1
00:00:07,173 --> 00:00:10,493
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast

2
00:00:10,613 --> 00:00:11,773
Speaker 1: from News Talks at B.

3
00:00:12,893 --> 00:00:16,373
Speaker 2: Two very different books to recommend this morning with our

4
00:00:16,373 --> 00:00:19,013
Speaker 2: book reviewer Katherine Rains. So I feel looking for something

5
00:00:19,053 --> 00:00:22,613
Speaker 2: good to read. Catherine is here now, Hey, Catherine, Morning Jack.

6
00:00:22,773 --> 00:00:27,133
Speaker 2: Let's begin with The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley. So

7
00:00:27,173 --> 00:00:27,813
Speaker 2: this story is.

8
00:00:27,733 --> 00:00:31,693
Speaker 3: Told from multiple perspectives, and those perspectives lead to feeling

9
00:00:31,693 --> 00:00:34,493
Speaker 3: all the drama and twists, and the story itself centers

10
00:00:34,493 --> 00:00:38,693
Speaker 3: around the manner this very ultra luxurious estate and Dorset

11
00:00:38,773 --> 00:00:41,333
Speaker 3: in the UK, and it's designed to provide this escape

12
00:00:41,333 --> 00:00:43,333
Speaker 3: for its very privileged guest. And it's owned by this

13
00:00:43,373 --> 00:00:47,293
Speaker 3: woman called Francesca Woodland who hides very dark secrets under

14
00:00:47,333 --> 00:00:51,893
Speaker 3: the sort of veneer of priestesst likeness. And she's set

15
00:00:51,973 --> 00:00:55,773
Speaker 3: to host this memorable summer Solster Feast. And her husband

16
00:00:56,093 --> 00:00:58,653
Speaker 3: is an aspiring art architect called Owen, and he's kind

17
00:00:58,653 --> 00:01:02,093
Speaker 3: of enchanted by this dream of facade that she and

18
00:01:02,133 --> 00:01:04,613
Speaker 3: the illusion that she's created about herself, and he's got

19
00:01:04,613 --> 00:01:07,493
Speaker 3: his own very dark secrets and about his past that

20
00:01:07,533 --> 00:01:10,853
Speaker 3: could threaten their future together. And then as the summer

21
00:01:10,853 --> 00:01:14,253
Speaker 3: solstice starts to take place her Farranchesca's plans are disrupted

22
00:01:14,253 --> 00:01:16,133
Speaker 3: by this mystery guest from her past, a woman called

23
00:01:16,173 --> 00:01:19,493
Speaker 3: Baala who's determined to confront a tragedy in her life.

24
00:01:19,853 --> 00:01:22,493
Speaker 3: And there's this young kitchen hand Eddie who finds himself

25
00:01:22,493 --> 00:01:25,613
Speaker 3: caught between the locals who're certing seeking retribution against the

26
00:01:25,613 --> 00:01:28,373
Speaker 3: Manner's guests and his dedication to his new job and

27
00:01:28,413 --> 00:01:31,053
Speaker 3: his dysfunctional family, so ort to get all these different

28
00:01:31,093 --> 00:01:33,013
Speaker 3: points of views are heard, and their reasons for being

29
00:01:33,013 --> 00:01:36,093
Speaker 3: at the Manner are revealed, and this veneer of opulent

30
00:01:36,133 --> 00:01:39,533
Speaker 3: tranquility begins to crack, and chapter by chapter and person

31
00:01:39,573 --> 00:01:42,613
Speaker 3: by person, and this tide of animosity among the locals

32
00:01:42,653 --> 00:01:45,053
Speaker 3: who have been very unhappy because their lives have been

33
00:01:45,053 --> 00:01:47,293
Speaker 3: cut off from the ancient forest and access to the beach,

34
00:01:47,373 --> 00:01:49,413
Speaker 3: and it's the hottest summer on record, and so you

35
00:01:49,613 --> 00:01:52,813
Speaker 3: just find yourself hooked and turning the pages faster to

36
00:01:52,853 --> 00:01:54,813
Speaker 3: find out exactly who's happening and why.

37
00:01:55,213 --> 00:01:58,493
Speaker 2: Very good. Okay, that's The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foldley.

38
00:01:58,493 --> 00:02:01,213
Speaker 2: You've also read Southern Man by Greg Isles.

39
00:02:01,613 --> 00:02:03,933
Speaker 3: So this is a real political thriller and it takes

40
00:02:03,973 --> 00:02:07,053
Speaker 3: this very deep look at racial tent in the small

41
00:02:07,093 --> 00:02:11,973
Speaker 3: Mississippi town called Bennionville, and there's been long simmering racial

42
00:02:11,973 --> 00:02:15,853
Speaker 3: grievances and they ignite when these white sheriff deputaries recklessly

43
00:02:15,893 --> 00:02:18,653
Speaker 3: open fire during a hip hop festival and attended my

44
00:02:18,853 --> 00:02:22,613
Speaker 3: mostly young blacks and killing several and wounding war including

45
00:02:24,413 --> 00:02:27,693
Speaker 3: a woman that's one of the main characters, pen Cage.

46
00:02:27,973 --> 00:02:31,933
Speaker 3: She's hurt and shot, and it becomes known as the

47
00:02:31,933 --> 00:02:35,333
Speaker 3: Mission Hill massacre. And these demonstrations start to take over

48
00:02:35,373 --> 00:02:37,773
Speaker 3: the city and protest and the National Guards there and

49
00:02:38,253 --> 00:02:41,453
Speaker 3: homes are torched and a black mirror is beaten. And

50
00:02:41,493 --> 00:02:43,853
Speaker 3: at the center of this is a character called pen Cage,

51
00:02:43,853 --> 00:02:46,173
Speaker 3: who's an attorney who quit practicing so that he could

52
00:02:46,173 --> 00:02:48,853
Speaker 3: spend his time writing. And his mother, Peggy, is dying

53
00:02:48,893 --> 00:02:51,253
Speaker 3: of cancer and his daughter Annie, who was the girl

54
00:02:51,293 --> 00:02:53,533
Speaker 3: that got shot at the hip hop festival, And so

55
00:02:53,573 --> 00:02:56,293
Speaker 3: all of this controversy intermo and in then amongst that,

56
00:02:56,413 --> 00:02:59,293
Speaker 3: as well as this other character called Robert E. Lee White,

57
00:02:59,653 --> 00:03:02,653
Speaker 3: and he's the Southern War hero who seizes the public

58
00:03:02,653 --> 00:03:05,733
Speaker 3: imagination as a third party presidential candidate, and he's done

59
00:03:05,773 --> 00:03:08,653
Speaker 3: with the TikTok and it's really became famous first, and

60
00:03:08,693 --> 00:03:12,613
Speaker 3: he's backed by this very eccentric Mississippi billinaire, and he's

61
00:03:12,613 --> 00:03:15,413
Speaker 3: writing the glory of his special Forces record, and he's

62
00:03:15,773 --> 00:03:19,453
Speaker 3: taking this massively unprecedented run at the White House, and

63
00:03:19,493 --> 00:03:23,053
Speaker 3: he has this plan that is interesting to say the least.

64
00:03:23,133 --> 00:03:26,813
Speaker 3: And so you get this story rippling with racial tension

65
00:03:27,453 --> 00:03:29,453
Speaker 3: and all sorts of things that are going on, and

66
00:03:29,533 --> 00:03:32,493
Speaker 3: this candidate and the burning plantations and the subplot and

67
00:03:32,533 --> 00:03:36,413
Speaker 3: some very despicable characters with no legal or ethical boundaries

68
00:03:36,453 --> 00:03:40,293
Speaker 3: and this just deteriorating situation. And the book's over nine

69
00:03:40,373 --> 00:03:42,533
Speaker 3: hundred pages, so you got a lot of story. But

70
00:03:43,173 --> 00:03:45,293
Speaker 3: you find yourself very caught up in this and it

71
00:03:45,333 --> 00:03:48,613
Speaker 3: takes you into the depths of this Mississippi town and

72
00:03:48,853 --> 00:03:52,893
Speaker 3: makes you think and question things. And it's very well written,

73
00:03:53,093 --> 00:03:55,733
Speaker 3: and even though it's a doorstop of a book, you

74
00:03:55,773 --> 00:03:58,453
Speaker 3: do find yourself very engrossed in the story. And I

75
00:03:58,493 --> 00:04:01,853
Speaker 3: didn't mind that it was over nine hundred ages. I

76
00:04:01,893 --> 00:04:03,613
Speaker 3: did mind that it's kind of hard to hold, but

77
00:04:04,333 --> 00:04:06,333
Speaker 3: I didn't mind that it's such a.

78
00:04:06,813 --> 00:04:09,533
Speaker 2: It's interesting here, so and and yeah, nine hundred pages

79
00:04:09,573 --> 00:04:12,013
Speaker 2: does seem like a lot, but yeah, that's fantastic. He's

80
00:04:12,053 --> 00:04:14,533
Speaker 2: an interesting guy, Gregyles, because he's I think he lives

81
00:04:14,573 --> 00:04:17,253
Speaker 2: in Mississippi. Could be wrong there, but I think he

82
00:04:17,333 --> 00:04:21,173
Speaker 2: lives born, maybe not born, but certainly raised in Mississippi.

83
00:04:22,093 --> 00:04:25,533
Speaker 2: But he's in this. There's this literary musical group I'm

84
00:04:25,533 --> 00:04:27,613
Speaker 2: not sure if you've ever come across them, I haven't,

85
00:04:27,653 --> 00:04:31,133
Speaker 2: called the rock Bottom Remainders, and it's just like it's

86
00:04:31,213 --> 00:04:34,933
Speaker 2: like just literary figures from the US men who get together.

87
00:04:35,013 --> 00:04:37,853
Speaker 2: I know, not just men. I've just googled them. Amy

88
00:04:37,893 --> 00:04:41,293
Speaker 2: Tans in there as well. So a group of literary figures,

89
00:04:41,693 --> 00:04:45,613
Speaker 2: including the likes of Stephen King and Matt Groening, who

90
00:04:45,653 --> 00:04:49,053
Speaker 2: you know made The Simpsons. So they are, yeah, apparently.

91
00:04:49,733 --> 00:04:51,973
Speaker 3: A very cliquic group of people.

92
00:04:52,093 --> 00:04:57,053
Speaker 2: Yeah. So they called the rock Bottom Remainders or the Remainders,

93
00:04:57,613 --> 00:04:59,173
Speaker 2: and I think they get together and like do some

94
00:04:59,253 --> 00:05:01,893
Speaker 2: charity stuff, you know. But anyway, it's just it's one

95
00:05:01,893 --> 00:05:03,893
Speaker 2: of those kind of funny things. But I recognized Greg

96
00:05:03,893 --> 00:05:05,573
Speaker 2: Ays as one of the members of that. So there

97
00:05:05,573 --> 00:05:09,733
Speaker 2: you go. Random fact for your weekend, Catherine, Thank you

98
00:05:09,733 --> 00:05:12,733
Speaker 2: for the box those recommendations. Once again. Southern Man by

99
00:05:12,813 --> 00:05:16,133
Speaker 2: Greg Isles is that big nine hundred pager, The Thriller

100
00:05:16,173 --> 00:05:19,173
Speaker 2: set in Mississippi And The Midnight Feast with Catherine's First

101
00:05:19,213 --> 00:05:21,893
Speaker 2: Pick that's by Lucy Foley. Both of them will be

102
00:05:21,933 --> 00:05:24,853
Speaker 2: at Newstalk SHADB dot co dot nz if you want

103
00:05:24,853 --> 00:05:25,893
Speaker 2: to go and track one down.

104
00:05:27,173 --> 00:05:30,293
Speaker 1: For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live

105
00:05:30,373 --> 00:05:33,653
Speaker 1: to Newstalks dB from nine am Saturday, or follow the

106
00:05:33,693 --> 00:05:35,173
Speaker 1: podcast on iHeartRadio