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Episode details

Radio 4,22 Mar 2026,28 mins

Jan Carson

Take Four Books

Available for over a year

Northern Irish writer and multi‑award‑winning novelist Jan Carson talks to James Crawford about her new book and the three key influences that shaped it. Her latest novel, Few and Far Between, transports readers to an alternative Northern Ireland, where the country’s great inland loch is partially drained in the 1960s, leaving behind a chain of islands that become a refuge for those seeking to escape political strife. For her influences, Jan chose: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (1971); Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (2017); and Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (1951). Producer: Rachael O'Neill Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

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