Desperate Readers

XLVI. Touching Grass Is Not Enough: When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà

Spooky Season has come and gone but we're still talking about witches on the podcast. Niko and Tatiana read When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà, translated from its original Catalan. Each chapter of the novel is told from a different narrator to weave a story crossing generations and mountain ranges. We discuss the Pyrenees, trauma, and the relationship between nature and poetry. 

XLV. Waves of Violence: Barn Burning by William Faulkner

Welcome back to the pod, William Faulkner! This week, Tatiana and Niko read the short story "Barn Burning," originally published in Harper's Magazine in 1939. They discuss cycles of violence within the structures of family, history, and class, make comparisons to Juan Rulfo, and try to figure out why so many people love American Southern Gothic literature. 

XLIV. El llano en llamas: The Burning Plain by Juan Rulfo

A underrated classic praised by Nobel winners. Niko and Tatiana read two short stories, "The Burning Plain" and "Tell Them Not to Kill Me!", from Juan Rulfo's El llano en llamas recently translated by Douglas J. Weatherford. 

XLIII. Not a Podcast: Not a River by Selva Almada

On to the Booker International Shortlist! This week Niko and Tatiana read Not a River by Selva Almada, translated from the Spanish by Annie McDermott. They talk about water, fire, eco-criticism, masculinity, and girlhood, and touch on authors like Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, and Juan Rulfo.

XLII. Liars and Mothers: The House on Via Gemito by Domenico Starnone

We're back!! Niko and Tatiana read the 2024 Booker International Longlist and Strega-Prize winning The House on Via Gemito by Domenico Starnone. We talk about memory, family, painting, and touch on Starnone's possible connection to the mysterious writer Elena Ferrante. 

XLI. What Women Most Desire: The Wife of Bath's Tale by Geoffery Chaucer

On the last episode of our pilgrimage, we meet one of the most colorful characters in Chaucer's tale: The Wife of Bath. Niko and Tatiana discuss experience, sovereignty, and what women most desire. Drop us a DM if you think you know! 

XL. RIP Chaucer, You Would've Loved the Godfather: The Miller's Tale and the Reeve's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer

The pilgrimage continues! Niko and Tatiana dive into some of the most famous stories from the Canterbury Tales: the Miller's Tale and the Reeve's Tale. They discuss entertainment and morals, what it means to repay a tale, and why the Reeve's tale is a bad tale. A long digression on the Godfather at the end of the episode awaits. 

XXXIX. Whan that Aprill: The Canterbury Tales (Opening Prologue and the Knight's Tale) by Geoffery Chaucer

...with his shoures soote, Niko and Tatiana celebrate spring by starting the Canterbury Tales by Geoffery Chaucer. They focus on the General Prologue and the Knight's Tale while discussing Middle English, medieval life, storytelling, and chivalry. 

XXXVIII. Is-slottet: The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas

The Nordic trilogy wraps up with The Ice Palace by Norwegian novelist Tarjei Vesaas, which recounts the strange relationship between two girls, Siss and Unn, and the aftermath when one of them disappears. Niko and Tatiana discuss girlhood, the Other, the psyche, and community. 

XXXVII. I Was Taking a Drive: A Shining by Jon Fosse

The overdue Nordic winter trilogy continues: Tatiana and Niko read 2023 Nobel Prize Laureate Jon Fosse's most recent translated work, A Shining, about a man who begins to drive until he finds himself in the woods during a snow storm. They discuss modern inner monologues, psychoanalysis, and the limits of language.