Description
The boys head back to Middlemarch to keep exploring. After an interesting reader comment comparing the book's characters to those in Twin Peaks, they set out to see what makes Parts III & IV work. Along the way they praise the simple nobility of Caleb Garth, use Blaise Pascal's theories of diversion to explain the restlessness of characters, and tackle the famous "pierglass" discourse as a way to think about the book's narration.
Theme song: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza
The boys (sans Friedrich) wrap Season 3 by talking about the perfect capstone book: John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces. They take one last gander at form (picaresque? satire?), discuss Fortuna's wheel, and think through what it means to be a political and artistic outsider in the vein...
Published 09/09/22
The boys hop on their three person tandem bike to pedal their way through the spinning wheels of Flann O'Brien's dark comedy The Third Policeman. They debate the novel's genre (sci fi? fantasy? existential tragicomedy?) and explore its fascination with particle physics, theology, and, of course,...
Published 08/23/22