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The Novelist as God

January 29, 2009
SOF OnDemand:
» Download (mp3, 52:08) ¦  » Listen Now (RealAudio, 52:08) ¦  » Podcast

Our guest has grappled with large moral and religious questions on and off the page. We discover what she discerned — in the act of creating a new universe — about God and about dilemmas of evil, doubt, and free will. The ultimate moral of any life and any event, she believes, only shows itself across generations. And so the novelist, like God, she says, paints with the brush of time.

Program Details

Hear the Music

» SOF Playlist ¦ hear full-length tracks of each song played in the program

About the Image

Giancarlo Neri's public sculpture "The Writer" on Hampstead Heath, London.
(photo: Andrew Bulhak/Flickr)

Unheard Cuts

» Extended Interview with Russell (mp3, 1:44.31)

Krista's conversation with Russell was wide-ranging in its scope. We had to excise many of her stories, including one about her research into Wild West gunslinger Doc Holliday and more thoughts on Judaism, other worlds, and music. Download the mp3 and let us know what you think of our edits.

SOF Observed

» The Best Album Ever Made
We probed a bit deeper into the musical affections of a "well-ordered" novelist — tastes that include Beethoven, Chopin, and Puccini but also Van Halen and Def Leppard. A light-hearted fiesta of conversation and sound.

» Ad Astra Per Aspera
What would today's "message in a bottle" to the stars contain? Hear sounds from the Golden Record and share your ideas.

» Mary Doria Russell on the Music of Little Green Men
Hear Russell talk about the meaning and influence of music in her writing.

Spread the Word

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SOF First Person

» Reflections ¦ tell us and other audience members what this program meant to you.

Voice on the Radio

Mary Doria Russell Mary Doria Russell

Russell is a retired paleoanthropologist and the author of four novels, including The Sparrow and Children of God.