The Dabblers' Book Club

Hajar and Curtis are back from their break to talk about modern classic, The Collector, by the late John Fowles. Expect tangents galore, the usual swearing, and a few one-star reviews. Make no mistake, we loved this book, so if you've not read it, run along and read it first before joining us for the latest pod!

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In a surprising turn of events, Curtis and Hajar weren't too blown away by this Booker longlisted novel from Kevin Barry. And in fact, to save a long podcast bemoaning work we probably just didn't understand, we kept it a bit shorter this week. Still, listen for some beautiful excerpts and chat about why we couldn't quite connect with the characters. 

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Hajar and Curtis talk about debut novelist Oyinkan Braithwaite's pacy and perfect account of Korede and her younger sister, serial killer Ayoola. This was a horrifying but humorous breath of fresh air in the midst of global lockdown, and we highly recommend you spend a morning reading it before joining us for all the usual sweary spoilers as we talk about family dynamics and Instagram influencers... and Hajar gets a little angry. Just as with Fleishman is in Trouble, it appears some 1* Amazon reviewers can't help but lace/completely underpin their reviews with racism, so when we get to the review part, if you don't want to hear that stuff, we suggest leaving us there.

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Curtis and Hajar were blown away by this shocking dystopia by Agustina Bazterrica, translated from Spanish by Sarah Moses. If everyone else was eating human meat, would you? The book is gruesome but important, and of course expect the usual swearwords and spoilers from your podcast hosts... but this week, unfortunately (fortunately for the author) there are NO AMAZON ONE-STAR REVIEWS! Read the book and join the Dabblers' Book Club. Warning: do not, under any circumstances, read it while eating.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-dabblers-book-club.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Curtis and Hajar were blown away by this shocking dystopia by Agustina Bazterrica, translated from Spanish by Sarah Moses. If everyone else was eating human meat, would you? The book is gruesome but important, and of course expect the usual swearwords and spoilers from your podcast hosts... but this week, unfortunately (fortunately for the author) there are NO AMAZON ONE-STAR REVIEWS! Read the book and join the Dabblers' Book Club. Warning: do not, under any circumstances, read it while eating.

Hajar and Curtis learn more about (how little they know about) the natural world, as they discuss the story of Kya Clark, locally known as the 'Marsh Girl' who raises herself from the age of six in the North Carolina marshland, and finds herself caught up in a murder investigation. Do not listen to this podcast if you plan on reading the book, but haven't yet done so, as there are MAJOR SPOILERS. Expect the usual swearing, one-star Amazon reviews and a few childhood memories.

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Hajar and Curtis talk marriage and divorce and how their opinions of Toby Fleishman changed over the course of reading Taffy Brodesser-Akner's debut, 'Fleishman is in Trouble'.

Obviously there's swearing and the usual laughing at one-star reviews, but it's worth pointing out that one of the reviews turned out to be hideous and anti-semitic. We've kept it in because well, we wanted to keep in our shock and despair at it, but if you don't want to hear that sort of stuff, do skip the 31st to the 35th minute.

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Curtis set Hajar the challenge of reading one of his favourite books. With all her pre-conceptions of Bukowski and her encounters with his fans, will Hajar be pleasantly surprised? Expect swearing straight away, adult themes and discussion about sexual violence.

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Chatting about Sally Rooney's award-winning fiction, Normal People, Curtis and Hajar talk university years, sexuality, toxic masculinity, and trying to feel human when you're barely an adult.

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In this episode, Curtis got Hajar reading one of his favourite books of all time: Fahrenheit 451. Expect sighing, swearing, and Hajar realising she probably needs to read it all over again in a better mood.

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