The Readers Karamazov

In the main episode, the boys discuss Gao Xingjian's experimental novel Soul Mountain. They work through the unusual narrative techniques (second person?); discuss Taoism, Buddhism, and the book's seeming preference for plurality; and think about the interaction between the book's political context and its incorporation of folk stories and field anthropology.

As a bonus, the second ever episode of Postmodern Food Factory sees the boys diving into the great autumny unknown, trying all four flavors of the Bud Light Seltzer Fall Flannel Pack. Which is worse, Pumpkin Spice or Toasted Marshmallow? Will Søren vomit live on air? Why is Karl strangely into these brews?

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The boys kick it Ancient Greece style once more, discussing Aristophanes' uproarious comedy The Clouds. Bouncing off a reader question, they discuss what Aristophanes' view of Socrates, the main target of the play, actually is. They also talk conservatism in art and whether society can withstand massive upheaval, and dissect some of the trickier formal elements of the play.

Theme Music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza.

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In the first non-Middlemarch episode of the season, the boys tackle Voltaire's fast paced picaresque Candide, and think through issues of humor, how fair the book is to its main target Leibniz, and what it means to live a good, contented life in Candide's world.

SPECIAL BONUS: In our first ever "mini episode," the boys debut a new segment, Postmodern Food Factory, in which they try gross simulacra of actual foods. First up, Mountain Dew Major Melon, a monstrosity of chemical experimentation. Plus, Karl lists all the flavors of Dew he has personally tried.

As promised, a link to the delightful Wikipedia page for Mountain Dew flavors.

Theme Music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza.

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This is it: the final episode on George Eliot's Middlemarch. In this episode the boys tie up some loose ends, ruminating a little more on acts of the will, what it takes to make it in marriage, and even more talk about the books within Middlemarch. As a final bonus, they loop back around to "The Cinematic Eliot" to discuss who would excel at adapting the novel (Robert Altman?), with a brief cameo by Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life, which takes its title from the novel's last lines.

As mentioned at the beginning, this episode is dedicated to the memory of Hal Bush, Professor of English at Saint Louis University. For more info on Hal, we're including a link to his obituary.

Theme music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza.

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The boys get weird as they peer into the furthest recesses of George Eliot's midlands world. In this episode, covering Books V + VI of Middlemarch, they talk more about class elements in the book, dig into the character of Bulstrode and what he represents about English religion, and get a little wacky talking about the books that appear within the book.

Theme Music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza.

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

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

The boys are back in town! In the first episode of Season 2, the Bastard Sons of Hegel discuss the first two books of George Eliot's Middlemarch. Friedrich gives tons of helpful context for the book and Eliot; Karl gets very concerned with the question of Realism; and Søren proposes some cinematic parallels for Eliot's writing. Plus, in depth discussions of Eliot's dialectic writing style and her theories of art.

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

With Karl on break, Friedrich and Søren discuss a book they'd both hoped to force him to read: Anthony Trollope's Victorian novel The Warden. They talk about the ways in which the book goes against the grain of other Victorian novels; the trials and travails of structuring your book around a beta male protagonist; and the flow of sympathy present in the book. Bonus: a discussion of Dr. Pessimist Anticant and Mr. Popular Sentiment.

Theme song: "Shostakovich" by Mucca Pazza.

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In this episode the boys tackle Ian McEwan's Amsterdam, a story of obsession, friendship, and, most importantly, music.

They discuss whether or not McEwan's craft is a little too tidy; what constitutes middlebrow art; and who the best (and worst) members of the Beatles are.

Theme Music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza.

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