Two Month Review

Kicking off this week’s episode is a little game of which came first: a well-known invention, or Volumes I & II of Tristram Shandy. After that, Kaija, Brian, and Chad discuss Volume V, especially the mix of humor and sadness this section contains, and how Sterne’s style overpowers his plot points. They also guess what comes next in the novel, talk about Tristram’s accident, and get into Anatomy of...

Brian’s off-grid, so Chad and Kaija take on Volume IV of Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by themselves. They start by bantering about the Nobel Prize for Literature before getting into “noses,” the metafictional games in this volume, the importance of names, whether you can get a baptismal do-over, and much more. This week’s music is “Say My Name (Remix)” by M...

On this week’s episode, which covers Volume III of Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman , Brian shares some weird stuff about geese from Rabelais along with an AI-created reading list on the “evolution of metafiction.” And all three co-hosts talk about how fun this book is to read, but also wonder what the book’s overall “joke” might be. They also discuss noses (or...

Kaija’s jet-lagged but back, ready to digress and digest double entendres with Chad and Brian. Along with recapping this volume of Tristram Shandy —Toby and Trim’s plan, the collision between Obadiah and Dr. Slop, Yorick’s Sermon, Walter’s midwifery ideas—they talk about the initial reception of this book, the worst type of footnotes, the editorial inclination to favor the transmission of informat...

Kaija (“Medically Confirmed Sleepyhead,” her words) was asleep for the recording of this, so you only get Chad and Brian this week. They introduce Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by going over Volume I. There’s some biographical info at the start, then they talk about shaggy dog stories and digressions, “nominative determinism,” some interesting ideas from the...

Instead of breaking down any books this episode, Kaija, Brian, and Chad talk about some of the books they read this past summer, including a few Nabokov titles , Big Bang by David Bowman (NOT the 2001 character), Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman (longlisted for the Booker Prize!), and several more. Then, they lay out the next three seasons of TMR, explaining some of the connections between thes...

This week, Kaija, Chad, and Brian talk about how well Morgner landed the plane, the ethics of recommending books to bar patrons, what the second and third volumes of this trilogy might be like, how the book works as parody, Viktor Shklovsky, and much more. This week’s music is “Detachable Penis” by King Missle. We’ll announce a new slate of TMR seasons in the upcoming weeks. Till then, stay tuned,...

This week, Brian, Kaija, and Chad talk about the unknown world of references Morgner is playing with, picaresque novels, the joys of writing tedious prose, the American healthcare system, and Beatrice’s fate. This week’s music is “Out of This Place” by Car Seat Headrest. Next week: We finish this! You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple , Spotify , YouTube , or wherever you get your podcasts. F...

This week’s episode opens with some World Cup talk, before diving into the “Sixth Intermezzo” and first half of “Book Eleven.” According to Brian, “family” is the best way to sum up Fast & Furious this week’s reading, which revolves around Laura’s marriage to Benno, and the return of Beatrice from her unicorn hunt. There’s also a speech justifying the “law on the termination of pregnancy” and a te...

Covering two sections of the novel—the “Fifth Intermezzo” and “Book Ten”—this episode of TMR starts by discussing how life didn’t turn out how Oskar Pakulat had hoped, and then meanders through Beatrice’s search for the unicorn Anaximander, along with Benno’s all too honest conversation with Laura, before wrapping with an anti-AI reading of the golem/robot section. There’s more talk about how Imtr...

This week, Kaija, Brian, and Chad talk about the various levels of narration to this book and the interplay between the “books” and the “intermezzos.” They also end up comparing and connecting The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice to a number of books and authors, including Mulligan Stew , Samuel Beckett, The Golden Notebook , I the Supreme , and Flann O’Brien. Finally, they focus in on th...

In an episode as scattered as the book itself, Brian, Chad, and Kaija spend this week wrestling with the wild fragmentation of Morgner’s novel. They talk about co-opting stories, about brains like waffles vs. those like plates of spaghetti, and about what they think might lie ahead. Also: ton of jokes in this one. And some terrible music references. This week’s music is “Pony” by Ginuwine. (Blame...

On this episode, Chad admits to Brian and Kaija that he’s been wrong about something for decades . . . or has he? After that, they discuss the story of Jonah and the whale and Melusine, the poetry generator, Morgner’s general subversions, and more! This week’s music is “Der blaue Planet” by the GDR band Karat. Next week’s episode will cover through page 179. If you want to follow along, the comple...

The new season kicks off by talking about what compelled Kaija to select The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice as Chronicled by her Minstrel Laura , which didn’t get much attention when it came out from the University of Nebraska Press in 2000, but has developed a bit of a cult following. (Maybe the scene will be primed for a reprint by the time this season ends.) Myths, Melusine, Genshin...

On the final episode of this season of the Two Month Review, librarian, book reviewer, passionate reader, and Open Letter intern, Joseph Alcala joins Chad, Brian, and Kaija to talk about the last chunk of Augusto Roa Bastos’s I the Supreme. They discuss what did and didn’t keep them interested in the book, how it compares to other dictator novels, who the audience for this book might be, and just...

Chad is still battling post-COVID brain fog, but he and Kaija make a solid go of it, talking about the brilliance of Roa Bastos’s voice, and reflecting on just how flimsy the monument of words and justifications he’s building really is. Then Kaija brings up this week’s primary topic: How to contribute to a group read when you’re just not feeling the book. This week’s music is “Seven” by Holy Fuck....

Chad has Covid, giving this episode a feverish quality—and making it even more entertaining than usual? Regardless, he’s joined by Kaija and Brian and they talk about their struggles with the book, what’s pulling them through (or not), the philosophies and big ideas of it all, and failure. This week’s music is “Mata Zyklek” by Angine de Poitrine. Next week’s episode will cover through page 381. If...

Carlos Labbé ( Navidad & Matanza , The Murmuration ) joins Chad and Kaija to talk about his experience reading Yo el Supremo in college, influences on this period of “el Boom,” Latin American history, and much more. They also discuss the plot, as it relates to Paraguay’s independence and the instillation of Francia as Supreme Dictator, and make predictions on what’s to come. Also: More skulls!! Th...

Sometimes a pen is just a pen, and sometimes it’s a magical object that might contain all of Dr. Francia’s madness. Although this week’s episode covers pages 166–216, most of the time is spent on the Compiler’s note starting on page 197, in which “the Compiler” finally becomes a fully-fledged character—one who is in possession of the Supreme Dictator’s pen. Kaija, Brian, and Chad talk about how th...

Speculation about the Supreme Dictator and his pet skull dominates this episode of the Two Month Review , although it also includes a comparison between Francia and Alex Jones, an assessment of Francia’s argument as to why he should lead the independence movement, stray thoughts about the Compiler, and a bit about the interplay between the Supreme Dictator’s representation of himself and his reign...

If you’re reading this book and feel lost—you’re not alone! Chad spends most of this podcast talking over everyone and sharing his research about the history of Paraguay circa 1810, which is when a good chunk of this week’s section of the book (pages 56-110) takes place. After somewhat getting their bearings (this is a difficult book!), the crew talk about circles, meteors/aeroliths, writing and p...

The new season kicks off with an overview of Augusto Roa Bastos's life, some background on this season's dictator, Dr. Francia of Paraguay, and a bit of table setting as to how this book came to be. Then, Chad, Brian, and Kaija dive into the book’s chaotic humor and presentation, the presence of the occult in the first chapter of the book, and what makes this novel challenging to read. This episod...

Ted Morrissey ( The Tunnel at 25 , A Lesson Before Writing podcast) returns to help Kaija, Chad, and Brian close out this three-month-long discussion about William H. Gass’s The Tunnel. They discuss the book’s structure, its ending, hoarding and alcoholism, the lack of academic attention paid to the book, the value of the audiobook’s liner notes, and more! This episode’s music is “I Wish I Was Sob...

This week, pervy academics, rivers, candy shops, and a bit of childhood gambling carry us through the penultimate section of Gass’s The Tunnel . Brian and Kaija kick off the episode sans Chad, who pops in toward the end and vechoes the discussion about the book’s overarching pattern of 4s, the applications of “harnessing history,” and—once again and with feeling—what is it that creates and shapes...

Susu, the Book of Judges, MAGA, morality, the mirror of literature, heavy furniture . . . all of these are discussed on this week’s episode covering “Susu, I Approach You in My Dreams,” which includes the all-too-timely subsection “Being a Bigot.” Brian fills in some biblical background this week, Chad argues that reading Kohler makes you a better person, and Kaija is concerned about cats. This ep...