Unburied Books

In this enlightening conversation, we talk to scholar Dan Sinykin about his book Big Fiction, which details the rise of conglomeration in American publishing and its impact on the kind of fiction that gets written, released, and acclaimed. We were delighted to hear his insights into the founding of the New York Review of Books, Renata Adler and Elizabeth Hardwick's use of autofiction, and the current spate of literature in translation.

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Poet Diane Mehta joins us to discuss Dante's Inferno translated by Ciaran Carson. We talk about our guest's ongoing Dante project, the multiple levels the text works on, and how, in the Florentine's view, the greatest sins stem from a lack of love.

We recently launched a Patreon featuring two exclusive bonus episodes a month! Check out our three patron tiers (Minor Work, Instant Classic, and Magnus Opus) here. And be sure to grab Tiny Extravaganzas (we especially love "Shredder") and read more about our guest's work here.

Returning guest Michael Barron joins us to discuss Roberto Bolaño's "curio" published near the end of his life. We talk about Bolaño's universe, his unromantic youth, and why this is the only book that doesn't embarrass him. To hear the full episode, head over to our Patreon page and subscribe: patreon.com/user?u=84429384

In this taster for the Patreon, Dylan and Kassia compete to draft their four favorite books covered on the show thus far. If you're interested in more lighthearted episodes like this, please consider trying out a subscription here: patreon.com/user?u=84429384

Writer Esther Allen joins us to discuss her translation of Antonio di Benedetto's Zama, an Argentine existential novel originally published 1956. We discuss the intricacies of translation, the author's repudiation of the idea of a historical novel, and Lucrecia Martel's 2017 film adaptation of the story. Listeners unfamiliar with the plot may want to read the book (and watch the movie) before tuning in.

References:

Burton Pike
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil
Jorge Luis Borges
Julio Cortázar
The Silentiary
The Suicides
César Aira
Roberto Bolaño
The Sound of Music
Werner Herzog
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
"Sensini" by Bolaño
Guido Boggiani
Canaan Morse
Peach Blossom Paradise
Waiting for Godot
Samuel Beckett
Daisy Rockwell
Benjamin Kunkel
In a Lonely Place
"Benito Cereno" by Herman Melville
Juan José Saer
Federico Fellini
Roberto Bolaño's Fiction: An Expanding Universe by Chris Andrews

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Writer and editor Michael Barron joins us to share this short story collection from Julio Ramón Ribeyro. We discuss issues of class, the stereotyping of Latin American literature, and what it means to be "speechless." This book is one to be shared. Pass it on.

Read more about our guest's work here.

References:
Alejandro Zambra
Gabriel García Márquez
Jorge Luis Borges
Franz Kafka
Julio Cortázar
Mario Vargas Llosa
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Katherine Silver
Calvin and Hobbes
Tár

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Author James Kelman joins us to discuss James Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, originally published in 1824. It tells the story of a staunch Calvininst who is lured into a killing spree by a mysterious, shapeshifting being. We discuss the novel's unusual structure, moral ambiguity, and mixture of genres. Kelman offers historical insight into the book's philospophy and places the work in a modern, international context.

References:
Andre Gide
Franz Kafka
The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides by James Boswell and Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland by Samuel Johnson
The Collected Letters of James Hogg
The Brownie of Bodsbeck
John Brown
William Blake
Edgar Allan Poe
Robert Louis Stevenson
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Samuel Beckett
The Castle
The Trial
Peggotty in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Immanuel Kant
David Hume
Adam Smith
Francis Hutchinson
James Clerk Maxwell
Hegel
Karl Marx
Soren Kierkegaard
Rene Decartes
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Blackwood's Magazine
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Francisco Goya
William Wordsworth
Strange Case of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde
How Late It Was, How Late
Robert the Bruce
Goethe
Albert Camus
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Jack Kerouac
Knut Hamsun
Lucinda Williams
Tom Leonard

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Writer and scholar Sheridan Hay joins us to discuss The Other House by Henry James. An unusual work for the author in that it contains his only murder, we analyze the novel's theatrical inspiration, bizarre tone, and gruesome climax. Please be wary as we wound up spoiling this one earlier than we normally do.

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Writer and critic Patrick Preziosi joins us to discuss Cesare Pavese's The Moon and the Bonfires, translated from Italian by R. W. Flint. The story features a nameless narrator who returns to his native Italy from America in the wake of World War II. We talk about the ghosts of the past, the cyclical nature of violence, and the innate desire to find one's home.

Be sure to follow Patrick on Twitter here.

References:
Jean-Marie Straub and Daniele Huillet
Natalia Ginzburg
Family Lexicon
A Private Affair by Beppe Fenoglio
The Little Virtues
Jacques Tourneur
The Business of Living or The Burning Brand
The Selected Works of Cesare Pavese
The House on the Hill
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Michaelangelo Antonioni
Jean-Patrick Manchette
Muriel Spark
Conversations in Siciliy by Elio Vittorini
Alina Stefanescu

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Musician and author John Darnielle joins us to discuss A House and Its Head by Ivy Compton-Burnett, a wickedly funny novel first published in 1935. We talk about how Compton-Burnett's family background did or did not shape her style, explore the influence of Greek drama on her approach to narrative, and try to understand why we find her characters' conversations about horrific acts so hilarious.

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References:
The Life of Ivy Compton-Burnett by Hilary Spurling
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Mikhail Bulgakov
Jack Kerouac
Francine Prose
Devil House
Immanuel Kant
Jacques Derrida
Joan Didion
Propagandhi
Robert E. Howard
Wolf in White Van
Universal Harvester
Minotaur by Benjamin Tammuz
Europa Editions
Robert Liddell
Elizabeth Taylor
Jane Austen
Charlotte Brontë
J. D. Salinger
Charles Dickens
Yasujiro Ozu
Seinfeld
Michael Fengler and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?
On the Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
Medea by Euripides
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus
Geoffrey Chaucer
A Compton-Burnett Compendium by Violet Powell
Anthony Powell
Mary Olivier: A Life by May Sinclair
Thomas Hardy
"Notes on Camp" by Susan Sontag
John Waters' Polyester
Edward Albee
J. M. Synge
Mother and Son
Virago Modern Classics
More Women Than Men
Oscar Wilde

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