The Readers Karamazov

A Slight Eructation of the Valve (John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces)

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 of Ignatius J. Reilly. They also talk localism and other weird political alignments that defy the usual American dichotomies.

Theme Music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza

An Astonishing Parade of Nullity (Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman)

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, whether or not bikes can turn into humans and vice versa.

Theme music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza.

A Podcast of Things in General (Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus + Mt. Dew Flaming Hot)

Back at full strength, the boys discuss the first entry of the final cycle of the season, "Mirth" -- Friedrich's selection of Thomas Carlyle's Sartor Resartus. They discuss the book's strange format as a work that blends fiction and pseudo-philosophy, and Carlyle's unique brand of satire. They also talk about clothes, about German idealism and Romanticism, and who is the podcast's resident dandy.

Then, in a new episode of PoMoFooFac, the boys try the strange elixir known as Mountain Dew Flaming Hot. Will Karl's Kleen Kanteen preserve any semblance of bubblage? Will Friedrich and Søren design a 90s scrolling platformer game starring the adorable, finger glove wearing Dew Spark? Listen on to find out!

Theme music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza

The Watchers Karamazov Bonus Film Episode: Devil in a Blue Dress and In a Lonely Place

It's double trouble as Karl and Søren tackle two film adaptations of books from the boys' mystery cycle: Carl Franklin's 1995 neo-noir version of Devil in a Blue Dress, starring Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, and Jennifer Beals; and Nicholas Ray's 1950 version of In a Lonely Place, with Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame.

After discussing how widely Ray's film departs from Dorothy B. Hughes' novel, they talk about various technical aspects: Franklin's love of tracking shots, Devil's musical juxtaposition, Don Cheadle's charisma, and whether Bogey is a good actor or merely a good movie star (scandal!).

In the Sand and on the Rocks (Dorothy B. Hughes’ In a Lonely Place)

With Friedrich on vacation, Søren and Karl team up to crack the case of Dorothy B. Hughes' classic L.A. noir In a Lonely Place. Will the L.A. Police find out who's been strangling women once a month, like clockwork? Will mystery writer Dix Steele outrun his postwar demons and his own loneliness and find happiness with the alluring Laurel Gray? Who has the more outré name, Dix Steele, or his best friend Brub Nicolai? All this and more on this week's exciting episode.

 

Theme music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza

When the Voice Speaks, I Listen (Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress)

The mystery segment of Season 3 continues as the boys discuss Walter Mosley's Devil in a Blue Dress. They discuss how the book acts as an excellent first entry in a detective series, how Easy Rawlins differs in his detective work from Sherlock Holmes, and the book's place in the history of U.S. racial relations and American Pragmatism.

Theme music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza

There Still Remains the Cocaine-Bottle (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four)

The boys begin Part III of Season III with a bang, as they tackle Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic (but perhaps overlooked) Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of Four. They discuss Holmes' method as a detective, especially compared to that of his rival Athelney Jones; the great sleuth's cultural blind spots; and whether emotion has any role in investigative work.

 

Theme music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza.

Smoking Cigarettes While the World Burns (Yukio Mishima’s The Temple of the Golden Pavilion)

The boys discuss the final entry in the "Monks" section of the season: Karl's pick of Yukio Mishima's The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. They talk about Mishima's fascinating life, the ins and outs of Zen Buddhism and how its ideas relate to the book's narrative, and problems of size, scale, and beauty in the book.

Note from Karl regarding the discussion of Zen meditation: "At one point I say that 'zazen meditation it literally means 'just sitting' you're just supposed to sit and meditate...' I was thinking of shikantaza, which is a sub-form of zazen. Also, in Sōtō Zen that's true that no koan/sutra is needed but in other schools (Rinzai) what I said is false."

 

Theme Music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza.

A Bicephalous Old Tumater Woman (Walter M. Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz)

The boys are back in the most explosive episode of The Readers Karamazov yet. They discuss a classic of dystopian sci-fi, Walter M. Miller Jr.'s nuclear wasteland novel A Canticle for Leibowitz. They discuss the book's thrilling, intricate structure, its view of the spirals of history, and its ideas about science and faith and art. Complete with references to Jacques Ellul, Aldous Huxley, Thomas Merton, and... Sisqo?

Theme Music: "Shostakovich," by Mucca Pazza.

Epochs on Both Your Houses (Herman Hesse’s Narcissus and Goldmund, Plus Postmodern Food Factory ”Crap Sampler”)

In the first non-Eco book of the season, the boys tackle Herman Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund, a tale of two very different medieval figures. Karl and Friedrich, our Hessexperts, are perplexed by the book's relation to Hesse's other works, but plow on nonetheless. The boys talk about artistic creation, medieval verisimilitude, and the special bond between teachers and students.

Then, on a very special Postmodern Food Factory, the boys try not one, not two, not three, but FOUR different lab-created foodstuffs (Nitro Pepsi, Smartfood Doritos Popcorn, Taki's Meatsticks, and Carolina Reaper Cheetos). Plus an all time great Karl story about his fear of popcorn.

 

Theme Music: "Shostakovich" by Mucca Pazza.