Claire Nicholls

I think I loved his next one, Young Mungo, even more, but I found it incredibly wrenching and difficult to read.

Is there that same difficulty with John of John?

Music Against the Night.

It sounds incredible.

When you read a book that good and you go, this is the book I've read, how does that make you feel as a novelist?

You go, oh, I wish it was mine?

And your book Whistler is among that.

I absolutely adored it.

Anne Patchett, thank you so much for joining me today.

Anne's book Whistler is published by Bloomsbury and those other books she recommended were John of John by Douglas Stewart and Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li.

You're listening to The Book Show on ABC Radio National.

I'm Clare Nicholls.

Now the Australian author Romy Ash is here.

Romy was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award for her debut novel Floundering and now she's back with her second.

This one is called Mantle and it is about a woman coming to Tasmania to care for her dying mum and a weird rash that turns into something even weirder.

Hi Romy.

Hi, hello.

Thanks for having me.

Oh, it's a pleasure.

I want to start by talking about Lutruwita or Tasmania, where this story is set.