Exposure by Helen Dunmore will be featured on the Radio 2 Book Club on Monday 15 February.
The book was selected with the help of a panel made up of Reading Agency and library staff from across the UK.
We have an exclusive extract available for you to read, as well as a discussion guide for reading groups.
WIN 10 copies of Exposure for your reading group when you visit our Noticeboard!
Exposure
London, November, 1960: the Cold War is at its height. Spy fever fills the newspapers, and the political establishment knows how and where to bury its secrets.
When a highly sensitive file goes missing, Simon Callington is accused of passing information to the Soviets, and arrested.
His wife, Lily, suspects that his imprisonment is part of a cover-up, and that more powerful men than Simon will do anything to prevent their own downfall.
She knows that she too is in danger, and must fight to protect her children. But what she does not realise is that Simon has hidden vital truths about his past, and may be found guilty of another crime that carries with it an even greater penalty.
Selection panel review
Our library reading panel loved Exposure – here are some of their comments:
“Right from the beginning of this, I was desperate to find out the mysteries and secrets within. It’s thoroughly engaging, with characters that you feel you know well after the first few chapters, and plenty of suspense to keep you on tenterhooks. I’ve not doubt this would be enjoyed by the Radio 2 audience – it’s too captivating a story not to be sucked in by!”
“Lovely lucid writing, interesting characters, and a story where you want to know what happens. Pictures the time (1960/Cold War) very clearly, and makes you think about how even things you think are forgotten can emerge, be discovered, and used against you.”
“This is a wonderful and interesting literary novel. Helen Dunmore’s writing is superb. This is a really gripping novel, and you are immediately sucked into the family and their situation. I have to admit that I cried at the end and it is a rare book these days that does this. I think this book will be nominated for prizes it is that good.”
About the author
Helen Dunmore is the author of fourteen novels. Her first, Zennor in Darkness, explored the events which led to D H Lawrence’s expulsion from Cornwall (on suspicion of spying) during the First World War. It won the McKitterick Prize. Her third novel, A Spell of Winter, won the inaugural Orange Prize, now the Bailey’s Prize for Women’s Fiction. Her bestselling novel The Siege, set during the Siege of Leningrad, was described by Antony Beevor as ‘a world-class novel’ and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel of the Year and the Orange Prize. The Lie, set during and just after the First World War, was been nominated for the Folio Prize, shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, and the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize. She has also written a ghost story, The Greatcoat, under the Hammer imprint.
A word from Helen
“I am so delighted that Exposure has been chosen for the Simon Mayo Radio 2 Book Club. I’ve always loved the excitement of discovering a new book or a new author, browsing along bookshelves and library shelves, listening to book programmes, getting recommendations from friends…It’s wonderful to think that new readers will discover Exposure through the Radio 2 Book Club and I hope they will be drawn into the characters and the drama of the unfolding plot.”
Get involved
Tune in to Simon Mayo’s Drivetime show on Monday 15 February to hear a live interview with Helen Dunmore talking about her book.
Have you read Exposure or any other books by Helen Dunmore? You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter, post a review, or add it to your group’s reading list. You can also follow author Helen Dunmore on Twitter.
Want to find out more? Take a look at the Radio 2 Book Club Twitter feed or find out more on the Radio 2 Book Club website.
