Start telling love stories and chances are, you'll find yourself telling tales of transgression. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Joyce Carol Oates talks about the harm done by family secrets. P.D. James muses on why women are so good at crime fiction. A young, Black, gay male writer gets inside the head of a middle-aged white woman. And what happens when you have to wear not one, but twelve kimonos.
Liza Dalby is the first Western woman to become a geisha. Her novel, "The Tale of Murasaki" re-creates the life of the author of Japan's classic "The Tale of Genji." Dalby tells Steve Paulson what being a geisha means and explains why modern women have trouble wearing kimonos. Also, Joyce Carol Oates talks with Jim Fleming about some of the stories in her book "Faithless: Tales of Transgression." Oates says her stories are about keeping faith, breaking faith and facing ethical dilemmas.SEGMENT 2:
Rupert Thomson's latest novel, "The Book of Revelation," straddles a razor thin line between literature and pornography. He recaps his plot for Steve Paulson: a man is kidnaped and held sexual hostage by three women. Thomsen says what really interested him was seeing how a man would respond to this situation and how he would try to overcome the experience. Also, Thomas Glave is a young, Black, gay writer who's lived in New York and Jamaica. His collection is called "Whose Song? And Other Stories." Glave tells Jim Fleming that he tries to understand and identify with all of his characters, even the women and the racists.SEGMENT 3:
Mystery novelist P.D. James talks with Anne Strainchamps about "Death in Holy Orders," the latest Adam Dalgleish book. James explains where Dalgleish came from, how well she knows him, and how he's likely to end his days.Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 01-09-30-A.
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