The Observer Book Club with Yann Martel

Yann Martel is coming to the Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama on Wednesday 14 October, as part of the Manchester Literature Festival. He'll be talking about his new novel, Son of Nobody, with Erica Wagner hosting the conversation.

If the name rings a bell, it's probably Life of Pi—the Booker Prize winner from 2002 that Ang Lee later turned into an Oscar-winning film. Son of Nobody takes a different starting point: Homer's Iliad. It reimagines the Trojan War through the eyes of an ordinary foot soldier, and that story runs alongside a second one, about a modern-day scholar in Oxford uncovering a lost ancient text. It's a double-track plot that bridges the gap between the two.

Martel has a few other titles under his belt too, The High Mountains of Portugal and Beatrice & Virgil. The evening is part of The Observer Book Club, which brings together stories, ideas and debate, and it's co-presented with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester. The whole thing will be recorded for The Observer Book Club podcast, hosted by the paper's literary editor Tom Gatti.

It starts at 7:30 PM at the Martin Harris Centre, which is part of the University of Manchester on Bridgeford Street, M13 9PL. Tickets are £12, or £10 if you've already picked up a copy of the book.