Canonical

What can we as readers do to change which books the world considers 'important'? Three years ago, we started this podcast with a mission to create a more inclusive, contemporary canon. Were we successful? In our final episode we take a look back at our show to consider what it means to create a new canon.

Thanks to everyone who has listened to us along the way. We appreciate you spending some time with us.

You can join our Reddit discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode. 

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast!

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Everyone is talking about the multiverse these days. Why do we so often hear about alternate histories and alternate worlds in the fiction we see in novels and on television? In today's episode we try to answer these questions by taking another look at the three books we recently read: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. If all fiction is different from reality, then what is the distinction between this and every other kind of novel? How much quantum physics do you need to study to see the difference?

You can join our Reddit discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode. 

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here:

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We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod!

We've discussed how Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go both is and isn't about cloning. So what is it about? We talk this week about other concerns that come into play and how the vague nature of the novel might allow the reader to overlay such ethical conundrums. But is that asking too much of the reader? Why don't the students run away, and is that even a worthwhile question? What does this book have to do with race, entering the workforce, and cultural indoctrination? Also, Ishiguro clearly has something to say about art, but is it substantially different from Mandel's conclusion in Station Eleven? All that and more in this installment.

For this series we will review and discuss Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Oct 21 - Nov 4, Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld Nov 11 - Nov 25th, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Dec 2 - Dec 16.

You can join our Reddit discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode.

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here:

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We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!

Never Let Me Go is an unusual novel: Can there be a book about clones that isn't about cloning? In this episode we discuss the genre of this novel and how that genre influences the way it treats its themes. We expect science fiction to show us the ethical implications of our actions and how they might lead to a possible future, but what does a novel set in the past show us about the ethics of our actions? Tune in to find out, or feel like a dog staring at an algebra problem.

For this series we will review and discuss Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Oct 21 - Nov 4, Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld Nov 11 - Nov 25th, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Dec 2 - Dec 16.

You can join our Reddit discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode.

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here:

Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | Google | Youtube

We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!

Spoilers abound in this review of Kazuo Ishiguro's alternate reality classic Never Let Me Go.  One of us found it engrossing.  One of us found it bland.  The third was of two minds.  Who would have guessed?  Our discussion includes a deliberation on what makes this a work of literature, what the heck the boat image means, and some musing on the capitalist hellscape that make up this novel.

For this series we will review and discuss Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Oct 21 - Nov 4, Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld Nov 11 - Nov 25th, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Dec 2 - Dec 16.

You can join our Reddit discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode.

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here:

Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | Google | Youtube

We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!

We wind down our discussion of Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld with the question of how much sidestepping of the facts should be permissible in alternate history fiction. Also, is this book a push back against the importance of likability in politics, or simply an embrace of it? And did Sittenfeld take notes while watching romcoms?

For this series, we will review and discuss Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Oct 21 - Nov 4, Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld Nov 11 - Dec 2, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Dec 9 - Dec 23.

You can join our Reddit discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode.

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here:

Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | Google | Youtube

We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!

We continue our discussion of Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld by examining its political point of view (or lack thereof). Despite taking on one of the most famous politicians in the world as its subject, Rodham feels pretty light on political intent. Is it meant to be a cathartic thought experiment for frustrated Democrats, a book for feminists without political opinions, or something else entirely?

For this series we will review and discuss Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Oct 21 - Nov 4, Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld Nov 11 - Dec 2, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Dec 9 - Dec 23.

You can join our Reddit discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode.

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here:

Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | Google | Youtube

We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!

A surprising pick from Eyad is this week's read and review.  Sittenfeld's Rodham, an alternate history what-if about Hilary Clinton, spurs discussion of the ethics of Real Person Fiction, what it means to be a "book club book", and our reaction to the first couple of the US during our formative years doing the nasty repeatedly and explicitly on the page. Fun stuff!

For this series we will review and discuss Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Oct 21 - Nov 4, Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld Nov 11 - Dec 2, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Dec 9 - Dec 23.

You can join our Reddit discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode.

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here:

Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | Google | Youtube

We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!

In our last week with George Saunders's Lincoln in the Bardo, we talk about whether it matters if some of the "quotations" from supposedly contemporary sources are fictional, and if it would matter if all of them were made up. From there, we discuss whether there is anything problematic about Saunders's use of ghosts, or if Sam is just being a woke baby.

For this series we will review and discuss Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Oct 21 - Nov 4, Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld Nov 11 - Dec 2, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Dec 9 - Dec 23.

You can join our Reddit discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode.

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here:

Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | Google | Youtube

We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!

In our second look at George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo, we examine whether his book has more to say about history or theology, its mixture or Buddhist and Christian ideas about the afterlife, and whether Saunders really cares about the afterlife or just wants to tell a good story.

For this series we will review and discuss Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Oct 21 - Nov 4, Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld Nov 11 - Dec 2, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Dec 9 - Dec 23.

You can join our Reddit discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CanonicalPod where you can also find show notes, credits and extended discussions for every episode.

You can support us by rating/liking/sharing our podcast! Subscribe to us here:

Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | Google | Youtube

We are also on Twitter and Facebook @CanonicalPod. Follow us to get updates on upcoming episodes!