Bookends with Mattea Roach

CBC

When the book ends, the conversation begins. Mattea Roach speaks with writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read.

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25 episodes
weekly
Avg 29 min
English

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S3 · E2
Wednesday · 24 min
Colson Whitehead’s lifelong love affair with New York
The criminal underworld of 1980s New York City. The last heist of a mostly-retired crook. A city battling for its future. Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Trilogy reaches its conclusion with his latest novel, Cool Machine. It follows Ray Carney, a former criminal who's gone mostly straight in his middle age … until he becomes entangled with a legendary criminal mastermind and is yanked back into a world he thought he left behind. The city has a life and a will of its own, and there’s nobody
S3 · E2
Sunday · 31 min
What if your boss was a literal supervillain?
You might think that your boss is evil … but what if they were an actual supervillain? Natalie Zina Walschots brings that idea to life in her novels Hench and Villain. The series follows Anna, an auditor who does office work for the dark side. After being severely injured by a superhero, Anna is out for revenge … but it turns out that the difference between heroes and villains isn’t as clear cut as you might think. So what happens when spreadsheets and supervillains collide?
S3 · E1
September 16 · 29 min
Did the pandemic radicalize you?
The phrase "unprecedented times” was repeated over and over again during the pandemic … and Malavika Kannan’s debut novel, Unprecedented Times, dives into university life during that period. The story follows Rishi, an Indian American student who’s ready to start fresh at Stanford after her strict Florida upbringing. She has big plans to shed her old skin and finally meet people just like her, but that journey is cut short by the arrival of COVID-19. As Rishi and her peers struggle w
S3 · E1
September 13 · 31 min
Why age-gap friendships are a risk worth taking
How many of your friends are over 30 years older than you? When Marc Bendavid was 12, he met a teacher that changed his life. His debut novel, The Sapling, is about their generation-defying bond … and living in those memories in the wake of her death. So how can a meaningful friendship between a 12 year-old and a 44 year-old defy what we think about the gap between generations? And how does someone live and change through our memories of them? This week, Marc joins Mattea Roach to ta
S2 · E52
August 30 · 28 min
Why writing a novel is like riding a horse
Imagine you walk into your bedroom one day … and there’s a horse going on a rampage. Better yet, it’s a horse from a childhood story that has haunted you ever since you first heard it. Who’s the first person you call? In Ali Smith’s new novel, Glyph, estranged sisters Petra and Patch are brought back together when a story from their childhood comes to life in an incredible way. But what makes a ghost story real? And what can it tell us about the world we live in now? This week, Ali j
S2 · E51
August 23 · 26 min
A city just for adulterers
For cheating couples who are sneaking around, it’s paradise … but how long until the cracks start to show? Sophie Mackintosh’s new novel, Permanence, follows secret lovers Clara and Francis. Francis is married, and they’ve been stealing brief moments with each other for months. When they wake up one day in a dreamy city where they don’t have to hide, everything seems perfect … until things take a sinister turn and Clara and Francis realize they can’t escape the real world forever. Th
S2 · E50
August 16 · 28 min
It’s tough being the new kid in town. The zombies don’t help
You might be used to moving around … but you've probably never ended up in a town full of zombies, aliens and sad clowns. Jon Claytor’s new graphic novel, Nowhere, is about a young boy named Joel whose family is constantly moving. He’s trying to adjust to life in a new small town, but things get complicated when a giant, otherworldly cube appears and people start mysteriously disappearing. Jon drew from his own nomadic childhood to craft the story, and his rich visuals tell a spooky
S2 · E49
August 9 · 27 min
Can you justify killing bad men?
Bad men, bee warned. Imani Thompson’s buzzy debut novel, Honey, follows a jaded PhD student named Yrsa. She’s bored with her work and frustrated with the culture at Cambridge … but when she accidentally kills a shady professor using a bee, she realizes that she may have found her calling. As Yrsa murders more men in the name of justice, she feels a greater sense of purpose in her violent mission. But can Yrsa really justify the blood on her hands? And what happens when the killings c
S2 · E48
August 2 · 29 min
The dazzling, dangerous world of a 20th century spy
David Baerwald is a famous songwriter who’s worked with artists like Joni Mitchell and Sheryl Crow. But when he uncovered a family history filled with spies, music, and wartime secrets … David went from notes to novels and wrote a sweeping historical debut. The Fire Agent fictionalizes the story of Ernst Baerwald, David’s real grandfather. In 1900, Ernst was recruited to become a spy. His work took him across two continents and through two world wars, and his life became an adventure
S2 · E47
July 26 · 30 min
Why you shouldn’t go gentle into that good night
If you just let go of everything that’s out of your control … can you truly be happy? Maria Semple tests that philosophy in her new novel, Go Gentle. The story follows Adora Hazzard, a Stoic philosopher in her 50s who lives a calm, mostly happy life with her teen daughter and a coven of women friends. If you think a book about Stoicism might bore you, don’t speak too soon. This one also has art heists, divorce, a toxic Hollywood comedy scene … and the philosophy stuff might be more r
S2 · E46
July 19 · 30 min
From Hamnet to Land, Maggie O'Farrell maps uncharted history
Maggie O’Farrell brought Shakespeare’s son out of the footnotes of history with her 2020 novel Hamnet. Its hugely successful movie adaptation made a splash at the Oscars and Maggie herself earned a nomination for the screenplay. Maggie’s new novel, Land, continues to pull from the shadows of history ... while also drawing on her own family myths. It's a sweeping epic that begins with a father-son mapmaking duo in 19th century Ireland. This week, Maggie joins Mattea Roach to
S2 · E45
July 12 · 28 min
Can you make a family — and a country — great again?
Imagine your entire family … immediate and extended … living in one apartment complex together. Karan Mahajan’s latest novel, The Complex, follows four generations of a family across India and America in the 1970s. In Delhi, most of the family lives in a crumbling residential compound. They’re the descendants of a political legend, and the family longs to return to their era of greatness. These family tensions mirror the country of India itself, which is changing politically, economi
S2 · E44
July 5 · 29 min
Sci-fi, survival and the final frontier
If an asteroid was hurtling towards Earth, and you had no other choice … would you upload your mind to a computer to survive? Robert J. Sawyer explores that dilemma in his new novel, The Downloaded 2: Ghosts in the Machine. The Canadian sci-fi legend’s latest is all about technology and identity at the end of the world … and as someone who has thought a lot about mortality, Robert has a unique perspective on how technology, humanity and death align. Robert tells Mattea Roach about wh
S2 · E43
June 28 · 53 min
Bookends highlights: Y’all know we’re Canada down
Coast to coast, province to province, soccer pitch to hockey rink … there’s no one Canadian experience, and no one Canadian story. This week, Bookends is highlighting four Canadian writers we’ve featured on the show so far. From a hockey drama in the maritimes, to Canadian soldiers in the Second World War, to a long journey North, these stories about Canada might surprise you … or they might remind you of home. In this special Canada Day edition of the show, we’re revisiting Mattea Roach’s co
S2 · E42
June 24 · 31 min
Marjane Satrapi: In conversation with Eleanor Wachtel
When Marjane Satrapi died earlier this month, we lost an acclaimed graphic novelist and filmmaker … and a voice that explored Iranian society in a wholly unique way. You might know Marjane from her celebrated graphic memoirs Persepolis and Persepolis II. They’re about her experience growing up in an unconventional household during Iran’s Islamic revolution, and the screen adaptation was nominated for an Academy Award. This week, we’re revisiting Eleanor Wachtel’s 2011 conver
S2 · E42
June 21 · 29 min
What does it mean to be a dad, anyway?
Fatherhood isn’t easy. It might be hard to put the experience into words … but Jordan Abel’s new poetry collection does just that. Dad Era is addressed to Jordan’s daughter Phoenix. Through free verse, pictures and a mix of ideas both personal and universal, the collection explores the nuances of fatherhood, Indigenous parenting and what it’s like to raise a child in a world that gets more uncertain by the day. Like his previous work, Dad Era showcases Jordan’s ability to be
June 17 · 23 min
This time loop story digs deeper than Groundhog Day
What would you do if you were stuck reliving the same day on loop? Splurge with your ever-replenishing bank account? Travel, so you can experience more than one season? Would it feel freeing, or lonely? In Solvej Balle's series On the Calculation of Volume, Tara Selter is stuck reliving the same November 18th. Nearly 40 years after the idea first came to Solvej, her time loop tale is speaking to readers around the world with its explorations of love, hope, de
June 14 · 35 min
A raunchy workplace satire ... about deradicalizing ISIS brides?
When Nussaibah Younis decided to write a book about ISIS brides, everyone expected it to be an academic tome. Instead, she wrote a raunchy satire about a woman who takes a job in a warzone to get over a recent heartbreak. Nussaibah's debut novel, Fundamentally, sees protagonist Nadia in over her head working for the UN in Baghdad. But her sense of purpose renews when she connects deeply with Sara, a young ISIS bride who Nadia becomes intent on saving. Drawing on her own professional
S2 · E40
June 7 · 30 min
Here’s why Fran Lebowitz needs a cigarette
Fran Lebowitz is a legendary writer and critic. She’s made a career of sharing hot takes without apology, and she didn’t hold back when she joined Mattea Roach for a special on-stage event in Toronto. You might know Fran from her books Metropolitan Life and Social Studies or her appearances in two Martin Scorsese documentaries. Fran is perhaps most famous for sharp social commentary — from airplane fashion, to the silly questions asked by educated youth, to the return of smo
S2 · E39
June 3 · 22 min
Dive into the dark underbelly of rural Ontario
It’s easy to glamorize small town life … but Kevin Hardcastle’s new novel, County Road Six, is all about the darkness lurking in rural Canada. When Arthur O’Hare dies, his three daughters return to the family farm to sort through what he left behind. But what they inherit is more than land — it’s a shadowy history they never knew existed. County Road Six is a dramatic thriller about economic decline, family secrets and the lengths people will go to survive. It’s a compelling

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