Welcome back for Part Three of Pachinko. In this episode, Rhea and Shari connect some of their stand out quotes with major themes they see developing through the novel: suffering, love, fate, and home. They go back to the quote from Book II and continue to discuss how they see the quote being brought forth through the tensions between characters and their relationships with one another and their place. They discuss the characters and how they are developing through this part of the novel. And, they talk about how this novel is “teaching us to read it.” (A quote from an excellent article by Substacker, Henry Oliver).

Next week we will continue our deep read of Pachinko: pp. 299-396

Link to Henry Oliver’s essay: How to Read the Opening of a Novel

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Welcome to this second episode of War and Peace, R&W’s year long read. In this episode, Shari and Rhea talk and wonder about a whole host of topics. They talk about the scenes that stand out to them: Vasili’s cunning and manipulating, Old Bolkonsky’s gruff love, Nikolai’s obsession with the emperor, and Andrei’s Toulon. They do a deep dive in all study of contrasts Tolstoy is developing: Andrei - Nikolai; Vasili Kuragin - Old Bolkonsky (fathers); Pierre’s match to Hélène - Marya’s (un)match to Anatole; Scön Grabern - Austerlitz; and others. They discuss the continued development of characters, the fact that so far no Kuragin is a good Kuragin, and how the total omniscient narrator allows us to know more about the characters than they know about themselves. They discuss the ways they see War and Peace in conversation with other books they’ve been reading: namely The Screwtape Letters, and Pachinko. And there’s more!

Our next episode will air April 4. We’ll be discussing March’s readings:

Book 1 | Part 3: Chapters 14 - 19 thru Book 2 | Part 2: Chapters 1 - 8

Some Links:

* For Rhea’s nifty bookmarks with each month’s reading: Rhea’s Substack

* For note-taking suggestions as you read War and Peace: Shari’s essay On Notetaking

* On Austerlitz and a creative look on the art of narration: A War & Peace Post

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Welcome back to the R&W deep read of Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss how the story is developing, and how their view of the characters is developing, too. They continue their ongoing discussion of how the opening quotes (the one by Dickens in Book I, and Park Wan-suh in Book II) are being enfleshed through the story telling for each section of the story. They discuss the “cinematic” feel of the story at times. They talk about what it means to “conjure” home. They discuss the heartbreak they felt reading this section, the foreboding, and also the hope they each have for certain characters moving forward.

Next week (March 11th) they will be discussing pp. 202-298.

Have a favorite scene or burning question as you’ve been reading Pachinko? Leave a comment below! We’d love to have a conversation with you, and even discuss it on a future episode of the podcast.

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In this episode, Shari and Rhea dive into their new book, Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. They give some background on author, Min Jin Lee, and her motivations for writing Pachinko. They discuss the Korean Japanese conflict that is the backdrop for this generational Korean family drama. They discuss the significance of “beginnings” in this novel, as well as its almost-omniscient narrative style. They discuss characters and the variety of motives the characters are operating from: everything from personal honor to cultural standing, lust to Christian love.

Links to websites, documentaries, and articles mentioned in this show:

* Felix Doolittle stationary website

* Min Jin Lee website

* Documentary on Pachinko and Min Jin Lee

* Article on Japanese annexation of Korea

* Women’s Roles in Contemporary Korea

* Value and Meaning of the Korean Family

You can find our full reading schedule for Pachinko here.

Next week we’ll be discussing pp. 95 - 201

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Welcome to this last episode on Crossing the Mangrove. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss their thoughts on the ending: what surprised them, what annoyed them, whose narrative they were ultimately drawn toward, and what they think the story is really about. They talk about Xantippe’s character being an archtype of the first Adam, the role of “the Good” as Plato expresses it in The Republic and how the Good it is expressed throughout this CTM narrative. They spend much time talking about the women of this story, especially the two women at its heart: Vilma and Mira, and what their individual narratives suggest for them moving forward. They talk about prophets, and suffering, truth and love, and much, much more.

This episode was great fun to record; a fitting way to close the book on Crossing the Mangrove.

The next book for The Reader & the Writer will be Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. Shari and Rhea will take five weeks to read this epic novel telling the story of a poor, Korean immigrant family four generations strong. You can find out more about the story itself and the R&W reading plan here:

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Welcome to Crossing the Mangrove, episode 2. In this episode, Shari and Rhea dig deeper into narration and what they think Condé’s primary concern is based on the narrative style of the story. They discuss what more they’ve learned about Francis Sancher, the characters, and the community of Rivere au Sel. They spend a long time talking about truth: small “t” truth v. “T” truth and how they see this playing out in the story. They talk about whose narrative they trust, whose they don't. And, they discuss Crossing the Mangrove’s unique narrative arc.

Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer. And mostly, for being part of this R&W community. :)

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Welcome to this first episode of The Reader & the Writer’s year long read: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. In this introductory episode, Shari and Rhea do a brief background of Tolstoy as it relates to his writing of W&P, talk narrative strategy with Tolstoy’s omniscient narrator—who likes to pop out from behind the curtain sometimes in the chapters from Part Two—as well as the theatrical style of the scenes and narration. They discuss the characters—oh the characters! And the families!! They talk about who they love and who they don’t, who they think will rise to prominence in the story and who seems to have faded into the background already. They discuss the significance of the novel opening in French and all the French filtered throughout the story—who speaks it, when it gets spoken the most, and why. They spend time with character motives, and do an overview of the major events of the story so far—which ones they think are especially important for moving the narrative forward, as well as helping us understand what this story is about… which…what isn’t it about?! They also spend some time sharing ways they see War and Peace in conversation with other novels they’ve read on R&W.

The podcast plan for the R&W War and Peace episodes is to drop an episode on the 1st Friday of every month. That episode’s contents will be on the reading for the prior month’s reading.

Please chat with Shari and Rhea on Substack! Send them your thoughts and/or questions in the comments section below, or through the chat function, to either The Reader & the Writer Substack or to Rhea Forney.

Thank you so much for listening and being a part of the Reader & the Writer community!

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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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