Listen "Gurnaik Johal"
Episode Synopsis
Take Four Books speaks to writer Gurnaik Johal about his debut novel ‘Saraswati’, a tale about a holy river that appears to resurface in modern-day India. The story begins with Satnam, a man living in Wolverhampton, whose life becomes entangled in the unfolding events. His journey leads him to discover six distant relatives scattered across the world, all drawn together in a rapidly changing India.‘Saraswati’ was shortlisted for this year’s Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. The three books that influenced Gurnaik’s novel are: The Great Derangement by Amitav Ghosh; Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad; and Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz.The supporting contributor is multi-award-winning writer, Professor of World Literature and Creative Writing at Newcastle University, and BBC New Generation Thinker, Preti Taneja. Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
More episodes of the podcast Take Four Books
Alexander McCall Smith
30/11/2025
Karl Ove Knausgaard
23/11/2025
Olga Ravn
16/11/2025
Katherine Rundell
09/11/2025
Chris Kraus
26/10/2025
Philippa Gregory
19/10/2025
John Banville
12/10/2025
William Boyd
28/09/2025
Graham Norton
21/09/2025
Ian McEwan
14/09/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.