Infinite Gestation

The Last Station is essentially concerned with the sunset chapter of Leo Tolstoy's life (with far less drinking than witnessed in "Last Call" – a film about Fitzgerald's final years). Decades after writing his masterworks, Tolstoy struggles with the prospect of leaving the copyright of his work to the Tolstoyan Movement at the insistence of its leader, Vladimir Chertkov, though to the absolute dismay of his wife, Sofya Tolstoy. Meanwhile, Valentin Fedorovich Bulgakov writes in his diary. The film features a stellar cast including Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti and James McAvoy.

The narrative takes some liberties in assuming the viewer has a working knowledge of Tolstoy (possibly even garnered from reading the film's source material, The Last Station by Jay Parini) making it a bit inaccessible to the casual viewer. Bulgakov's romantic subplot is a cinematic addition and not historically accurate. While beautifully shot and superbly acted, the film leaves something to be desired. It is somewhat disappointing this currently serves as the "Tolstoy Biopic."

Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com for complete Show Notes & Links

"Temperature" is the recent "lost & found" short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald which appears in the summer 2015 issue of Strand Magazine. The piece showcases the author's notable capabilities in the short story form, though it doesn't quite reveal itself to be something like a recovered masterpiece. The work dates from 1939 and contains some elements and themes that seem lifted directly from the last years of Fitzgerald's life (without too much embellishment). For more on this, check out our "Fitzgerald at the Movies - Last Call" episode.

Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com for complete Show Notes & Links

By listener request, Infinite Gestation covers Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. More of a parable on spirituality than an actual novel, the book concerns a philosophical quest toward enlightenment, rendered in simple, straight-forward prose that may have lost some of its power through translation from the author's native German. The panel offers further reading recommendations for those that despise, enjoy or love this book. Some works by Timothy Leary come highly recommended. Also, Sam makes fun of Ayn Rand.

Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com for complete Show Notes & Links

The recent "ethically questionable" publication of Haruki Murakami's reading list during his teenage years, as revealed by library records leaked to the press poses the question of the importance of knowing an author's influences.

Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com for complete Show Notes & Links

Limited Gestation "Minisodes" bring you Infinite Gestation, generously portioned into a single serving. Much like the coffee creamer, concord grape jelly and sugar packets supplied by your local 24 hour diner, you can now enjoy a quick taste of Infinite Gestation without having to wait around for the check.

Complete with its very own public service announcement, Infinite Gestation dedicates an episode to The Man in the High Castle, covering the 1962 novel by Philip K. Dick, in addition to the series currently streaming on Amazon. Among the first of a multitude of works by various authors to cover an alternate history in which the United States has lost World War II, Dick's atmospheric novel comes in at 253 pages (a fabulous Sunday read) – compared to the ten episode series. During this episode, major and minor departures in characters, story and plot find healthy debate throughout obsessive encyclopedic references, the ripe suggestion that Amazon "Peter Jacksoned the shit" out of the novel and more spoilers than you can shake a stick at, all topped off with some "final" final thoughts.

Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com for complete Show Notes & Links

Based on Patrick's recommendation, Infinite Gestation covers Group Portrait with Lady by Heinrich Böll, with a (mostly) civil discussion. The work showcases Böll at the height of his craft (the novel was cited when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1972) and may even lead one to conclude that Böll is indeed post war Germany's "literary therapist." Many times deemed experimental, the plot consists of the life of Leni Pfeiffer (the woman) written with journalistic flair by a fictional author using interviews with her family, friends and acquaintances to build the narrative alongside his own observations. Despite the setting (Germany, just prior to World War I and on into the 1970's) there is no shortage of humor in the novel, including posters of human anatomy used as apartment decor and a nun who divines the health of school girls by examining their feces. In the end, the novel comes highly recommended.

Spoiler warning: Grant reveals the end of The Train Was On Time.

Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com for complete Show Notes & Links

Things get a bit dicey amongst the panel during a discussion of The End of the Tour. The 2015 film stars Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg as David Foster Wallace and David Lipspy respectively and concerns the final days of the Infinite Jest book tour (1996), during which Lipspy (writing for Rolling Stone Magazine) records interviews with Wallace for a piece that never materialized. The tapes later served as a basis for Lipspy's 2010 book Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, from which the film was adapted.

It should be noted that Patrick arrived with some “baggage” for this episode. No one was harmed in the recording of this podcast, though some sensibilities may have been offended.

Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com for complete Show Notes & Links

November is National Novel Writing Month. While the goal of completing a rough draft of a novel in a thirty day period is certainly a noble one, the entire scope of such a task should come with some caveats – which Infinite Gestation is more than happy to provide.

Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com for complete Show Notes & Links

Resting somewhere between the format of film and the printed word, audiobooks offer a method of literature consumption that though similar to the physical act of reading, is in many ways quite different. Each format has its pros and cons: sacrifices of convenience, pace of the narrative, the ability to multitask, different levels of immersion and so on. The purists will argue tirelessly in favor of the virtues of reading the printed word while the busy-bodies champion the audiobook as a preferable alternative to the daily radio show during their respective commutes. Infinite Gestation dares to discover who is right.

**Spoiler Warning - Specific plot points of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood are discussed.**

Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com for complete Show Notes & Links

The Handmaid's Tale is some serious business. Margret Atwood's classic dystopian novel remains notably fresh and relevant since its publication in 1985, and has become essential to the genre, among the company of George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Infinite Gestation consumed the novel via audio book (an experiment for a later episode) in preparation for this discussion.

Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com for complete Show Notes & Links