What happens when your thriller about a deadly pandemic comes out in the middle of a deadly

pandemic?

Lawrence Wright will be here to discuss the end of October.

How do you build a novel with a former political interrogator as your central character?

Dahlia Sofer will join us to talk about her new book, Man of My Time.

Alexander Alter will give us an update from the publishing world.

Class, we'll talk about what we and the wider world are reading.

This is the Book Review Podcast in the New York Times.

It's May 1st.

I'm Pamela Paul.

Lawrence Wright joins us now from Austin, Texas.

He is a staff writer at the New Yorker, the author of many, many excellent books, including

13 Days in September, which was a 10 best books of the New York Times Book Review, God

Save Texas, going clear about Scientology, the looming tower, and now a new book called

the End of October, which is a novel.

Larry, thank you so much for being here.

Larry Well, it's a pleasure.

Thank you, Pamela.

Your last book was God Save Texas, nonfiction.

I believe there was a play in between and now this.

I'm just curious how you go from one project to the next and forgive me if I skipped a project

that may have been in between as well.

...