Bookends with Mattea Roach cover art

Bookends with Mattea Roach

Bookends with Mattea Roach

By: CBC
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Summary

When the book ends, the conversation begins. Mattea Roach speaks with writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read.

Copyright © CBC 2026
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Episodes
  • Life of Pi author Yann Martel on the wars in your everyday
    May 6 2026

    Yann Martel didn’t think anybody would read Life of Pi when he first published it. 25 years later, his story of a teenage boy and a tiger adrift in the ocean still captivates readers, and Yann says his books are like his children — he loves them all equally. Yann’s new novel is called Son of Nobody. In the book, a Canadian scholar’s life changes when an Iliad-like epic poem is newly discovered. When he travels across the world to study it, he uncovers threads that are far more personal than expected. Son of Nobody is an exploration of identity, myth and class, and it’s a fresh take on a piece of literary history. This week Yann joins Mattea Roach to reflect on his past work, his interest in mythology and why humans should create, no matter what.


    Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

    • The last book Julian Barnes will ever write
    • How do we restore our sense of wonder in media?


    Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks


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    34 mins
  • How to find hope in a funeral home
    May 3 2026

    When Mai Nguyen lost her daughter just days after she was born, writing about a similar character in a novel brought her comfort. Her new book, Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead, is a heartbreaking but humorous novel about a grieving mother who starts working at a funeral home. Cleo Dang’s world is shattered when she loses her newborn due to complications during labour. Drowning in grief and the discomfort of friends and family, she takes a job at a funeral home and comes to learn intimately about her own loss and what grief means for others. It’s a deeply personal story based on Mai’s own experiences, and despite the subject, she tells the story with levity and hope. This week, Mai tells Mattea Roach about her own grief journey, balancing sorrow and laughter and why she was wrong about funeral home employees.


    Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

    • Sarah Leavitt: Illustrating grief too wide for words
    • What is extreme caretaking?


    Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

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    31 mins
  • Should you be afraid of the wolf hour?
    Apr 29 2026

    The “wolf hour” is a term for the deep-night period between roughly three and four in the morning. The world is quiet, your guard is down … and if you’re anything like the thriller writer Jo Nesbø, it’s the perfect time to put some of your darkest thoughts to the page. Wolf Hour is the latest of Jo’s gritty crime novels. It’s an immersive story about a troubled detective and a Norwegian journalist solving the same Minneapolis murder, six years apart. Like many of Jo’s books, it’s a “Nordic noir” thriller that explores what drives people to evil … and if there’s a monster in all of us. This week, Jo tells Mattea Roach about exploring humanity’s dark side, adapting his work for television and why all crime writing is political.


    Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

    • When young men murder, what can we learn?
    • Chris Hadfield — from astronaut to author


    Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks


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    29 mins
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