Elif Batuman talks about her first novel, “The Idiot,” and David Bellos discusses “The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of ‘Les Misérables.’ ”
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at <a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Elif Batuman talks about her first novel, “The Idiot,” and David Bellos discusses “The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of ‘Les Misérables.’ ” Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Elif Batuman talks about her first novel, “The Idiot,” and David Bellos discusses “The Novel of the Century: The Extraordinary Adventure of ‘Les Misérables.’ ”
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at <a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The Charm of 'The Idiot'

The world's top authors and critics join host Gilbert Cruz and editors at The New York Times Book Review to talk about the week's top books, what we're reading and what's going on in the literary world.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Arts

Books

The world's top authors and critics join host Gilbert Cruz and editors at The New York Times Book Review to talk about the week's top books, what we're reading and what's going on in the literary world. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Share The Charm of 'The Idiot'

Sign up to save your podcasts

The Charm of 'The Idiot'

The Charm of 'The Idiot'

More shows like The Book Review

Modern Love

Fresh Air

The New Yorker Radio Hour

The New Yorker: Fiction

Bookends with Mattea Roach

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Popcast

The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker

The Run-Up

Inside The Times

The Daily

Change Agent

Caliphate

Charm City

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

The Latest

The Candidates

Jungle Prince

The Choice

Rabbit Hole

The Ezra Klein Show

Day X

NPR's Book of the Day

The Interview

Critics at Large | The New Yorker

The Run-Up (2016)

The Opinions

The Argument

The New York Times Narrated

The Run-Up Guide to 2024