The gang’s all back to discuss Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. This week we contemplate the gruesome nature of some of the scenes and images in this section, the anagogical core of the book (with a nod to McCarthy’s original working title), the arrival of the mysterious stranger, and much more. As always, happy reading!

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Welcome to our new (and long-awaited) series on Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel, The Road. All four of us are here for this one and here in the first episode conversation explores what it is like to read (or re-read) this book as a parent, McCarthy’s unique approach to world-building and language, why people should read this book even if it’s hard, and much more. Happy listening!

And so we come to the end of our conversations on Anthony Trollope’s The Warden, focusing, as always, on your questions. Join us as we dig into Trollope’s thoughts on the nature of the novel, whether he was doing theological commentary or social commentary, whether the novel works on all four levels of interpretation (and much more!). Happy listening!

Welcome to our conversation on the concluding chapters of The Warden, in which the Close Reads team discusses whether this books ends in anti-climax, whether Trollope is actually poking more fun at Harding himself than it seems at first, the anti-Dickensian nature of the story, the book’s unique moral vision, and much more. Happy listening!

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This week’s episode features a new occasional segment tentatively called “Letters to the Editors” (help us come up with something better!). So click play and tune in as we give the floor to a few listeners who disagree with us . . . and then let conversation flow, of course. Happy listening!

This week on the show, Sean is forced to confront some . . . questions . . . about The Warden presented by David and Heidi (and David suggest a narrative theory that is definitely worth taking seriously). Happy listening!

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Welcome to conversations on a new book, which is in a genre we seem to turn to at least once a year: a novel about (or from the perspective) of a clergyman. We’ve done books on Catholic priests, country ministers, Orthodox monks, and others. In Anthony Trollope’s The Warden, we encounter a warden that is connected to the Church of England and who is thus caught between two sides in a war of Victorian Social Justice. So join in as we kick off this series by discussing it’s representation of competing duties pitted against each other, what makes the warden a compelling protagonist, and Trollope’s approach. Happy listening!

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It’s Q&A time! This week David, Heidi, and Sean discuss the end of Wodehouse’s Summer Lightning, then dig into some listener questions. Topics of conversation include Shakespeare’s influence on Wodehouse, his “formula", and much more. Happy listening!

Up next: The Warden, chapters 1-5

Welcome back to Wodehouse Wintertime here at Close Reads, where David, Heidi, and Sean are discussing Summer Lightning. And in this episode—after sharing some favorite passages—conversation gets into how to discuss and think about a writer like Wodehouse on a podcast that takes reading seriously. Happy listening!

It’s Wodehouse season here at Close Reads! Kick off 2024 by joining David, Heidi, and Sean for a deep dive into the world of Blandings Castle—of scorned lovers, scorned aunts, and scorned appetites; of best-laid plans and foiled plots; of butlers and bad actors and bumbling misanthropes. Live, laugh, love, or whatever. Happy reading and happy new year!

Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber so we can keep on making the content you love.