Come explore existential despair, the hell of isolation, and the mad dash into oblivion with Nathan and David.

On this episode, your hosts have an in-depth discussion on Paul Bowles' 1949 novel The Sheltering Sky - a novel of stark prose and philosophical depth that follows Port and Kit Moresby, an American couple traveling in post-WWII North Africa.

Nathan and David delve into the themes of finiteness, the pursuit of oblivion, selfishness, and the differences between a tourist and a traveler, all set against the sublime and terrifying beauty of the Sahara desert.

Listen along and tell us what you think of Bowles' masterpiece and its dark, captivating narrative.

Welcome to our episode on the novel Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann. David and Nathan wind their conversation through the disorienting pages of this incredible novel.

We explore its unique form and style, ponder its structure, and discuss how these creative decisions add to the overarching sense of strangeness and mystery that permeates the narrative. In this episode, we contemplate and ponder:

• Is Malina even real? Or perhaps he's pure animus overtaking the unknown woman's self?
• What is it that makes Ivan so desirable? 
• What is happening with the phone conversations?
• Does Bachmann's views on art and logical positivism affect the interpretation of the novel?
• What's the deal with airplane peanuts?

Join us for this where we try to unravel parts of this mesmerizing novel.

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Books of Some Substance:

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Ingeborg Bachmann (1926–1973) was an Austrian poet and novelist, acclaimed for her profound exploration of existential themes and innovative literary style. Born in Klagenfurt, Austria, Bachmann experienced the tumultuous events of World War II firsthand, which profoundly influenced her writing. She studied philosophy, psychology, and German literature at the universities of Innsbruck, Graz, and Vienna. Bachmann's early poetry collections, such as "Die gestundete Zeit" (The Deferred Time), established her as a leading voice in post-war German literature. However, it was her groundbreaking novel "Malina" that solidified her reputation as a literary icon. Bachmann's works often grapple with themes of identity, trauma, and the search for meaning in a fractured world. Despite her tragically premature death in 1973, her legacy endures, with her writings continuing to inspire readers and writers alike with their depth, complexity, and enduring relevance.

David, Eric, and Nick read Jon Fosse's Melancholy I-II, a mid-90s Norwegian novel in two parts that explores the connections between art, death, and the divine. Also discussed in this episode: what exactly is "the divine."

For fans of cyclic long sentences and also cyclic short sentences, Melancholy I-II is perhaps a slightly lesser known Fosse work to English-speaking audiences, but it makes a very convincing argument for reading as much Fosse as possible. We know we certainly will.

Welcome back! The B.O.S.S. Podcast returns!

As we gear up for Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt, we open up a forgotten time capsule to read about the rise of white collar work at the beginning of the 20th Century, a world looking to sell you on pep! vim! zip! and zing! but ultimately dreary. Nothing really changes. 

On this shortened episode, and more so than usual, Nick guides Nathan and David through the stories "Snappy Display" and "Way I See It."

ALSO! We are happy to announce the beginnings of B.O.S.S. Underground Press and our first release: PWR VOL written by our very own Nick Scandy, illustrated by Aaron Zonka, and scored by mini and the Bear. 

Episode Music: "chemical.static.hum" by mini and the Bear  

Join the B.O.S.S. Book Club for cool artwork and to get in on the conversation: www.booksofsomesubstance.com

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BooksOfSomeSubstance/

On Twitter: @BooksOSubstance

Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) was the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. His most popular novels are Main Street, Babbitt, Elmer Gantry, and It Can't Happen Here. Like many writers, he drank himself to death. 

The mountain grumbles, Shingo mumbles. But it is hard to hear him over the sound of the dishes.

On this full length episode we discuss Yasunari Kawabata's The Sound of the Mountain and try to come to terms with the dying patriarch's aimless drift towards the end. Is it apathetic existentialism? Good old-fashion failure? The culture of post-war Japan? Personal defeatism? Idiocy? Anger? Or an odd replication of nature's non-action?

As always, read the novel and give us a listen.

Join the B.O.S.S. Book Club for cool artwork and to get in on the conversation: www.booksofsomesubstance.com

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BooksOfSomeSubstance/

On Twitter: @BooksOSubstance

Yasunari Kawabata (1899-1972) is a Japanese novelist who won the Nobel Prize in 1968. His most famous novels are Snow Country, Thousand Cranes, and The Sound of the Mountain. His work is often poetic, lyrical, and melancholic.

Memory as time travel. Enigmatic lovers. The comfort of objects. A ghostly romantic comedy. Each, one of Yasunari Kawabata's Palm of the Hand stories under discussion. Each description merely a scratch at the surface of meaning and depth found in these subtle, quiet works.

On this shortened episode, as B.O.S.S. prepares for Kawabata's The Sound of the Mountain, David, Nathan, and Nick look at four of the reductionist vignettes: "A Sunny Place," "Sleeping Habit," "The Silver Fifty-Sen Pieces," and "Immortality."  

Between poetry and prose lies a different form. Between the past and the future is the now. Within the now is all time, all meaning. Or, something like that…

As always, read the stories and give us a listen.

Join the B.O.S.S. Book Club for cool shit and get in on the conversation: www.booksofsomesubstance.com

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BooksOfSomeSubstance/

Follow us on Twitter: @BooksOSubstance

From death and dying to life and living. On this full length episode, we examine the humor, the horror, the existential, the wonder, and even the disagreeable in the lost and found (and possibly changed) madcap protagonist Eugene Henderson of Saul Bellow's Henderson the Rain King. 

With Nathan out sick, Nick and David are joined by Eric Heiman, official B.O.S.S. Book Club member and unofficial Bellow buff. 

As always, read the book and give us listen. 

Check out: http://www.booksofsomesubstance.com/

Follow us on twitter: @BooksOSubstance

It's an exceptionally smart man who isn't marked forever by the theories he reads in passing from books, and we aren't all that smart. 

On this shortened episode, we discuss the Bellow short stories "Leaving the Yellow House" and "A Silver Dish." There's rugged individualism. There's death and dying. There's the spin from that great wheel of fortune we all eventually spin and the bright, shiny electric one Nick may spin on broadcast television.

As always, read the stories and give us a listen.

Check out http://www.booksofsomesubstance.com/ 

Follow us on twitter @BooksOSubstance 

In this episode, we talk through the (beautiful?) mess of madness that is Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. Listen as Nick argues against the false binaried balance of Good and Evil, as David floats in the abeyance of cold medicine, and as Nathan grows into the role of curmudgeon and questions the punk-rockitude of Nick and David. 

David, Nathan, and Nick discuss Mikhail Bulgakov's satiric novel Heart of a Dog and come to some conclusions on the difficulties of understanding and changing our natures, whether proletariat or bourgeoisie, man-dog or mad-scientist. 

The premier episode of the B.O.S.S. (Books of Some Substance) Podcast! Join Nick, David, and Nathan--three bearded white dudes--as they talk about Zora Neale Hurston's black, feminist novel Their Eyes Were Watching God and try to figure it all out. 

David is joined by Ross Benjamin, translator of Franz Kafka's Diaries in its most authentic form to date. Listen in as they discuss Benjamin's start in the field of translation, his love for Kafka's craftsmanship and humor, and why a new edition of Kafka's diaries needed to be released.

Benjamin's translation is available now via Schocken Books and is a must for any Kafka fan (read: the hosts of this podcast).

We have (finally) found the lost time! It was inside us all along! Listen in as Nathan, David, and Nick complete their tour through Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time, concluding with a discussion on the final volume, Time Regained. Topics include: memory, the purpose of art, and . . . BDSM?

In the event that you anticipate going through withdrawals after completing your own In Search of Lost Time journey, might we recommend some Proust gear? Head on over to the B.O.S.S. store to check out some new designs that will help you tell the world that you've read Proust and you're ready to launch into an extremely in-depth discussion about him at any moment.

In this episode Nick is joined by Tom Comitta, aficionado of citational fiction and author of The Nature Book, newly released and available now from Coffee House Press. Tom selected Henri Lefebvre's The Missing Pieces as the work of focus for today's discussion, so listen in as we talk through the history of authors remixing words, Lefebvre's ability to invoke emotion with lists, and the apparent popularity of the destruction of art in antiquity.

Post-script: The remix artist referenced at 43:20 is People Like Us.

In this episode Nick is joined by Bob Blaisdell, Professor of English at the City University of New York's Kingsborough College and author of a new work on Anton Chekhov titled Chekhov Becomes Chekhov: The Emergence of a Literary Genius. Listen in as they talk in depth about the story Difficult People, as well as Blaisdell's approach to digging into Chekhov's most prolific years of 1886 and 1887.

Chekhov Becomes Chekhov: The Emergence of a Literary Genius is available now from Pegasus Books, and we highly recommend grabbing a copy. It's a wonderful read.

David, Nathan, and Nick continue on their expedition for misplaced minutes, this time tackling Marcel Proust's fifth installment, The Captive & The Fugitive. Topics this time around include: the endless cycle of the narrator's obsession and apathy toward Albertine; the errors and inconsistencies of this posthumously published work (and whether that matters at all); the ability of different readers to find different points of connection in a lengthy work so packed with details that it begins to approximate real life.

Say what you will about My Darling Marcel™, but our narrator hero can still deliver quite the impressive take on art, time, and space. 

Only one more volume to go — stay tuned for the coming finale as we wrap up our search and seek to regain all that time sunk into this podcast series.

David, Eric, and Nick dive into The Vegetarian, a 2007 novel by Han Kang that, after its English translation, won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize. This compact work will appeal to anyone interested in tightly architected narrative structures, complex questions of individual agency, and visceral scenes situated right next to moments of quiet contemplation.

One's ability to choose, well, anything at all is not quite so black and white, is it?

Nathan, David, and Nick tackle Sodom and Gomorrah, the fourth volume of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. They discuss how groundbreaking it was at the time to so openly write about homosexuality, the noticeable increase in the narrator's presence in the book's happenings, and the increased level of action in play (at least in comparison to prior volumes, that is).

Listen in as you continue on your own Proust journey and remember: It's okay if you can't pronounce French names either.

Seth — aficionado of difficult fiction and driving force behind WASTE Mailing List — joins the podcast this episode to chat with David about the endless gifts to be found within the endless layers of Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49. Pynchon-lite it is not! Encompassing both the absurd and the prophetic, this early work by the reclusive author covers everything from embedded allusions to the cultural tumult of the 1960s, distrust of any and all formal systems, and a prescient view of the future of communication (cough, the internet, cough). But perhaps the most meaningful conclusion to draw from Pynchon's work is the absence of drawn conclusions. It's messy out there, readers.

Grab a copy, give it a read, give it another read, then take a listen. And make sure to check out Seth's work at WASTE Mailing List's Youtube and Instagram.

David, Nathan, and Nick continue their journey through Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time, this time discussing the third volume, The Guermantes Way. While this one might very well be "a middle book" — and by proximity, this episode "a middle episode" — there is continued brilliance to be enjoyed (if one can make it through the marathon salon scenes, that is). Come for the deep dives on The Dreyfus Affair, stay for the masterful ending. And just remember: You're halfway home.

Nathan and David continue their exploration of control with Waiting for Barbarians, a 1980 novel by South African writer J.M. Coetzee. Empire! Torture! Manipulation! Control! Quite the book, and quite the episode.

Writer, interviewer, and heavy reader George Salis returns to the podcast, this time to discuss Alexander Theroux's Fables with David. The two tackle a list of maximalist topics: deep cuts of vocabulary (real and invented), the forever ongoing inclusions of edits and additions that make a work expand even after being published, and, well, lists themselves. Salis also provides insight into the world of Theroux via his past interviews with the writer and involvement in the publishing process of Fables.

Grab a copy, give this latest episode a listen, and check out Salis' work at The Collidescope. May your sentences be long, your word choices intricate, and your fables dark.

David, Eric, and Nick seek out some mid-summer spookiness in Shirley Jackson's acclaimed We Have Always Lived in the Castle and instead find a compact work that is much more complicated than the horror themes, accessible sentences, and vaguely young adult-ish book cover (thanks Penguin Classics) lead one to believe. Cheers to Jackson for walking the line between genre and literary fiction and forcing the reader to sit with a story that has all the trappings of a murder mystery, but none of the virtuous resolutions. Perhaps we are all lacking the ability to communicate across societal lines, forever content in our ever-shrinking castles after all.

David, Nick, and Nathan reconvene to continue their Proust pilgrimage, this time tackling the second volume, Within a Budding Grove. There is discussion around the narrator's age — whether it be twelve or twenty-two, Proust certainly has a knack for combining the idealism and naiveté of youth with the insight and wisdom of adulthood. There is discussion around the book's repetition of similar events and themes and how it is used to advance the book's common aesthetic. And there is discussion around that (infamous?) wrestling scene between Gilberte and the narrator and just exactly what was transpiring amidst the perspiring.

At the very least, this one is chock-full of wonderful Proust quotes, the beauty of which (we hope) carries the episode on its own.

David, Eric, and Nick spend a beautiful Saturday doing what they love: wading into the tides of the irrational, crushing systems in which we have existed, currently exist, and will continue to exist. In other words: Discussing Franz Kafka!

Three of Kafka's short works provide more than enough to chew on, whether it is The Judgment and its quick turn from mundane to surreal, A Country Doctor and its full-blown phantasmagoria, or In the Penal Colony and its melding of mental and bodily anguish. Kafka's brand of malaise hits just as hard now as it presumably did one hundred years ago — and as it presumably will one hundred years from now.

So grab yourself a spot out in the sun, mix up a nice Mai Tai, and listen in as we discuss humanity's unavoidable contract with the daily absurd.

No more searching is necessary. It's time. It's time to read In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust, that is. And we here at Books of Some Substance will be doing just that, starting off with this episode on the first volume, Swann's Way.

Listen in as David, Nick, and Nathan begin this long journey by attempting to summarize the actual events in the book (likely to be a recurring challenge); by scratching the surface of the concepts of remembering via the senses, attempting to slow down the passage of time, and the tension between the world of the material vs. the world of idea; and by simply getting lost in passage after passage of beautiful prose.

If you enjoy this episode, know that there will be five more on their way. We'll be releasing a Proust episode every two months as we continue reading this masterpiece. If you've always had In Search of Lost Time on your to-read pile, now is as good of time as any to dig in and join us. Come for the madeleines, stay for the memories.

Take the litmus test: Read some JLB, then be our friend.  We'll see you at the end (or at the beginning).

Renata Adler's Speedboat starts and stops, accelerates and leaps, soars and crashes just like some sort of . . . well, you get it. Join David, Nathan, and Nick as they discuss this compact novel filled with vignettes of 1970s life and all of the sardonic observations that come along with it. But do the vignettes combine to create something more impactful? Is the book funny?  And how does one define humor in literature anyway?

Listen in for our own starts and stops as we talk our way through this intriguing little book and try to define the indefinable.

Just because you bought a copy of W.G. Sebald's The Emigrants in the fiction section doesn't make it fiction. Or does it? Join Nathan, David, and Nick for a conversation about fiction vs. non-fiction vs. creative non-fiction vs. journalism vs. memoir vs. Nick's favorite genre of "who cares as long as you like it." Topics discussed also include: the way reading about memory triggers one's own memory, the Nabokovian butterfly man, and a Sebaldian account of recommending Sebald to others.

The Books of Some Substance crew wish you the happiest of holidays. May you spend them reading and thinking about a man who walks around thinking about the things he's read.

Bay Area musician Taylor Vick of Boy Scouts joins the podcast this episode to share her love for George Saunders' The Tenth of December. Listen in as Taylor and Nick talk about the book's use of absurdist mechanisms to move the reader, the connections between Saunders' work and Boy Scouts, and their own attempts to explore new areas of art, despite any existing contextual baggage. Listening to this episode whilst going on a long walk is not mandatory, but nevertheless highly recommended.

Boy Scouts' excellent new record Wayfinder is available now from ANTI- Records.

Our second episode on Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, and again David is joined by Seth from W.A.S.T.E. Mailing List. Seth is here to nimbly unravel some of the meaning of this insane and insanely good novel, and he does an excellent job. But no matter what they tend to get lost along the way, as any analysis of the book will be "not a disentanglement from, but a progressive knotting into."

Join them as they knot into the brennschluss point, the inciting incident of what's happening with Slothrop's c*ck, fragmentation of self at at the force of control, the Raketen-Stadt as antagonist, and if there is any sense of hope by the end of the book.

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Books of Some Substance is on Twitter, Instagram, and our brand-new website. 

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Seth is a non-authoritative devotee of anything and everything related to Thomas Pynchon and all varieties of difficult and demanding literature. You can find him on Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, and Substack.

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Gravity's Rainbow is a groundbreaking novel by acclaimed author Thomas Pynchon. It stands as a masterpiece of postmodern literature, captivating readers with its intricate plot, rich symbolism, and thought-provoking themes. This iconic work delves into the complexities of World War II, war profiteering, corporate scheming, human nature, reflexes, mind control, State control, scientific advancements of the time, and science fiction. The novel offers a unique blend of historical fiction, science fiction, and satire. With its enigmatic characters and labyrinthine narrative, Gravity's Rainbow has become a literary classic, drawing scholars and enthusiasts seeking a challenging and intellectually stimulating reading experience. A world of paranoia, conspiracy, and intricate storytelling, Gravity's Rainbow remains an enduring and influential work in the canon of modern literature. 

In this episode, friend of the podcast and book club Eric Heiman joins David and Nathan to talk about W.G. Sebald's Rings of Saturn. The three get into the melancholic depiction of entropy eating away so much of human life, the sense of historical vertigo, and the (un)fictionality of the novel. Join the three as they discuss the style, form, and substance of Sebald's enigmatic work.

Aatif Rashid, author of the novel Portrait of Sebastian Khan, joins the podcast to profess his love for Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time. The one with, like, a million volumes? The one that's jam-packed with the subtleties of human interactions, relationships, and communications (or lack thereof)? The one that you saw on all of those "great books" lists, but has since slipped away from the shelves of contemporary readers?

Yes, that one indeed. Listen in as Aatif and David chat about why this movement of all movements is still a must-read.

You can find out more about Aatif Rashid here and you can find Portrait of Sebastian Khan via 7.13 Books.

Also, for anyone curious about the article Aatif refernces in the episode, here it is:  "A Text of Arrested Desire: The Anticlimax of Extended Narrative in Anthony Powell's "A Dance to the Music of Time" (1988) by Lynette Felber

https://www.jstor.org/stable/42945736

Ah yes, Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. You probably read it in high school or college as a young seeker of truth, but have you read it later in life? Do the messages change after you too have gone out into the world and been both drawn to and broken by its sweet, empty promises? And most importantly, have you been pronouncing Siddhartha properly all this time? (We haven't.)

Join Nathan and David as they take another spin through Hesse's most known novel. But just remember — we could tell you what this novel is about, but one can only share knowledge, not wisdom.

Down with Napoleon! Long live Mother Russia!

Ole Kutuzov and the gang aren't the only winners here. Anyone who has read through the entirety of War and Peace — David, Nathan, and Nick now counting themselves as part of the club — knows that Tolstoy's masterpiece and its ruminations on free will, history, and tragedy of both micro and macro proportions is and absolute joy and rather hard to stop thinking about. Join us for the fourth — and final — episode in our series on War and Peace and partake in our endless interest and discussion. Whether or not you choose to move your arms while listening is entirely up to you. Or is it?

Novelist Mark Haber joins the podcast to talk about one of his underdogs: Santiago Gamboa and his excellent novel Necropolis.

Necropolis is a novel full of narratives, soaked in storytelling, and driven by a cast of colorful characters seeking some kind of redemption.

Mark and David dive into the novel's plots and craft, and Mark touches upon his own conversations with Gamboa and Gamboa's other works of fiction available in English.

Mark Haber's novel Reinhardt's Garden was published by Coffee House Press in 2019 and is "an exhilarating fever dream about the search for the secret of melancholy" according to Publisher's Weekly, and we here at BOSS think it's a damn fine novel indeed. Highly recommended.

Musician Ned Russin of Title Fight and Glitterer joins the podcast to share his love for Ben Lerner's Leaving the Atocha Station and to also chat about his own latest creations: Glitterer's new record Life Is Not a Lesson and his first published novel Horizontal Rust. It's an all-encompassing conversation on experience, reality, and authenticity — all topics that get more elusive the more one tries to pin them down.  In other words: the best kind of topics.

Life Is Not a Lesson is available now from ANTI- Records and Horizontal Rust is available now from Shining Life Press.

Third time's the charm! David, Nathan, and Nick march on through Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, having now conquered Volume 3. Listen in as they talk through Tolstoy's increasingly direct commentary on the nature of history, Pierre's Christ-like and/or quixotic vibes, and how it all relates to . . . cryptocurrency? If Tolstoy gets to include lengthy digressions on beehives, maybe we can make a few experimental analogies along the way, too, you know?

Stick around for the final War and Peace episode in June because, after all, time and patience are a soldier's (and reader's) best friend.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, singer-songwriter and poet Valerie June calls into the podcast and chats with Nick about her love of The Gift: Poems by Hafiz (Renderings by Daniel Ladinsky), the relationship between lyrics and poetry in her own work, and viewing the world through a positive lens. Additional topics include: Townes Van Zandt, time (i.e. what is it really?), and whether we humans will ever grow out of our comfort in discomfort.

Valerie has just released her new record, The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers, and a new collection of poetry, Maps for the Modern World. The two complement each other extremely well and just might be the medicine you need for all that ails you.

David, Nathan, and Nick continue their journey through Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, this time tackling Volume Two. Characterized by a little less war and a lot more peace, this volume offers plenty of saucy romance, costume-fueled shenanigans, and overly long hunting scenes. Listen in as we recap the many love triangles, discuss the nature of moral fiction, and reveal who most identifies with the character of Anatole.

If you are reading along with us: Do not give up the good fight! Episodes on Volume Three and Volume Four to come in May and June of 2021.

Nick chats with Jesse Cash, guitarist and vocalist of the progressive metal band ERRA, about Cormac McCarthy on this latest episode of the Books of Some Substance podcast. The book at hand is Suttree, a tale of a troubled man who has left an affluent past to live in a dilapidated houseboat and hang out in the underbelly of society. The two discuss McCarthy's masterful use of both complex and simple sentences, the vague origin of Cornelius Suttree's deeply embedded pain, and also whether or not an artist needs misery in order to create.

ERRA's new self-titled record is available now via UNFD. And you can learn a thing or two about shredding by following Jesse Cash on Instagram.

In our first of two episodes on Thomas Pynchon's 1973 masterpiece Gravity's Rainbow, David is joined, once again, by Seth from W.A.S.T.E. Mailing List to talk about one of his favorite ways to approach the novel. 

Seth brings an invaluable depth of knowledge and research to this episode, examining the novel as being primarily about America in the "long 60s," albeit taking place in Europe in the 1940s. They also discuss Pynchon's work at Boeing being a catalyst for his fascination with the V-2, his writing on race relations in "A Journey into the Mind of Watts," and general advice for reading the book for the first, second, or even third time.  

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Books of Some Substance is on Twitter, Instagram, and our brand-new website. 

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Seth is a non-authoritative devotee of anything and everything related to Thomas Pynchon and all varieties of difficult and demanding literature. You can find him on Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, and Substack.

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Gravity's Rainbow is a groundbreaking novel by acclaimed author Thomas Pynchon. It stands as a masterpiece of postmodern literature, captivating readers with its intricate plot, rich symbolism, and thought-provoking themes. This iconic work delves into the complexities of World War II, war profiteering, corporate scheming, human nature, reflexes, mind control, State control, scientific advancements of the time, and science fiction. The novel offers a unique blend of historical fiction, science fiction, and satire. With its enigmatic characters and labyrinthine narrative, Gravity's Rainbow has become a literary classic, drawing scholars and enthusiasts seeking a challenging and intellectually stimulating reading experience. A world of paranoia, conspiracy, and intricate storytelling, Gravity's Rainbow remains an enduring and influential work in the canon of modern literature. 

David, Eric, and Nick discuss Volume 1 of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace in the first of four episodes on the heaviest of heavy books.  Topics include: War and Peace as the ur-text for all war novels to come, the nature and role of translation, and how Tolstoy's realism can be surprisingly light and humorous when dealing with dark subjects.

But the question remains: Are there more casualties on the battlefields of Schöngrabern and Austerlitz or in the soirées of Moscow and St. Petersburg? Grab a fifth of vodka, listen in, and decide for yourself.

Read along and look for episodes on War and Peace: Volumes 2 - 4 in April, May, and June 2021.

George Salis, author of Sea Above, Sun Below joins David to discuss The Satanic Verses, the controversial, exuberant, magical, and magnificent novel by Sir Salman Rushdie.

They discuss the poetry, the allusions, and the history of this "Everything" novel in their own labyrinthine and interconnected way.

Meet Alfred Brown IV, educator and vocalist of the LA hardcore punk band Dangers. He's into Amy Hempel. Like, really into Amy Hempel. Listen in for a deep conversation covering everything from the unintended emptiness of slogan-heavy lyrics to Hempel's short story rhythm to questioning the need to categorize any type of writing — fiction, non-fiction, memoir, et al. — as anything other than just prose.

Make sure you check out Alfred Brown IV as well as his work in Dangers and Cultural Materials. Oh, and grab a copy of that Hempel collection and signal to the world that you are most definitely on the correct wavelength.

Dear World, Kōbō Abe sees your absurdity and raises you one box! A box to live in, specifically. And a box to meld with the psyche of the inhabitant. If it's not clear, we're talking about Abe's 1973 novel The Box Man, a how-to guide on how to construct your own box in which to dwell and/or a challenging narrative (or, perhaps, narratives?) on the nature of voyeurism and anonymity in modern society.

Don't worry, it's not quite clear to Nathan, David, and Nick either. Listen in for another rousing discussion in which the irrational becomes rational, the meaningful becomes meaningless, and the absurd becomes commonplace. Just don't expect to leave knowing who the narrator(s) is (are).

Clarice Lispector's 1946 novel The Chandelier is the topic of fervent discussion for David, Nathan, and Nick in this latest episode. Not for the faint of heart (but perhaps for those near to wild ones), this modernist work probes a deep abyss of metaphysical questions including, but not limited to: What is anything? etc. etc.

Forever dividing a single moment of time into increasingly smaller slices of moments in time, Lispector asymptotically approaches the concept of defining a single instant and leaves the reader dizzy from attempts to tag along.  Life is beautiful, but do we expect a writer to curate this beauty or to hook us up to the firehose and come back a few days later? Even if there isn't an answer, The Chandelier's got enough poetic imagery and deep questions to make anyone feel something.  Just exactly what might not be clear.

On this episode of the podcast, David is joined by author and translator João Reis, author of The Translator's Bride, to talk about lovable literary scamp, the warm and cuddly and optimistic Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard's Old Masters: A Comedy.

They discuss the common aspects of Bernhard's style in general—a monologic riff rife with musical patterns of recursive invective as dark as it is humorous—and Old Masters in particular, which aims its hatred at, among other things: museum guides and their "art twaddle," Russian tourists, public bathrooms, reading too much of a book, nature, newspapers, Austrian culture, the ubiquity of music, the idea of a happy childhood, crowds, teachers, housekeepers, politicians, Heidegger, Beethoven, all the old masters, and the failure of art to be nothing better than a survival skill "to cope with this world and its revolting aspects."

In this episode of the Books of Some Substance podcast, Nick chats with Alexis Marshall, vocalist of the noise rock band Daughters, about Jean Cocteau's 1929 novel Les Enfants Terribles (or as it is known in its English translation: The Holy Terrors). Topics of discussion include: Marshall's own approach to writing poetry and lyrics, how The Holy Terrors is a direct allegory of Cocteau's addiction to opium, and how the atmosphere of this book is both nightmarishly dream-like and kinda like the amplified drama of a reality show.

Daughters' latest record, You Won't Get What You Want, is available via Ipecac Records (editor's note: It is easily one of my favorites of the 2010s). Alexis Marshall's new solo single Nature in Three Movements is out now. The Heartworm Reader, Vol. 1 is available today and features a few poems from Marshall (as well as a few from past guest Ross Farrar of Ceremony).

Happy reading. Happy listening. Stay surreal out there.