Eleanor Wachtel

Eleanor Wachtel is the best book and author reviewer. She has a show on the CBC Radio that is so insightful. As well, during the Toronto International Authors' Festival, she will interview a number of authors and the shows will air later on the radio. Wachtel is direct and knowledgeable. This book is a compilation of her talks with notable people-Harold Bloom, Jared Diamond, Desmond Tutu. George Steiner, Susan Sontag, Jane Goodall, Gloria Steinem and more. The discussions cover books and important events in the lives of these notable people. The read is exhilarating and humbling- how can the reader learn about the vast array of topics covered in these interviews. A great read.… (mer)

Lovely to read, but somehow these interviews sounded more profound on radio [wonder why?]. It is impossible to believe that one woman did all that Carol Shields did AND raised 5 children. And somehow a comfort to see that the most grievous thing she can imagine is losing a child through death or estrangement. I too would have agreed a few years back, but now I have survived losing three. I suppose it is the worst. You practice Buddhist detachment & everything else you can. But your essential significance is erased. You're just a numbed bystander.… (mer)