Infinite Gestation

Sam fields questions regarding one of his favorite novels, The Master and Margarita, a concurrent odyssey into 1930's Soviet Russia and the city of Jerusalem as witnessed in the gospels. The host of memorable characters includes Satan, Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate. Mikhail Bulgakov's brilliant narrative, with its elements of black magic, a bipedal talking cat named Behemoth and a Soviet brand of paranoia characteristic of the time certainly proves that dark satire doesn't get much better than this. Happy Birthday, Sam!

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In a rather harrowing episode, Grant defends the work of Kurt Vonnegut (one of his favorite authors) against an onslaught of criticism from the remainder of the panel. In the face of some difficult questions regarding genre, complaints of commonly employed narrative conventions, and the suggestion that perhaps Slaughterhouse-Five has earned the Vonnegut canon more notoriety than it possibly deserves, Grant remains steadfast and unwavering. No one was injured (physically) during the recording of this podcast.

*The various criticisms contained within do not necessarily reflect opinions held by the opposing panel members, so please save your best hate mail for a future episode.

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Can a film transcend the novel it was based upon? During a (by no means definitive) discussion of most-loved and patently despised novel to film adaptations, the panel braves some harsh words, endures scathing criticism and experiences several moments of probable enlightenment. Along the quest to discover if the book is always better than the movie: James Franco is disparaged, Stanley Kubrick receives praise, disagreements arise over the adaptation of East of Eden and details regarding Mario Puzo's use of Sonny Corleone's penis as a literary device in The Godfather sparks controversy.

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Complete with Sam's movie trailer intro, the boys discuss Harper Lee's newly published (7/14/15) novel Go Set a Watchman. Since the initial announcement of its imminent publication, this novel has been poised to become THE literary event of the year, but not without controversy and much speculation regarding its discovery. But does it match up to the pedigree of its predecessor?

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Bring on Kunderafest! Meditations on Milan Kundera's newly published (6/23/15) novel The Festival of Insignificance find resonance among our hosting trio who promptly resort to discussing the Kundera canon. This episode serves as a good primer for anyone seeking to add the author to their reading lists. BONUS: Sam drops some names to help you make your "to read" book pile even higher.

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The fallacy of America's legacy of literary censorship is dissected (sans anesthetic) with a celebration of novels like Ulysses by James Joyce & Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence. Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" makes a cameo (kudos to Grove Press) and a segue into Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James causes a rather memorable Freudian Slip. Sam brings the boys back to their senses with a brief discourse on the tribulations of Salman Rushdie upon the publication of The Satanic Verses.

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