David Bezmozgis on The Betrayers and the making of moral fibre

Canadian author David Bezmozgis joins guest host Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss the moral quandaries that inform his Giller shortlisted novel, The Betrayers, as well as the challenges of writing a contemporary, politically-engaged novel when current events start to clash with your fiction.

Set amid the political turmoil of Crimea, Bezmozgis's book follows an embattled Israeli politician fleeing from past mistakes. The author, who touches on several real-world tensions, argues that some issues are too important to leave to Twitter and Facebook, or even to journalists. 

"There's another way to have this conversation: through understanding characters, and seeing a story play out over time," he tells Piya. 

Watch the book trailer in the window below.