In this episode I'm chatting about Anthony Swofford's memoir of the Gulf War 'Jarhead'. Is it possible to find any truth in memoirs? How reliable is the memoir, particularly when it focuses on something as traumatic as war? And how important a role does masculinity play in young men signing up to war?Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jmalstonFollow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebibliographerMy version: Anthony Swofford, 'Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War', London: Scribner, 2003.Image of Anthony Swofford by Dan Winters for Simon & Schuster.

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On this episode of the Bibliographer Podcast, I discuss the unreadability of 'Finnegans Wake', try and read some of the more lyrical passages from it, and argue why I think the whole thing was a 17-year-long practical joke.Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jmalstonFollow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebibliographerMy version: James Joyce, 'Finnegans Wake', London: Penguin, 1992.

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In this episode of the Bibliographer Podcast, I discuss the long list of Ian McEwan's books I've read, the two most recent which I've got on my shelf but am yet to finish, his beautiful writing style, and which of his novels are my favourite.Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jmalstonFollow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebibliographerimage credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_McEwan#/media/File:Salon_du_livre_de_Paris_2011_-_Ian_McEwan_-_003.jpg

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In the second episode of the Bibliographer podcast, I talk about Gore Vidal's historical novel 'Julian' and the philosophical insights it offers into the human condition.Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jmalstonFollow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebibliographerMy version: Gore Vidal, 'Julian', New York: Modern Library, 1970.

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