Evoking the past and how it shapes the present has been the hallmark of some of the greatest writers in history. This year’s winner of the International Booker Prize is “Time Shelter” by the Bulgarian novelist Georgi Gospodinov and it’s been hugely successful not just in its Bulgarian homeland but also abroad. The character at the center of the book is a mysterious crypto-philosophical doctor who opens a clinic for Alzheimer’s patients which allows them to immerse themselves in a replicated era which they best remember, a way for them to reconnect with their memories.

One reason that the book got such visibility and recognition is in large part thanks to my guest today, Angela Rodel who is the translator of the book and a long-time collaborator of Georgi Gospodinov. As translator, she is the co-winner of the International Booker Prize. Angela is originally American, from Minnesota, and as she explains in the episode, she ended up in Bulgaria almost by chance thirty years ago and has built a real understanding of that country’s culture and language.

Here are a list of books Angela mentioned in the interview:

Great Bulgarian book: Wolf Hunt, by Ivailo Petrov (1986)

Favourite book I’ve never heard of: “The Deptford Trilogy” by Robertson Davies (early 1970s)

Best book of last 12 months: “Paradise” by Abdulrazak Gurnah

The book she found over-rated: “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust

The book she would take to a desert island: “Crime & Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1866)

The book that changed her mind: “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” by Ocean Vuong

My guest today is the latest recipient of the prestigious Fauve d’Or award for a graphic novel whose innovative instincts will likely impact the publishing industry for years to come. Martin Panchaud is a Swiss graphic novelist, which is an interesting coincidence given the origins of the form I mentioned earlier, and his latest work is called “La Couleur des Choses” (The Color of Things). It’s a stunning achievement in that it presents all visual information not in the traditional form of pictures within panels but as somewhat abstract symbols, driven by data to reflect our technological era. The impersonal nature of the drawing is more than made up by the powerful characters and plot that Martin Panchaud has developed.

In today’s episode, Martin Panchaud and I discuss this book, his career path and his inspiration on how to build a completely new style of story-telling.

Books mentioned in the episode:

Follow me ⁠⁠⁠@litwithcharles⁠⁠⁠ for more book reviews and recommendations!

Joseph O’Neill published a beautiful novel “Netherland” in 2008 which was rapidly applauded for capturing the zeitgeist of a post-9/11 world, not in a figurative or literal way, but, as its title suggests, in an ethereal, otherworldly way. It is an excellent novel which, if you haven’t read yet, I strongly suggest adding to your reading list. 

In 2014, Joseph O’Neill followed up with an equally absorbing, if somewhat funnier novel, called “The Dog” about a lawyer who accepts an almost comically servile job as an “advisor?” to an ultra-wealthy Lebanese family based in Dubai. To me, that novel is a pioneer of the genre of story-telling around issues of great wealth and social inequality. This is the book that launched a thousand movies & shows like “Succession”, “Triangle of Sadness” or “Parasite”. 

Joseph O’Neill shared so much with me in this episode about his background, his process, his inspirations and overall we had a really great chat. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I did.

Books mentioned in the episode:

Favourite book I’ve never heard of: U & I by Nicholson Baker

Favourite book of the last 12 months: Radius, by Yasmine El-Riffae

The book that he would take to a desert island: The Complete Works of Shakespeare with scholarly annotations

The book that changed his mind: Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Follow me ⁠⁠@litwithcharles⁠⁠ for more book reviews and recommendations!

My guest today is one the leading academics on the life and work of Victor Hugo and his work. Marva Barnett is a Professor Emerita at the University of Virginia, where she taught French and drama. Her great passion and academic specialty is Victor Hugo on whom she’s written extensively, including two books "To Love Is to Act: Les Misérables and Victor Hugo's Vision for Leading Lives of Conscience", as well as "Victor Hugo on Things That Matter".

In this episode, we discuss the political and social context in which he wrote this massive work, how it fits into his wider bibliography, and what are some of the parallels that can connect to his other work.

Books mentioned in the episode:

Favourite book I’ve never heard of: “This Side of Brightness” by Colum McCann

Favourite book of the last 12 months: “Manhattan Beach” by Jennifer Egan

Disappointing book of the last 12 months: “The Good Lord Bird” by James McBride

Desert Island book: “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Follow me ⁠⁠@litwithcharles⁠⁠ for more book reviews and recommendations!

I received a book from this week’s guest, the London-based American artist Orfeo Tagiuri called “Little Passing Thoughts”. It reminded me of that fine tradition of cartoons, mixed with a dose of surreal humour, and a dash of poetic perspective, and above all, a very profound, touching, sincerity. 

In today’s episode, Orfeo and I talk about what it takes to come up with great ideas, where they come from, and about the fact that he dislikes the term artist and might prefer “visual poet” which seems apt after giving one glance at his work.

Also in this episode, we hear about Orfeo’s literary tastes and his recommendations on some great reads, including books you may never have heard of included below:

Find Orfeo:

Instagram: @orfeot

Website: https://www.orfeotagiuri.com/

Buy his book: https://chosecommune.com/book/orfeo-tagiuri-little-passing-thoughts/

Follow me ⁠⁠@litwithcharles⁠⁠ for more book reviews and recommendations!

I love a good collection of short stories, especially when there’s a great balance between overall thematic consistency and some diversity of genre & setting. And this is what I found in the book written by this weeks’ guest AJ Bermudez, who is an author and screenwriter who wrote the very fun (and occasionally quite dark) collection of short stories called “Stories No One Hopes Are About Them” which won the Iowa Short Fiction Prize in 2022.

AJ Bermudez is based between Los Angeles & New York and her work has appeared in a number of prestigious publications. She’s involved in a huge number of exciting literary organizations and projects but she’s also a screenwriter. In this episode, we discuss her award-winning collection, her process as a writer in different media, her inspirations and her literary tastes.

Books mentioned in the episode:

Find AJ Bermudez:

Website: https://amandajbermudez.com/

Book: https://amandajbermudez.com/index.php/stories-no-one-hopes-are-about-them/

Follow me ⁠⁠@litwithcharles⁠⁠ for more book reviews and recommendations!

In today’s episode, I talk with the Swedish novel Ann-Helen Laestadius about her novel “Stolen” which was released in an English translation several months ago. It’s part of an ongoing trilogy of thrillers exploring the lives of the Sami people who are an indigenous group living in the northern regions of Scandinavian countries. Ann-Helen is a member of the Sami community and in her book, we follow the adventures of a young girl Elsa and the challenges that she and her people face, especially when the reindeer which the Sami people herd start getting tortured and murdered.

Ann-Helen who is originally from the region around Kiruna, in the very north of Sweden, began her career as a journalist until she started publishing award-winning children’s books and young adult novels. This is her first adult-themed novel, and as you’ll see from the episode, her journalistic skills were very useful in researching and writing about the dangers and challenges that the Sami face.

The books mentioned in this interview:

Find Ann-Helen:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annhelenlaestadius/?hl=en

Book: https://amzn.eu/d/0CR8uYK

Follow me ⁠⁠@litwithcharles⁠⁠ for more book reviews and recommendations!

Last week, I released the first half and this week’s release is the second part of the wonderful interview with DT Max, who wrote an excellent biography of David Foster Wallace in 2012 called “Every Love Story is a Ghost Story”. If you haven’t listened to the first part, I suggest you start with that to make sure you understand the context. 

List of books mentioned:

Favourite book that I’d never heard of: Harold Brodkey’s: “First Love and Other Sorrows”.

Favourite book of last 12 months: “The Netanyahus”, by Joshua Cohen

Disappointing book of the last 12 months: Janet Malcolm “Still Pictures: On Photography and Memory”

A book that he would take to a desert island: “Infinite Jest” by David Foster Wallace, and “Sentimental Education” by Gustave Flaubert

A book that changed his mind: “The First World War” by John Keegan

Find DT Max:

Book: ⁠https://amzn.eu/d/d3RQP5t⁠

Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/dtmax?lang=en⁠

Website: ⁠https://dtmaxdotcom.wordpress.com/⁠

Follow me ⁠⁠@litwithcharles⁠⁠ for more book reviews and recommendations!

One of my favourite authors of all time is the American novelist (and essayist) David Foster Wallace. That name can evoke a variety of things to different people and in this episode, I’ll try and unpack these different facets with the writer DT Max who wrote an excellent biography of David Foster Wallace in 2012 called “Every Love Story is a Ghost Story”.

DT Max’s book is amazing as it tells the story of this great artist, his evolution & inspirations, while also recalling some of the more problematic aspects of his life including accounts of domestic abuse with some of his former partners. This was such a fascinating conversation that I've decided to split it into two parts - enjoy!

Find DT Max:

Book: https://amzn.eu/d/d3RQP5t

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dtmax?lang=en

Website: https://dtmaxdotcom.wordpress.com/

Follow me ⁠@litwithcharles⁠ for more book reviews and recommendations!

Libraries are historically the greatest transmitters of knowledge and culture for any civilization. From the appearance of the very first collection of manuscripts to the building of the greatest temples of books, libraries have risen – and invariably fallen – through the ages and throughout time, they’ve played many different roles and fulfilled a variety of functions, and continue to evolve as we speak. 

What is the history of libraries, what is their role and how has that been changing? This is what my two guests today have written about. Professor Andrew Pettegree is a historian at Saint Andrews University where he specializes in the history of the book and media transformations, and Dr. Arthur der Weduwen is a Postdoctoral Fellow also at Saint Andrews University in Scotland. They co-wrote in 2021 an engaging and deeply researched book called “The Library: A Fragile History” where they investigate this institution throughout different eras and countries to reveal that libraries didn’t always look like the ones we think about today, and also that they’re a lot more fragile than we think.

Here is a quick recap of the books mentioned throughout the episode:

What is their favourite book that I’ve never heard of?

What is the best book that they’ve read in the last 12 months?

What book disappointed them in the last 12 months?

Arthur: “To Have and Have Not”, by Ernest Hemingway (1937)

What book would they take to a desert island?

Andrew: War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy (1867)

Arthur: Scoop, by Evelyn Waugh (1938)

What book changed their mind?

Andrew: “Thurn und Taxis” by Wolfgang Behringer (1990)

Arthur: “Double Fold” by Nicholson Baker (2001)

Find Andrew:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/apettegree?lang=en

Follow me ⁠@litwithcharles⁠ for more book reviews and recommendations!