The Reader and the Writer

Welcome to the first episode of Crossing the Mangrove, by Maryse Condé, where there is a whole host of characters, and one dead man at their center. In this episode, Rhea and Shari discuss the author, Maryse Condé the unique setting of Guadeloupe, the diverse cast of characters, and the strange, mysterious death of Francis Sancher. They talk about narrative voice, this story’s ever shifting point of view, and how we think it affects the telling of the story—or if it’s too early to tell.

Next episode they will be discussing the middle section of the book: pp. 76 - 151.

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Due to unexpected travel for Shari, this week’s episode is a repeat of Shari and Rhea’s discussion of going to see a live stage production of The Screwtape Letters back in early December 2024.

The Reader & the Writer will be back live next Tuesday, Feb 4th, with their first episode of Crossing the Mangrove. The episode schedule is:

* Feb 4: pp 1-75

* Feb 11: pp 76-151

* Feb 18: 152-208

Also, look for our first War & Peace episode to drop the first week of February.

Thanks for listening! I (Shari) can’t wait to be back with you all next week, both on the podcast and on our R&W Substack page!

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Welcome to the third episode of The Screwtape Letters. In this episode, Rhea and Shari discuss Screwtape’s last six letters. They continue their discussion of love and its antitheses. They discuss the tools they’ve recognized Screwtape employing in these final chapters, especially the weaponization of language. They also discuss Screwtape’s Toast at the end of the book, and what was happening in the world in 1959 to make C. S. Lewis bring Screwtape back out for an encore in an American publication. Finally, they discuss the power of Lewis’s chosen genre: the fictionalized epistolary narrative for conveying the message he hoped to share.

Our next book is Crossing the Mangrove , by Maryse Condé. We will take three episodes to read and discuss the book. The reading schedule is:

* Jan 28th: pp. 1-75

* Feb 4th: pp. 76-151

* Feb 11th: pp. 152-208

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Welcome to this second episode of The Screwtape Letters. In this episode, Rhea and Shari continue their discussion of the loose narrative of the letters, the continued efforts of Screwtape and Wormwood to lure the Patient toward their “Father” and what is at the heart of this conflict—that is, love. This is where they center much of their discussion: what is love? What is it’s opposite? How is C. S. Lewis employing language, metaphor, and motif to help us understand the demon world’s utter confusion over God’s motives for acting as He does toward humans?

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Welcome to the R&W’s first deep read of 2025: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. In this episode, Shari and Rhea go through some background for Lewis’s writing of Screwtape, and then dive into discussing Letters 1-12. They talk about the art of letter writing, hearing a one-sided conversation as a story, and discuss what kind of story Screwtape is, anyway. They discuss what narrative arc, if any, they see developing thus far, wonder who the main character might be, and set up some questions to consider as they continue to read.

Here are links to websites and resources mentioned in their discussion:

* Dr. Jerry Root Lectures on The Screwtape Letters with PDF of notes.

* Beauty & the Arts podcast episode on the Art of Letter Writing (connected to a larger study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians)

* Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “Everything That Rises Must Converge”

* R&W’s OAI podcast episode on The Screwtape Letters live performance they saw in Dec. 2024, as well as Lewis’s introduction to 1961 edition of The Screwtape Letters

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Welcome to R&W’s final episode of 2024! In this episode, Shari and Rhea ask one another a series of questions (not seen in advance) about the books they read, the podcast they’ve made, and their hopes for The Reader & the Writer in 2025 and beyond. They talk about which characters from their 2024 reads they’d invite to dinner, what settings they’d most like to visit, which books their most anticipating in 2025, and a whole lot more.

If you like this episode, be sure to give R&W up to a 5-star review on your listening platform of choice. Share R&W with a friend! And for a full engagement with the R&W community, follow The Reader & the Writer on Substack. We are excited to engage with you all in 2025!

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It’s finally year. For months, Rhea and Shari have been working behind the scenes to decide how they will select their books for 2025. It’s been a lot of discussion, book lists, and finding the right hats—you have to listen to understand what this means—but they made it to the big day and through The Big Draw. Their final list spans centuries, cultures, and countries. They are pretty excited about it and hope you are, too.

Note: After the episode, they made one change to the list, due to a mix up in country origin of the author. Without giving away the entire list here (listen to the episode!), please note that Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier (who we thought was French but was really English) is being replaced by Crossing the Mangrove, by Maryese Condé (who was French)

Look for a complete list of the R&W 2025 Book List on the R&W Substack page.

Thank you so much for listening to The Reader & the Writer this year! We’re so glad you’re here. :)

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In this bonus episode, Rhea and Shari share their recent experience seeing a live, stage adaptation of The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis. They also discuss some of Lewis’s opening remarks in the Preface to the 1961 Edition (found in the annotated edition), and how they saw these elements play out on stage.

Links:

* Fellowship for the Performing Arts

* The Screwtape Letters Annotated Edition (This is the edition we will be reading from in January)

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In this second and final episode of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Shari and Rhea discuss Staves 3-5. They talk about the sheer amount of food and feasting mentioned, the joy of the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the stern kindness of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. They talk about Scrooge’s restored imagination, and the weirdness of the children—Ignorance and Want—hiding in the Ghost of Christmas Present’s robes. And, a whole lot more.

Thanks for listening to The Reader & the Writer! If you’ve loved reading A Christmas Carol, subscribe to our Substack page for weekly Advent devotional essays written by Shari exploring the themes found within the story.

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Welcome to our last book of the year: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This week Shari and Rhea discuss Staves 1-2 of this classic novella. They share background information on Dickens and his inspiration for the story. Shari praises the Muppets Christmas Carol as the best movie version ever. They discuss all the many motifs and metaphors that hint directly to the Great Story found in Scripture. And a whole lot more.

Link for the Hillsdale College online course for A Christmas Carol.

Next week they will discuss the rest of the story, Staves 3-5.

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