Claire Nicholls

Colm Turveen, do you remember how this story started?

Look, it is so wonderful to talk about these stories and get an insight into your process, Colm Tobin.

Your collection is called The News from Dublin.

It's out on the 31st of March here in Australia and it's published by Pan Macmillan.

It's so fun to talk to you again.

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

I'm Clare Nicholls.

And I'm going to take you to America now, where a young Afghan woman, just 18 years old, is dead.

And her story will be retold by the people around her, members of the Afghan community, her teachers and school friends, neighbours, investigators, witnesses, lawyers, activists and more.

In this chorus of voices, the people we never hear from are those that know the truth, the woman herself, and the refugee family that came from poverty to achieve the American dream before it all fell apart.

The book is called Good People, and it is a totally page-turning debut by Afghan-born, Canadian-based author Patmina Sabat.

Hi, Patmina.

Hi, Clare.

Thank you so much for having me.

So you were born in Kabul not long after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

How long did you live there for?

And how long did it then take you to get to America?

Wow.

Okay.

So you've got this incredible background, this incredible story, but I guess your memories start in America.