Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Novelist known for crime thrillers including The Ice House and The Sculptress, adapted for television and translated worldwide.
On the island
Eight records
I regard it as the greatest song, greatest pop song written this century or last century. And I just adore Queen.
Jerry Allison, Norman Petty, Buddy Holly
I think this was definitely my first pop hero at school. I joined his fan club, although he was dead by that time.
I adore this anthem and I'm I'm afraid I regularly wish it was ours.
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral': IV. Ode to Joy
this is for my husband. This is Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. And we played this at our wedding and it's still his favourite piece of music.
New Orleans FunctionFavourite
this is a wonderful record. This is Louis Armstrong's New Orleans Function, and it's uh it's a New Orleans funeral, in effect.
this is a sketch or part of the the script from Life of Brian, and this is for my two sons who can do the entire film off by heart.
features in the Skull's Bridal, and Richard's a friend of mine.
I think probably because how when I heard him sing it in the Three Tenors concert. I was bowled over by it. I just think it is the most wonderful piece of music.
In conversation
Presenter asks
0:26Why do you invariably start with a body [in your books]?
When I started The Ice House, I was very aware that I was going to be compared with Agatha Christie … So I actually thought I must put the body right at the start with all the disgustingness of a corrupt body … Creating on the page a really unpleasant dead body. I do enjoy doing that.
Presenter asks
2:58Why don't you know who done it when you begin these books?
The reason I do it this way is if I set out at the beginning knowing who had done it, or thinking I knew who had done it, I think I would write the book in a certain way. I'd either write too much of the person I thought had done it, or too little.
Presenter asks
9:52Why did boarding school work so well for you?
I think because I'm the kind I'm a very independent character and it brought out my independence. And it teaches you to be very sociable. … You learn to be independent of your parents, you learn to be sociable, get on with people, otherwise you sink rather.
The keepsakes
The book
It's also a reference book, strictly speaking. Yes, but it's got everything I'll need.
The luxury
The reason I would like that, please, is one, it's a beautiful painting. Two, When things get really desperate, I might be able to use it as a roof shelter. And three, if everybody in the world knows that I'm sitting on a painting that's worth fifty five million dollars, or probably more by now, I hope they'll come and find me.
Presenter asks
How long did you leave writing, and why and when did you begin again?
I came back from dropping both boys off at school, and I came back and I said to [my neighbour] … 'Do you know I've got a whole day in front of me and I feel like going down on my knees and thanking God' and she said to me, 'Minette, do something with it' and I thought she's absolutely right. So I went in and I started the ice house
Presenter asks
21:26How much inspiration is there from these prisoners you visit?
They give me … wonderful insights into … why they're there, what their lives [are like]. … I'm always looking for insight into what takes people into prison. And it's very it's very sad how similar most of their backgrounds are. And it's these issues that I do try to bring into the stories.
“The secret is smell, I've decided. As long as you can inject smell onto the page. … I think everybody knows the smell of death. It's when you open your fridge door … and the meat has gone off.”
“What we want is we like to read it. We like that free song of horror, but we like sort of the confirmation of our own humanity at the end, when we can say, I could never have done that.”
“I think it's very, very important that women do fight. I think it's hard, of course it's desperate if a knife is being held to your throat. But I still urge people to run away, scream, do not give in tamely, because I think men then assume that it's such an easy thing to do.”