Main content

A Good Read: Chantal Joffe and SΓ©amas O'Reilly

Artist Chantal Joffe and writer SΓ©amas O'Reilly pick their favourite books with Harriett Gilbert, among which are an English classic, a graphic novel, and a tragic tale.

The artist Chantal Joffe picks I Capture The Castle, the English classic by Dodie Smith. Set in 1930s rural England, it relates the adventures of an eccentric family over the course of about a year. It's a book Chantal has come back to again and again, ever since she was a teenager. SΓ©amas O'Reilly champions the Irish novel, A Goat's Song by Dermot Healy, which he argues deserves to be more widely known. And Harriett Gilbert recommends a graphic memoir by the cartoonist Alison Bechdel, called The Secret to Superhuman Strength.

Chantal Joffe is an artist known for her often larger-than-life-sized paintings, of women and children in particular, which have been shown in solo exhibitions around the world. SΓ©amas O'Reilly is a columnist for the Observer whose memoir is Did Ye Hear Mammy Die.

Comment on instagram: @agoodreadbbc
Produced by Eliza Lomas for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Audio

Release date:

Available now

28 minutes

Books

Celebrating reading and the 100 novels that have shaped our world.

How many of these 100 Novels have you read?

How many of these 100 Novels have you read?

After a passionate debate, our panel has come up with this surprising literary selection.

Opening Lines

Opening Lines

John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Finding Your Story

Finding Your Story

Ten remarkable novels about identity: Which one will help you discover yourself?

Podcast