Desperate Readers

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. 

...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. 

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. 

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. 

We're Back! After a long winter (and winter break), Niko and Tatiana read the classic Old English epic Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney. They discuss legacy, vigilance,  steadfastness, and how lads love lads.
 
This episode was recorded in January 2024.

In preparation for the new Yorgos Lanthimos movie, Niko and Tatiana read Poor Things by Alasdair Gray. They discuss Bella Baxter's story, ethics and aesthetics, nineteenth-century medicine, and muse a little on the movie starring Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo. 

This week, Niko and Tatiana read Woman at Point Zero by Egyptian feminist author and doctor Nawal El Saadawi, the "Simone de Beauvoir of the Arab world". Based on a true story, Woman at Point Zero recounts the life of Firdaus, a young prostitute on death row, allowing her to reclaim the meaning of her life and depict the lot of Egyptian women. Niko and Tatiana discuss consciousness, sex work, and the gaze of eyes. 

A true American classic! Niko and Tatiana read Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita and discuss eroticism, the English language, and America!

Spooky season comes late to the pod as Niko and Tatiana invite special guest Alex to talk about Henry James's ghost story, The Turn of the Screw. The three discuss psychoanalytic interpretation, turning, the unknowable, and of course, ghosts. 

For literature and literature lovers. Niko and Tatiana read The Most Secret Memory of Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, winner of the 2021 Prix Goncourt. They discuss plagiarism, fragmentation, and jokes, with lots of references to Roberto Bolaño and Yambo Ouologuem.