Alice McDermott on the Women Behind the Vietnam War

The Book Case

ABC News

Fiction, Arts, Books, Society & Culture

4.1 • 766 Ratings

🗓️ 2 November 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Alice McDermott has written one of THE great novels of 2023. Absolution is so many things…a portrait of diplomatic wives carving out lives for themselves in Saigon before the start of the war, a moralistic novel about the dangers of colonialism and good intentions, the story of the complex relationships women have with motherhood, and with each other. Why did she write it? And what has convinced so many that it's going to be a Pulitzer finalist this year? Tune in and find out. Our bookstore this week comes from one of our beloved listeners-The Lost Bookshop in Delhi, NY. Join us, and keep sending in suggestions! Books mentioned in this week's episode: Absolution by Alice McDermott Charming Billy by Alice McDermott Someone by Alice McDermott The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott That Night by Alice McDermott At Weddings and Wakes by Alice McDermott A Bigamist’s Daughter by Alice McDermott After This by Alice McDermott What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction by Alice McDermott The Quiet American by Graham Greene This is Happiness by Niall Williams The Holy Bible Hamlet by William Shakespeare The Art of Seeing Things by John Burroughs A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:35.6	Hi, I'm Charlie Gibson. Welcome to the second shelf of the bookcase. We now have been
0:41.3	had this long enough that the first shelf is filled, and we're moving right along to the second
0:46.2	shelf. But lest you be worried about it, we have infinite capacity in our bookcase.
0:53.1	Yeah, I shuddered to think what the first shelf looks like.
0:55.0	How crammed full is it and just how many books are in there?
0:59.0	Today's show, as always, for me, is a real treat.
1:02.0	Are you super excited to have this author?
1:04.0	I am super excited. I am super enthusiastic.
1:08.0	Oh my gosh, I sound just like a horrible bouncy bunny.
1:11.0	In the station, you're always high octane. High octane.
1:13.4	Exactly. I'm, I am a live wire. But at any rate, this year we had the privilege of sitting
1:18.2	with two amazing authors, Anna Quinlan and Anne Patchett. And Kate had been super excited
1:23.8	to talk to both of them. I was super excited to talk to both of them. And I was super excited to talk to both of them. I was super excited to talk to both of them and I was super
1:27.7	excited to get their feedback. Oh gosh, people want to hit me now. I would want to hit me now.
	...

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