Catherine Raynes: Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club and The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and his Kingdom of Clay

Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly  

wo sisters living on Martha's Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club - a spectacular novel inspired by true events from the bestselling author of Lilac Girls.  

2016: Fresh from her mother's funeral, Mari arrives on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts to study under the enigmatic painter Elizabeth Devereux. But she soon realises that her relationship to the island runs deeper than she ever thought possible.  

1942: It's World War II, and Smith sisters Briar and Ginny are faced with the impossible task of holding their failing family farm together as the US army arrives on their island. In an attempt for normalcy, the sisters start a book club that quickly grows in numbers and becomes a lifeline for the women who remain on the island. That is, until a German soldier's arrival casts shadows of doubt and danger. Who can they really trust in their tight-knit community?  

In this spectacular novel inspired by true events, bestselling author Martha Hall Kelly weaves a captivating tale of love, loss and resilience. 

 

The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and his Kingdom of Clay by Christopher Clarey  

Tennis is not short on history. When Nadal arrived on the scene in 2005, the record for men's singles titles at the French Open stood at six, held by Bjorn Borg. Almost twenty years later, Nadal has more than doubled Borg's total with a mind-boggling fourteen titles. His record will undoubtedly remain his signature achievement - the stat that will define him in memory twenty, fifty, even a hundred years from now. Fourteen certainly looks like the only major tennis record that will never be broken even if Nadal, a modest champion despite his flashy resume, rejects that kind of definitive thinking. 

Nadal has won big and won often on any of tennis's surfaces, securing two Wimbledon titles on grass and four U.S. Opens on acrylic hardcourts. But clay, the slowest and grittiest of the game's playgrounds, is where it all comes together best for his explosive movement and warrior mindset. Clay is the canvas on which he has mastered his choreography, underlining the precision, speed, and raw power required to accomplish one of the most impressive sporting achievements of the 21st century - it is the essential stuff of his life and success. 

Legendary sports reporter and bestselling author Christopher Clarey has interviewed Nadal and his coaches from his first French Open victory at nineteen, marking his debut as a rising star on the premier clay-court event in the world, to his most recent victory in 2022, closing out an astonishing career as one of the greatest players of all time. Brimming with behind-the-scenes insight into the story of a global sporting icon, The Warrior is a must-read account for the loyal sports fan - and anyone interested in the evolution of excellence. 

 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to this Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks at be.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Catherine Rains is with us now to talk boox. Good morning, Catherine,
Good morning.

Speaker 3 (00:17):
How are you.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
I'm really good, Thank you. I'm very keen to hear
your thoughts on Martha's Vineyard, Beach and book Club by
Martha Hall Kelly. I'm very fascinated in this part of
the world.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Me too, and I think that's that Martha's Vineyard is
a title of it is what really drew me to it.
But it's a historical time slip novel that's set over
two time periods, nineteen forty two and two thousand and six.
In nineteen forty two, it's this portrayal of life on
the home front for a women who live and struggle
on Martha's Vineyard in the early days of World War Two.
And the book clubs it's more of a front for

(00:50):
their wartime activities and love affairs. And it's mainly told
from the point of view of three different women in
those two different time periods. And in twenty sixteen you
met Marie Sherwood, who's looking for answers to her family's history.
In Martha's vineyard, and she decides to go to the
island because she really wants to interview this famous painter
about her mother's late her late mother's connection to this island.

(01:14):
So when she arrives on the island, she's under the
rus of taking a painting class, and she meets Elizabeth Devereaux,
this painter, and she begins talking to Elizabeth and sharing
the story of these two sisters, the Smith sisters, who
lived on the island during World War two, and she
realizes that she's very connected to this past. And the
story then also focuses on Cadence and Bria Smith, who

(01:37):
living with their grandmother on the island and they're really
struggling to keep a roof over their heads. In forty two,
their brother Tom is serving as an army ranger and
has been shipped overseas, and along with Bess Tom's fiance,
they are carrying on the family farm and their soldiers
arriving on the island, and there's rumors of spies circulating
and this mysterious stranger that apparently washes ashore, and their
lives take this very unexpected turn, and they create this

(02:01):
wartime book Clap to give them a sense of escape
and connection, but tensions rise and they risk standing up
for what they know, the risks that come up, sorry,
the risks that come with standing up for what you
believe in. And the book intertwines the past and present
really well, and while buried secrets become become a parent

(02:21):
and you get very immersed in the story. And Martha
Hall Kelly tells her an excellent story that keeps you
really wanting to know what happens next.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
It reminds me a little bit of the Guernsey Literary
and Potato Peel part Society, where once again you sort
of had this group hiding behind a society instead of
doing wartime things. And I've got the right book, can I?

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yes you have, Yes, you have, And yeah, no, they
do feel very alike. Actually, you're very very spot on
with that.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Now, tell me about the warrior Rafael Nadal and his
Kingdom of Clay by Christopher Cleary.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
So Christopher Clary had already has already written a book
about Roger Federer, and on this one he obviously talks
about Rafael Nadell. And Nadell is now of course retired
from tennis, and he remains living in Manuca and island
off the coast of Spain, which has about fifty thousand
people on it, and it's where he grew up and
it's also where his State of the Tennis Academy is now.

(03:16):
And it takes you back to Nadal's childhood and in
Spain where most of the courts are clay, and you know,
six year old Nadal's playing with adults, and you know,
he has this top spin forehands that you know were
next level speed, and that's really what sets him apart
in his career. And you know, that talks about when

(03:36):
he first played at the French Open in two thousand
and five and the record there for men's titles seemed
completely out of reach. Bon Borg had six back in
the early nineties. And it talks a lot about Nadal's
winning attributes and how he always manages to stay in
the moment better than his rivals. And you know, a
lot of this is before the distractions of social media

(03:57):
and cameras and streaming videos and you know, but staying
in the moment's always been one of those really hard
things as a tennis player. And he has some interesting
route when he was out on court. You know, the
wild ticks and the pools and the wipes before you
see and perform between every point. And it's his way,
I guess, of staying in the zone. And one of

(04:17):
the points that kind of stuck with me is he
never once threw a broke his record at his tennis
racket in the entire time. And I guess if you
don't play tennis, you don't realize the frustration that can
sometimes come along, but.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Very impressive considering the level he was playing. Caen, do
you need to love tennis to enjoy this book?

Speaker 3 (04:35):
I don't think you need to be a lover of tennis.
I think I mean, obviously you need to be interested
in sports, but you know it talks about his competitive
business and how you know playing every point for him
was like match point, and you know that real doggedness
and determination and you know his uncle that was his coach,
and you know that volume and intensity with what he

(04:56):
plays for and that ability to outlast his opponents and
a record fourteen wins on will you know fourteen clay
caught tournaments? I mean that is that is amazing in
any sport, that he managed to reach that pinnacle that
many times.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Catherine rains, thank you so much, for your time this morning.
Really appreciate it. The two books that Catherine spoke about
Martha's Vineyard, Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly,
and also The Warrior Raphael Nadal and His Kingdom of
Clay by Christopher Cleary.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to News Talks d B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio