman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:29
Presented by James Naughtie, BBC Bookclub speaks to the writer Richard Osman about his crime-fiction novel The Thursday Murder Club, which sold millions of copies, and has been made into a film.
Alan Warner: Morvern Callar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:31
Award-winning writer Alan Warner takes questions from Radio 4's Bookclub audience about his first-person, pacey novel, Morvern Callar, which was written in 1995 when Warner was in his late twenties. Morvern is a twenty-o…
Carys Davies: The Mission House [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:38
The writer Carys Davies talks to readers about her beautifully-crafted novel, The Mission House, which follows the character of Hilary Byrd, a British librarian in his fifties, who is seeking to find himself again in mod…