1 00:00:07,133 --> 00:00:10,493 Speaker 1: You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast 2 00:00:10,613 --> 00:00:11,733 Speaker 1: from News Talks at Me. 3 00:00:12,853 --> 00:00:15,893 Speaker 2: Catherine Rain's out book reviewer, has here with what might 4 00:00:15,933 --> 00:00:18,533 Speaker 2: be the most keenly anticipated new book of this year. 5 00:00:18,573 --> 00:00:23,013 Speaker 2: Hey Catherine, Hey Jack, So tell us about Sally Rooney's Intimzzo. 6 00:00:23,853 --> 00:00:26,373 Speaker 3: So this follows to brothers Peter and Ivan, and they've 7 00:00:26,413 --> 00:00:29,213 Speaker 3: just lost their father, had been battling cancer for many years, 8 00:00:29,733 --> 00:00:32,533 Speaker 3: and their mother divorced their father years ago, and she's 9 00:00:32,573 --> 00:00:34,533 Speaker 3: kind of present in the story, but not particularly involved 10 00:00:34,533 --> 00:00:35,973 Speaker 3: in their lives. That she's got a new husband and 11 00:00:36,013 --> 00:00:39,133 Speaker 3: step children. And Peter's in his early thirties and he's 12 00:00:39,173 --> 00:00:41,733 Speaker 3: a civil rights lawyer, and he's this very kind of 13 00:00:41,813 --> 00:00:44,653 Speaker 3: cool presence about him. And he's actually juggling two relationships, 14 00:00:44,653 --> 00:00:46,973 Speaker 3: one with Sylvia, his first love, who he's stayed very 15 00:00:47,013 --> 00:00:49,973 Speaker 3: close to, and Naomi, who's a college student who's very 16 00:00:50,053 --> 00:00:53,213 Speaker 3: carefree attitude, and she makes money from her online following. 17 00:00:53,733 --> 00:00:56,133 Speaker 3: And then is Ivan, and he's in his early thirties 18 00:00:56,173 --> 00:00:58,613 Speaker 3: and he was a chess prodigy and after a few 19 00:00:58,653 --> 00:01:01,533 Speaker 3: years of dealing with his father's illness and struggling to 20 00:01:01,613 --> 00:01:04,973 Speaker 3: find success again both in his personal life and professionally, 21 00:01:04,973 --> 00:01:07,973 Speaker 3: and he's quite socially awkward, almost the complete opposite of 22 00:01:07,973 --> 00:01:10,373 Speaker 3: his older brother. And he's fallen in love with this 23 00:01:10,453 --> 00:01:13,013 Speaker 3: older woman, Margaret, who's dealing with divorce, and you know, 24 00:01:13,093 --> 00:01:17,253 Speaker 3: she's not sure about their less than conventional romance. And 25 00:01:17,933 --> 00:01:20,853 Speaker 3: the cracks of the story that is revolving around these 26 00:01:20,853 --> 00:01:23,013 Speaker 3: two brothers and their respective in their lives and their 27 00:01:23,133 --> 00:01:25,453 Speaker 3: inability to connect with each other after the loss of 28 00:01:25,453 --> 00:01:28,733 Speaker 3: their father and the grief that it causes. And Peter's 29 00:01:28,733 --> 00:01:31,013 Speaker 3: playing games with the woman's in his life and Ivan 30 00:01:31,093 --> 00:01:33,853 Speaker 3: seeking solace and some old friends and chess, and both 31 00:01:33,853 --> 00:01:36,773 Speaker 3: are in over their heads and they hurt themselves in 32 00:01:36,813 --> 00:01:40,133 Speaker 3: each other. And the books divided into three parts, and 33 00:01:40,173 --> 00:01:45,973 Speaker 3: Sally Rooney builds the tension just in a very intense way. 34 00:01:46,533 --> 00:01:48,973 Speaker 3: And the third part is the characters and storylines when 35 00:01:48,973 --> 00:01:51,973 Speaker 3: the first two halves begin to meld together, and Peter's 36 00:01:52,053 --> 00:01:55,213 Speaker 3: chapters are written in the stream of consciousness style and 37 00:01:55,293 --> 00:01:57,693 Speaker 3: Ivan's chapters are real contrast to this, and you know, 38 00:01:57,773 --> 00:02:00,453 Speaker 3: like how his mind works and very structured and methodical, 39 00:02:01,173 --> 00:02:03,933 Speaker 3: and so you get this story that's also told with 40 00:02:03,973 --> 00:02:06,813 Speaker 3: the background of social commentary around it as well. Wage 41 00:02:06,853 --> 00:02:11,013 Speaker 3: labor and housing crisis, and monetary power dynamics, and religion 42 00:02:11,133 --> 00:02:14,653 Speaker 3: and discussions about all sorts of different things. And it's 43 00:02:14,693 --> 00:02:18,693 Speaker 3: beautifully told and very masterfully written, and yet it's well 44 00:02:18,693 --> 00:02:19,213 Speaker 3: worth a read. 45 00:02:19,653 --> 00:02:22,653 Speaker 2: Sounds great, Okay, cool. So that's intermezzo by Sally Rooney. 46 00:02:22,813 --> 00:02:24,613 Speaker 2: How do you reckon it compares to her other books? 47 00:02:24,693 --> 00:02:28,973 Speaker 3: Catherine Um, it would be one of would be one 48 00:02:29,013 --> 00:02:31,653 Speaker 3: of the ones that I It's probably not my favorite, 49 00:02:31,693 --> 00:02:34,813 Speaker 3: but it would probably be second or third in the rankings. 50 00:02:34,893 --> 00:02:37,533 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm very good. Okay. So next up The Siege 51 00:02:37,653 --> 00:02:39,573 Speaker 2: by Ben mc By Ben McIntyre. 52 00:02:40,413 --> 00:02:43,533 Speaker 3: So this is nonfiction and it starts in the spring 53 00:02:43,573 --> 00:02:47,693 Speaker 3: of nineteen eighty when six armed gunmen storm the Iranian 54 00:02:47,853 --> 00:02:51,253 Speaker 3: m embassy in London and take hostages and cause this 55 00:02:51,533 --> 00:02:55,653 Speaker 3: very tense six days in which there's British priests and negotiators, 56 00:02:55,693 --> 00:03:00,053 Speaker 3: intelligent agencies, the SAS, and they're scrambling to de escalate 57 00:03:00,093 --> 00:03:05,053 Speaker 3: this very volatile situation that could erupt. And this small 58 00:03:05,133 --> 00:03:09,333 Speaker 3: group of of men who take these twenty six hostages captive, 59 00:03:09,373 --> 00:03:12,533 Speaker 3: and there's amongst that is some bb Bleck Sea employees 60 00:03:12,533 --> 00:03:14,733 Speaker 3: and this British policeman, a guy called Trevor Locke, who 61 00:03:14,773 --> 00:03:18,293 Speaker 3: worked at the embassy and at the perception at the 62 00:03:18,333 --> 00:03:20,853 Speaker 3: time was that these were a very clearche Arab group 63 00:03:20,933 --> 00:03:24,013 Speaker 3: of terrorists, and they were actually mostly educated protesters who 64 00:03:24,013 --> 00:03:27,613 Speaker 3: were against the regime of the aldertokmen who had betrayed, 65 00:03:27,613 --> 00:03:30,853 Speaker 3: who felt they'd betrayed their dreams of this independent Arabistan 66 00:03:30,933 --> 00:03:33,973 Speaker 3: when the beauti brutal regime of the Shah was overthrown, 67 00:03:34,533 --> 00:03:36,693 Speaker 3: and they wanted Britain to take their side in the 68 00:03:36,773 --> 00:03:41,053 Speaker 3: independence battle. And this not known by anybody at the time. 69 00:03:41,333 --> 00:03:44,693 Speaker 3: This whole operation was bankrolled by said at the police 70 00:03:44,973 --> 00:03:48,293 Speaker 3: secret police force of Sadam Hussein, and the operation was 71 00:03:48,333 --> 00:03:51,333 Speaker 3: planned by two very notorious terrorists at the time. And 72 00:03:51,373 --> 00:03:54,453 Speaker 3: of course this is all captured on live television as well, 73 00:03:54,573 --> 00:03:56,373 Speaker 3: and it's just this. You get this, you know, You've 74 00:03:56,373 --> 00:03:59,493 Speaker 3: got the police, negotiators, the rival protesters clashing outside the 75 00:03:59,493 --> 00:04:05,813 Speaker 3: embassy six and the CIA and everybody's trying to rescue them. 76 00:04:06,013 --> 00:04:08,333 Speaker 3: But in side there's Locke and his fellow hostages who 77 00:04:08,373 --> 00:04:11,533 Speaker 3: were trying to outwit and outflank their captors. And then 78 00:04:11,573 --> 00:04:15,013 Speaker 3: on the sixth day, after terror's terrorists execute the embassy 79 00:04:15,013 --> 00:04:17,613 Speaker 3: press attache and dumped his body on the front deilstep 80 00:04:17,693 --> 00:04:20,973 Speaker 3: that sparks the essays ray, and you get this story 81 00:04:21,013 --> 00:04:25,173 Speaker 3: of ordinary men and women under immense pressure, and Ben 82 00:04:25,933 --> 00:04:28,733 Speaker 3: McIntyre is able to with the meticulous research that he's done, 83 00:04:28,733 --> 00:04:30,733 Speaker 3: and you get the book that kind of conveys that 84 00:04:31,373 --> 00:04:34,533 Speaker 3: tension inside and what happens between the hostages and the captors, 85 00:04:34,533 --> 00:04:37,333 Speaker 3: and the volatile mood swings and what the public are 86 00:04:37,333 --> 00:04:39,653 Speaker 3: thinking and the paranoia and all sorts of things that 87 00:04:39,693 --> 00:04:42,853 Speaker 3: are going on, and you get this very fascinating historical 88 00:04:42,973 --> 00:04:47,053 Speaker 3: narrative story that still has ramifications today and it's but 89 00:04:47,213 --> 00:04:50,573 Speaker 3: well told. You feel like the parts of the story 90 00:04:50,573 --> 00:04:52,853 Speaker 3: and the historical things all come together and yeah, makes 91 00:04:52,893 --> 00:04:53,493 Speaker 3: a very good read. 92 00:04:53,653 --> 00:04:56,013 Speaker 2: This sounds awesome, Okay, cool. So that's The Siege by 93 00:04:56,093 --> 00:04:59,173 Speaker 2: Ben McIntire. Catherine's firs book, of course, is Intimatezo by 94 00:04:59,333 --> 00:05:02,853 Speaker 2: Sally Rooney. Both of those will be on the website. 95 00:05:02,693 --> 00:05:05,773 Speaker 1: For more From Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. Listen live 96 00:05:05,893 --> 00:05:08,413 Speaker 1: to News to hawks Hed B from nine am Saturday, 97 00:05:08,653 --> 00:05:10,693 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.