Desperate Readers

What's Achilles's problem? Can we understand the classical mind? Tatiana and Niko read (arguably) the first book in the Western Canon, Homer's Iliad. They discuss glory, Homeric similes, and how war shapes our perspective on life. All your favorite Greek heroes are here!  

Small corrections: at around minute 19, Niko says 'Achilles's house' instead of 'Odysseus's house,' and around minute 26, Tatiana says Hector instead of Patroclus. 

Want to read along? Find out BookShop link here: https://bookshop.org/shop/desperatereaders 

Find us on Substack here: https://desperatereaders.substack.com/ 

Welcome to the official first episode of Season Two! Niko and Tatiana go back to their roots and start with the book that gave the podcast its name: Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. They discuss impending globalization, the consequences of literature, haunting writers, and jokes.

Want to read along? Find out BookShop link here: https://bookshop.org/shop/desperatereaders 

Find us on Substack here: https://desperatereaders.substack.com/ 

In a special Bonus episode, Niko and Tatiana read the short story The House of Asterion by Jorges Luis Borges. 

Read the short story here: https://klasrum.weebly.com/uploads/9/0/9/1/9091667/the_house_of_asterion.pdf 

Follow us on Substack here: https://desperatereaders.substack.com/ 

This episode wraps up the metamorphosis trilogy with a short story about weird little guys. Niko and Tatiana read Axolotl by Julio Cortázar, in which a man imagines himself transformed into an axolotl at the Jardin des Plantes. They discuss sight, reflection, and morphing time and space.

... I sing. The whole gang is here! Niko and Tatiana read Ovid’s Metamorphoses, touching on everyone: Zeus, Medusa, Julius Caesar, Juno, Apollo, Diana, and all your other favorite Roman deities.

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams… Niko and Tatiana are joined by special guest Zach McRae for Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis. We talk about what it’s like to be a bug, workers and artists, sadomasochism, body horror, and more. This episode gets very silly at times.

Niko and Tatiana read Nigerian author Buchi Emecheta. They discuss The Joys of Motherhood, gender expectations, children, and city living.

The number one best mom award goes to…! Niko and Tatiana revisit Euripides and read his most famous play, Medea. They discuss Medea’s motherhood, foreign status, cunning, and vengeance.

A book surrounded by scandal and mythos: Niko and Tatiana read Bound to Violence by Yambo Ouologuem. The story follows an African tribe from precolonial times to the twentieth century and plots the evolution of violence. Niko and Tatiana discuss the significance and form of this violence, as well as fertility and power.

The Other Press will release a new critical edition of Bound to Violence in September 2023.

April is the cruelest month. Niko and Tatiana welcome special guest Bart Bolander to talk about The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. The three discuss Eliot’s poetic philosophy, fragmentation, and the modernism, while scratching the surface of Eliot’s symbolism and references.