It's Not A Book Club Podcast

F̶l̶a̶w̶e̶d̶ Beauty is in the ruins!Yukio Mishima's The Temple of the Golden Pavilion unfolds in the enchanting city of Kyoto, capturing the story of a young Buddhist monk's obsession with the temple's beauty and his turbulent journey through jealousy, desire, and existential angst.Penned in 1956, Mishima's masterpiece explores the destructive power of beauty and the conflicts between ephemeral desires and spiritual ideals. It's a profound narrative on how an individual's fixation on perfecti...

T̶o̶x̶i̶c̶ Love is in the air!James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room is centred in the 'suave' Parisian inner city, and focuses on the events of an American man's complicated feelings and frustrations with his relationships with other women and men in his life, most notably an Italian bartender named Giovanni. Written in 1956, Baldwin's literary (initially controversial) classic delves into the complexities of love and sexuality, it's intersection with cultural norms and the ...

One political treatise to rule them all, One political treatise to find them, One political treatise to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them... The Prince, written by the great Niccolò Machiavelli is a 16th century instruction guide for new princes and royals.Often referred to as the principalis of modern political philosophy, the treatise is set just prior to the Italian renaissance and details the use of 'fear' as a tactic of control, and the desirable attributes of a g...

A Nigerian literary great.Chinua Achebe debut novel 'Things Fall Apart' follows the life of Okonkwo, an Igbo man and acclaimed wrestling champion of the fictional Nigerian clan of Umuofia. The book, first published in 1958, depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern parts of Nigeria and the arrival of colonialism and its effects on the cultural and religious traditions of Umuofia. A thought provoking episode, Zach draws parallels with Okonkwo and the Japanese art of seppuku, Reuben d...

S2 Episode 07: *Yo Melo, queue the scary music* Thinnnnner Thinner, the podcasts first horror novel, by the acclaimed Stephen King centers on lawyer Billy Halleck, a stereotypical middle class suburban white man who kills a crossing Romani woman in a road accident and escapes legal punishment due to his connections. The twist? The woman's father places a curse on Halleck, which causes him to lose weight uncontrollably... Get the popcorn and relax as the guy's create (we...

S2 Episode 06: Chill. Yes they took their time, but they work and it's Jane Austen...The British literary classic, Pride and Prejudice, is an 1813 'novel of manners'. Set in the regency era, the novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet via her relationship with her family, friends and the enticing/elusive Mr Darcy. Tune in to listen to Kehinde's perspective on the books allegorical anchor, Reuben's attempts to determine who is the most Mr Darcy'esque and Za...

Season 2: Episode 5''BELOVED'' is Toni Morrison's fifth novel, and the podcast's second time diving into one of her literary classics. Winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988, 'Beloved' is set after the American Civil War and tells the story of a family of formerly enslaved people whose Cincinnati home is haunted by a malevolent spirit. Not immediately easy to read, the guys were quickly won over by Toni Morrison's seamless skill with words. Tune in to a d...

Season 2: Episode 4Russia + Essex = Russex... The guys welcome their second guest on the podcast, Lucia Dove; a writer and poet from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK. Lucia discusses her main inspirations, fragmented experiences and memories from Russia and Essex which influenced her pamphlet of poems 'Say Cucumber', published in 2019. Tune in, as we dissect and discuss: the structure of poems, the demise of Skype, and our own amateur(Reuben's past trauma *yawn*) poetry. &nb...

Season 2: Episode 3Excuse us, we have been busy! We kickstart (restart?) Season 2 with Byung-Chul Han's 'The Disappearance of Rituals. Published in 2019, the book is a critical review of western society, taking aim at neoliberalism and the relentless force of capitalism in the erosion of community in the 21st century. Using examples of rituals from the past Byung-Chul juxtaposes a community without communication – where the intensity of togetherness in silent recognition provides structure an...

Season 2: Episode 2"You may desire more than one woman..."The controversial book, 'The Way of the Superior Man' written by David Deida (published 1997) explores masculinity, femininity and the interplay between them both,, through the lens of the life of a man. The book delves into the importance of a career, family, relationships and intimacy; offering a guidebook for living a masculine life of integrity, authenticity, and freedom. Reube...