POD: Book Clubs

The Law of the Heart

A powerful love story

Boris Starling is an award-winning novelist, non-fiction writer and screenwriter who has reached the Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller lists. His debut novel Messiah was made into a primetime BBC1 series which ran for five seasons. The Law of the Heart is his ninth novel and inspiration for the title comes from ‘one of the foundations of modern cardiac medicine… known as the law of the heart’, first published by his great grandfather Ernest Starling in 1912.

For rollercoaster designer Theo, living on the edge is just part of the job. He’s used to wandering the world perfecting thrills, his heart immune to commitment. But then a commission in repressive North Korea exposes him to emotions he’s never dared to feel. Tour guide Min has a soul that wants to soar, but she knows it’s safer to build walls around her heart and mind. Skilled in showcasing the mesmerising beauty of capital city Pyongyang without revealing its darker secrets, she introduces Theo to a country he will never forget―and begins to question her policy of quiet compliance.

Part of our ‘Beyond the Book’ Series. View

PODCASTS

Understanding North Korea

(50 mins)

What does North Korea’s leader want? And, what do we really know about who runs the country? As the international community ramps up sanctions in response to Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test, will anything change? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of experts – including a young North Korean defector – as they take an in-depth look at one of the world’s most secretive political systems. From the BBC World Service.

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Boris Starling on Sports Writing

(41 mins)

In this episode of The Read Smart podcast, host Razia Iqbal is joined by sports journalist Alyson Rudd and novelist Boris Starling, delving into the topic of sports writing and what truly makes a good sports book. Alyson and Boris speak on their own experiences with researching and commentating sport, as well as the complex nature of ghostwriting. The podcast closes on the subject of which sports are the most exciting to read about and which particular sports novels the two guests will never forget.

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VIDEOS

Mangyongdae Funfair, Pyongyang.

(3 mins)

Forgotten And Forlorn Parks: Mangyongdae Funfair is a small park located in Pyongyang, North Korea and is the most prominent park in North Korea. It is one of the most inaccessible and least visited parks in the world. Includes fascinating video footage of the park’s crumbling rollercoasters from Coaster Voyager.

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Images of Pyongyang

(14 mins)

How did the Kim dynasty design Pyongyang? A whistle stop tour of the history and design of the secretive city that is the setting for Law of The Heart. Full of video clips and fascinating images.

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Interview with novelist and screenwriter Boris Starling

(32 mins)

Boris is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter best known for writing the brilliant thriller Messiah. Boris chats to Grapevine about getting to know Frankie Dettori during the time spent with him writing Frankie’s, soon to be launched autobiography called Leap of Faith.

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The Frank-Starling Law of the Heart

(10 mins)

An introduction to Starling’s Law of the Heart, also known as the Frank-Starling Law of the Heart. The inspiration for the book title comes from ‘one of the foundations of modern cardiac medicine… known as the law of the heart’, first published by Boris Starling’s great grandfather, Ernest Starling

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ARTICLES

BlogTour Review 1: The Law of the Heart

Review from the BlogTour of The Law of the Heart by Cheryl M-M.

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BlogTour Review 2: The Law of the Heart

Review from the BlogTour of The Law of the Heart by One The Shelf Books

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Book Review: The Law of the Heart

A review of The Law of the Heart by Books of JJ.

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About Boris Starling

A biography of Boris Starling from Mushens Entertainment, the literary agency that represents the him.

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About Ernest Starling

Wikipedia page for Ernest Starling, Boris Starling’s great grandfather and his theory ‘The Law of the Heart’.

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Why male authors are being written out of fiction

As a female writer sparks a storm by saying too many novels are penned by women, best-selling writer Boris Starling examines the changing literary landscape.

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American Dirt

Incredible or insulting

When American Dirt came out, it was an Oprah’s book club pick and became The Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller. It was optioned for a film adaptation by Clint Eastwood and was lauded by many as the ‘great immigration novel’. However since then it has received harsh criticism, particularly from many Latinx writers for what they felt was its stereotypical portrait of migrants from Mexico and Central America. The controversy caused Jeanine Cummins to cancel her book tour and all events due to death threats and more.

There’s so much to discuss about this novel, so in addition to reading the book why not enrich your book club meeting by exploring the US/Mexico crisis further with podcasts and videos from the frontlines and discussions about the potential consequences of telling a story that is not your own.

Part of our ‘Beyond the Book’ Series. View

Gutsy Women

Courage and resilience

Throughout history and around the globe women have overcome the toughest resistance imaginable to win victories that have made progress possible for all of us. That is the achievement of each of the women in this book. They are all gutsy women, leaders with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done.

Be inspired by ordinary women who have gone on the achieve the extraordinary. Hillary and Chelsea Clinton have collated ‘The Book of Gutsy Women’ , a phenomenal collection of essays about women who have made a lasting difference in the world. Listen to their interview about the book with Fearne Cotton on the Happy Place podcast and then delve a bit deeper into the stories of nine of these amazing women.

Part of our ‘Beyond the Book’ Series. View

The Nickel Boys

Heartbreakingly good

Colson Whitehead is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Underground Railroad, which in 2016 won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. The Nickel Boys, his follow up book, won Colson a second Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2020. He brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. The book was named one of Time Magazine’s 10 best fiction books of the decade.

Th story is set at a time when the civil rights movement was spurring change, but progress was slow and certainly didn’t infiltrate the book’s fictional Nickel Academy where much of the story takes place. The Nickel Academy, a segregated reform school for boys, is based on the true story of the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Florida.

Part of our ‘Beyond the Book’ Series. View

The Law of the Heart

A powerful love story

PODCASTS

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