Episodes

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Susan Sontag's In America 10.07.2026 15:11

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 15 minutes are free, is about Susan Sontag’s In America . Most of the episode conc...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Gore Vidal's Burr 03.07.2026 21:15

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 20 minutes are free, is about Gore Vidal’s revisionist historical novel of the Ame...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Marcel Proust's Within a Budding Grove 26.06.2026 17:01

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 15 minutes are free, is about Within a Budding Grove , the second volume of Marcel...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Émile Zola's Nana 12.06.2026 10:10

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is about Émile Zola’s Nana . We first discuss Zola’s life and...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Honoré de Balzac's Père Goriot and Sarrasine 29.05.2026 10:05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is about Honoré de Balzac’s most famous novel, Père Goriot ,...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: George Sand's Indiana 15.05.2026 10:04

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is about George Sand’s novel Indiana . We discuss Sand—the mo...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Stendhal's The Red and the Black 08.05.2026 16:26

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 15 minutes are free, is about Stendhal’s The Red and the Black . We speculate on S...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Dante's Paradiso 24.04.2026 16:11

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 15 minutes are free, is about Dante’s Paradiso . We consider the arrangement of Da...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Dante's Purgatorio 17.04.2026 16:01

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 15 minutes are free, is about Dante’s Purgatorio . We dwell, in this most human of...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Dante's Inferno 10.04.2026 20:06

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 20 minutes are free, is about Dante’s Inferno . We consider the conceptual and phi...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Dante 09.04.2026 1:32:59

Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This free bonus episode, the prologue to a three-part series on the Divine Comedy , is about the life, times, and poetics of Dante. If you enjoy it, please offer a paid subscription to access the rest of th...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Virgil's Aeneid 03.04.2026 10:06

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is on Virgil’s Aeneid . We discuss the distinction between th...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov (3) 20.03.2026 15:03

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 15 minutes are free, is the third in a three-part sequence on The Brothers Karamaz...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov (2) 13.03.2026 20:02

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 20 minutes are free, is the second in a three-part sequence on The Brothers Karama...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov (1) 06.03.2026 19:32

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 20 minutes are free, is the first in a three-part sequence on The Brothers Karamaz...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (3) 27.02.2026 10:05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is the third in a three-part sequence on Anna Karenina by Leo...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (2) 20.02.2026 10:06

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is the second in a three-part sequence on Anna Karenina by Le...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (1) 13.02.2026 10:02

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is the first in a three-part sequence on Anna Karenina by Leo...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain (4) 06.02.2026 20:09

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 20 minutes are free, is the final in a four-part sequence on Thomas Mann’s novel T...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain (3) 30.01.2026 10:00

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is the third in a four-part sequence on Thomas Mann’s novel T...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain (2) 23.01.2026 10:03

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is the second in a four-part sequence on Thomas Mann’s novel...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain (1) 16.01.2026 20:13

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here . The 2024 and 2025 archives are here . This episode, of which the first 20 minutes are free, is the first in a four-part sequence on Thomas Mann’s novel T...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Toni Morrison's Paradise 12.12.2025 11:03

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2025 season is here . The 2024 archive is here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, belongs to a sequence on the modern American novel. It concerns Paradise...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Don DeLillo's The Names 05.12.2025 12:05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2025 season is here . The 2024 archive is here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, belongs to a sequence on the modern American novel. It concerns The Name...

THE INVISIBLE COLLEGE: Vladimir Nabokov's Pale Fire 26.11.2025 16:59

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit grandhotelabyss.substack.com Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2025 season is here . The 2024 archive is here . This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is the 10th in a 15-week sequence on the modern American novel. It conce...