Lost in Redonda

We're joined today by Josh Cook. Josh is a bookseller and co-owner at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he has worked since 2004. He is the author of the critically acclaimed postmodern detective novel An Exaggerated Murder and most recently of The Art of Libromancy: Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-First Century, published by our friends at Biblioasis.We chat about his work as well as I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita, published by Coffee House Press. Some words get thrown around a bit too often and are frequently misapplied. However, I Hotel is absolutely a masterpiece. To give any kind of synopsis is to do the book (and you) a disservice, but in a somewhat quixotic attempt at that: this is a novel comprised of novellas, all set in the San Francisco of the late 60s and early 70s exploring the revolutionary movements (political, cultural, artistic, romantic, and everything that makes life a dazzling experience) of that time and place. It's a wide-ranging conversation and one we hope you'll find as exciting and engaging as we did.Books/authors mentioned (another curriculum for you!):all of Yamashita's other works (Tropic of Cancer is next up for Tom, he thinks)Tell Me How It Ends by Valeria LuiselliWhite Teeth by Zadie SmithNever Did the Fire by Diamela Eltit, translated by Daniel HahnThree Trapped Tigers by G. Cabrera Infante, translated by Donald Gardner and Suzanne Jill LevineThe Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño, translated by Natasha WimmerGravity's Rainbow by Thomas PynchonUnderworld by Don DeLilloInfinite Jest by David Foster WallaceIf you'd like to read a bit more about/from Yamashita, here's a LitHub article Josh wrote “Why Everyone Should Read the Great Karen Tei Yamashita” and another LitHub article on the “The Craft of Writing” by Yamashita herself.To hear more from Josh follow him on Instagram (@joshthelibromancer) and Bluesky (@joshthelibromancer), and follow Porter Square Books on Instagram (@porter_square_books), Bluesky (@portersqbooks), and Threads (@porter_square_books).Click here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

We're joined today by Lara Ehrlich, a writer, editor, and longtime friend (she and Tom go back 20 years, which seems impossible). Her first story collection, Animal Wife, was published by Red Hen Press back in 2020, and her first novel, Bind Me Tighter Still, will publish in 2025, also from Red Hen. She also hosts a conversation series, Writer Mother Monster, and is the founder and director of Thought Fox Writers Den.We chat about her work as well as Wild Milk: Stories by Sabrina Orah Mark, published by Dorothy, A Publishing Project. It's a fantastic collection: feral, fleshly, and truly wild in its imagination and skill. We spend a great deal of the episode just digging into all the things that make these stories work and the many, many things we don't understand how Mark pulls off so well. One of our favorite conversations so far!Authors mentioned (another curriculum for you!):Lydia DavisKaren RussellKelly LinkKatherine DunnAli SmithMarie NdiayeAngela CarterElizabeth McCrackenAimee BenderAmber SparksAmelia GrayRamona AusubelTo hear more from Lara follow her on Instagram (@lara.ehrlich) and Twitter (@TheLaraEhrlich), and follow Thought Fox on Instagram (@thoughtfoxwritersden) and Twitter (@ThoughtFoxDen). And be sure to pre-order Bind Me Tighter Still from your preferred indie bookseller!Click here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

We're joined today by Mark Haber of Coffee House Press (formerly of Brazos Bookstore in Houston). Mark is the author of two novels, Reinhardt's Garden and Saint Sebastian's Abyss, and the forthcoming novel Lesser Ruins, as well as a forthcoming novella, Ada. We chat about his work as well as Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald, translated by Anthea Bell. A quick note that there was some construction noise we didn't detect during the recording but did get picked up by our mics. We've eliminated it to the best of our ability, but if you hear a bit of an odd thrumming in the background or our voices crackle, it's not your ears.This is a fantastic and wide-ranging conversation, really digging into a lot of what makes Sebald's work unique (and how it does or does not influence Mark's own work). We discuss memory, liminality, style, surveillance and organization, the lack of literary feuds on TikTok, and more.Titles/authors mentioned:W.G. Sebald (all of it, but especially):Vertigo, A Place in the Country, and Campo SantoSergio Chejfec: The Dark and My Two WorldsJavier MaríasFranz KafkaD.H. Lawrence: Lady Chatterley's Lover, The Rainbow, and Sons & LoversAnthony Trollope (like, all of him)Juan Jose Saer: Scars and The Sixty-Five Years of WashingtonKazuo Ishiguro: The UnconsoledFollow Mark on Instagram (@markhaber) and follow Coffee House on Instagram (@coffeehousepress) and Twitter (@Coffee_House_). And be sure to pre-order Lesser Ruins from your preferred indie bookseller!Click here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

Today Spencer Ruchti of Third Place Books joins to chat about The Tanners by Robert Walser, translated by Susan Bernofsky. We actually recorded this back in November and are glad to get it out into the world. Early on Spencer dips out momentarily due to an alarm in the store, but all ended up being right with the world. At least in that instant.This is another wide-ranging chat as we dig into The Tanners and Walser's writing. Some notable—perhaps random, perhaps not—topics that came up: hiking, firefighters, Full House, and lucid dreaming.Lastly, Spencer is one of the founders of a newer literary prize, the Cercador Prize, which selected its first winner, Of Cattle and Men from Charco Press, back in the Fall. Do check them out and follow along as they get moving on the second year of the prize!Titles/authors mentioned:Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Zoë PerryGirlfriends, Ghosts, and Other Stories by Robert Walser, translated by Tom Whalen, with Nicole Köngeter and Annette WiesnerLooking at Pictures by Robert Walser, translated by Susan Bernofsky, Lydia Davis, and Christopher MiddletonBuddenbrooks by Thomas MannClairvoyant of the Small: The Life of Robert Walker by Susan BernofskyBarry LopezAlexander von HumboldtHeinrich von KleistWalks with Walser by Carl Seelig, translated by Anne PostenSeptology by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion SearlsErik SatieWG SebaldThe Village on Horseback by Jesse BallTo hear more from Spencer follow him on Instagram: @spenruch and follow the Cercador Prize on Instagram, too: @cercadorprizeClick here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

Kicking off 2024 we welcome Tara Cheesman to the podcast with her recommendation, Being Here Is Everything: The Life and Times of Paula Modersohn-Becker by Marie Darriussecq, translated by Penny Hueston. Tara is a freelance critic, former judge of the Best Translated Book Award, and she brings us our first work of nonfiction. We have an absolutely fascinating conversation on art, motherhood, representations of women, and a lot more. And recommend a small syllabus of titles to dig into.Titles/authors mentioned:Imperium by Christian Kracht, translated by Daniel BowlesNathalie Léger: Suite for Barbara Loden, Exposition, The White DressÉric Plamondon: Apple S and MayonnaiseJean Echenoz's biographical novels: Running, Lightning, RavelSharks, Death, Surfers by Melissa McCarthyKate Zambreno: Book of Mutter and To Write As If Already DeadMargaret the First by Danielle DuttonJazmina Barrera: On Lighthouses and Linea NigraGeorges Perec: Ellis Island, I Remember, An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in ParisTo hear more from Tara follow her on Instagram: @taracheesman or subscribe (and you should!) to her Substack: Ex Libris.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is upon us and it does not disappoint. Too much to say about this one and, as always, we could have gone an hour longer and still not covered it all. An absolutely fantastic novel and one that certainly lives up to the hype and praise that surrounds it.Titles/authors mentioned: The Secret History by Donna Tartt O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis Ottessa Moshfegh Bryan WashingtonClick here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

We stand on the precipice, one episode away from THE PRIME! Before that, though, we discuss The Bachelors, a fantastic novel chock full of some of the strangest characters Spark has written, which is really saying something. Mediums, epileptics, blackmail, criminality, and much, much more abound in this one. And one of the funniest scenes yet involving a gentleman's club, a game of hide-and-seek, and drapes. As always: a really great time.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

We're edging closer to THE PRIME, but today we chat about The Ballad of Peckham Rye. Spark's novels are incredibly fun, but this might be the wildest, featuring an incredible character name (Dougal Douglas), a lot of absenteeism, a textile factory, a Nun Tunnel, and dancing. Lots of dancing.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

This week we discuss Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants, an absolutely wonderful gem of a novel from French author Mathias Énard, translated by Charlotte Mandell. In 150ish pages Énard recreates the Constantinople of the early 16th Century and the brief time Michelangelo resided there to build a grand bridge. If you've not read Énard before this is an absolutely fantastic jumping on point.(We have done A LOT of New Directions this season (with more to come), which isn't a bad thing but, yes, we've noticed and we are trying to be mindful of representing other presses doing the good work of translation.)Towards the end of the episode Lori mentions a lecture Énard delivered at Barnard College. You can find that here.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

This week we discuss Memento Mori, Spark's third novel and, as we've come to expect, it's a really fun ride. This go-round she brings us into the lives of septuagenarians and octogenarians as they fume, backbite, explore their sexual proclivities, and all come to terms (or not) with their impending deaths. And, of course, it's very, very funny.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and find us on the socials: @lostinredonda just about everywhere.Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

Episode 5 of Season 2: we get to chat with Robin McLean about Ceremony by Leslie Marion Silko. And, yeah, this is probably our best episode so far, which isn't shocking because we're talking about talking with Robin McLean.So, all that aside, it's a great conversation and one that could have gone on for hours and hours yet. We could have gone deeper into nuclear weapons/testing, the residential school system, the “fragile web of the world” as Lori describes it, and so much more, but: that's the joy of reading and of great books.So thank you Robin.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

In Episode 4 of Season 2 we dig into Muriel Spark's sophomore effort, Robinson. Gotta say: it's incredible and we couldn't be more excited to keep on keeping on with her work. This time around we trade London (mostly) for a lonely island in the Atlantic and a story that is funny, tense, clever, whimsical, and just an all-around masterclass in writerly control. None of which is surprising at this point, but absolutely riveting and delightful.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

Having sorted some annoying technical issues, herewith Episode 3 of Season 2 (our way of apologizing for the delay in uploading this episode) in which we discuss The Conqueror by Jan Kjærstad, translated by Barbara Haveland and published by Open Letter Books.And to kick off our series of guest hosts, Chad Post of Open Letter Books (and Dalkey Archive Press (and the Two Month Review)) joins to chat about The Conqueror, publishing writ large, publishing works in translation, and, well, to maybe have a go at a few different…peoples? (In fairness to Chad, Tom very much started it.) It's a fun conversation and a really amazing book.Titles discussed/mentioned:Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolfkind of all of Knausgaardalso kind of a lot of Dag SolstadYour Face Tomorrow (you really ought to know who wrote and translated this one)Njál's SagaEgil's SagaDickens, but specifically David CopperfieldW. Somerset Maugham, but specifically Of Human BondageTirza by Arnon Grunberg, translated by Sam Garrett (and the forthcoming Good Men by Arnon Grunberg, translated by Sam Garrett (out 5/23/23 and click here to order from Open Letter)The Seventh Function of Language by Laurent Binet, translated by Sam Taylorall of Jean Echenoz: really, all of itClick here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

We kick off our season-long read of Muriel Spark's novels this week and what a start! The Comforters is Spark's debut, published in 1956, and is, quite simply, magnificent. Lori and Tom wax heavily on how impressive this novel is and how incredibly fun it is, too! It's going to be quite a great season judging by this title alone.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

And we're back! Welcome to Season Two of Lost in Redonda. We kick things off with a backlist conversation on Chronicle of the Murdered House by Lucio Cardoso, translated by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson, published by Open Letter Books. It's probably one of the fastest moving 600 page sagas of a Brazilian family you're likely to encounter. And it's funny. And gothic. And very campy.Our big project this season is a complete reading of the novels of Muriel Spark. That kicks off next week with her debut, The Comforters, available from New Directions, and, folks!, it's absolutely incredible. We've already recorded a couple of the Spark episodes and are we ever excited. (Her last name of course being the inspiration for this season's music.)We're trying to keep some spoilers out of our conversations this season (or at least flag them when they happen), so: around the 61 minute mark we start chatting about one of the more profound moments at the end of the novel. If you haven't yet read Chronicle and would rather not hear this bit, skip ahead to 1:06.25 or so where we chat about other works that, to us anyway, resonate with this one.Click here for Lori's (great!) article on Chronicle in Full Stop.Titles discussed:The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di LampedusaThe Power and the Glory by Graham GreeneThe House of Mist by María Luisa BombalAbsalom, Absalom by William FaulknerBuddenbrooks by Thomas MannCrime & Punishment by Fyodor DostoevskyGo Down, Moses by William FaulknerAnd click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by TrafficLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

Here it is, folks, our final episode on Your Face Tomorrow and the last part of our Marías project. It's a longer one, but very worth it if we do say so ourselves.Our next season and new project will kick off in a couple weeks' time, but before that a thank you for listening along. It's a fun project and one we hope folks are getting as much out of as we are (and do let us know what you think and/or what you'd like to see us dive into next!).So, stay hydrated as we wrap up our time with Deza and his creator, the late, great Javier Marías.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

It's very strange to be this close to the end of our Marías focus, but that's rather how time moves, ever forward (unless you're Marías and can make time a rather fungible thing in your novels...). This is a fun episode, touching on East End gangsters, Spandau Ballet, the Spanish Civil War, swordplay, and more. And a couple of characters from the previous volume make appearances, though we rather welcome one over the other.One more episode of Marías, a brief break, and then a new project. Thank you as always for listening.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

And now we enter the homestretch. Over the next few episodes we'll tackle Marías' masterpiece, Your Face Tomorrow. Starting, of course, with the first volume, Fever and Spear.Once we wrap up the Marías project we're going to take a week or so off and then we'll be back with more backlist dives and a new author whose work we'll spend some time digging into.As always, thank you for listening.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

This week we dive into Christian Kracht's Imperium, and boy do we ever go deep (sorry/not sorry). It's an incredible piece of historical fiction (one of Tom's favorites and, now, one of Lori's) that follows one man's attempts to manifest his destiny to live in the tropics and subsist only on the noble coconut. And walk around nude. In the German South Pacific holdings at the turn of the 20th Century. There's a lot going on here and we had a great time chatting about it and hope you'll enjoy it, too.In fact, we had such a good time talking about it we didn't reference any other books, other than the only other title available in English from Kracht, The Dead. So definitely give that one a look, too!Click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

A fun discussion this week of two novels published almost 30 years apart in The Infatuations and The Man of Feeling. We walk down some interesting paths and may get ourselves into a moral quandary or two (wouldn't be a discussion of Marías without some moral murkiness, now would it?).These are the last two Marías novels we discuss before wrapping this season with a three episode discussion of that absolute beast: Your Face Tomorrow. A backlist episode next week and then we begin the deep dive. As always, thank you for listening.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

We're going weekly! As the episodes have grown longer we've decided to split them up so instead of discussing two titles per episode (and delivering a 2+ hour podcast) every other week we're switching to one title every week. A guide to the next few episodes will be up on the Substack shortly.This week we dig into Marie NDiaye's My Heart Hemmed In, translated by Jordan Stump and published by Two Lines Press. This one is Lori's recommendation and, folks, she did not miss. It's a phenomenal novel, and one that rather speaks to the moment we're in (have always been in?).Books mentioned in this episode: Other titles by Marie NDiaye, including The Chef and Ladivine Kafka's, well, everything The Armies by Evelio Rosero, translated by Anne McLean The Taiga Syndrome by Cristina Rivera Garza, translated by Suzanne Jill Levine and Aviva Kana You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin Chronicle of the Murdered House by Lucio Cardoso, translated by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson Agaat by Marlene Van Niekerk, translated by Michiel HeynsClick here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

In our sixth episode we discuss Gob's Grief by Chris Adrian for our backlist deep dive. In the Marías portion we dig into Thus Bad Begins (spoiler alert: it's phenomenal). This is a doozy of an episode, so stay hydrated and do be a hero: listen to the whole 2+ hours in one go!Books mentioned in this episode:Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States by George R. StewartThe Stammering Century by Gilbert SeldesThe Immortalization Commission: Science and the Strange Quest to Cheat Death by John GrayLincoln in the Bardo by George SaundersLincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America by Garry WillsClick here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

Lori and Tom discuss Marías' final novel, Tomás Nevinson, just published in the US on May 23rd. A warning that spoilers do occur, especially after the 37 minute mark, so listener beware.Next episode we will return to discussing backlist in addition to our Marías deep-dives.Click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

To mark the publication of Marías final novel, Tomás Nevinson, we're spending this episode and our next episode diving into the twinned works of Berta Isla and Tomás Nevinson. On this episode we dive deep into Berta (warning: we do rather go into the plot in a more significant manner than we have with other titles discussed thus far). And in two weeks' time we'll be back to chat about Tomás Nevinson (so if you haven't picked up a copy yet, get thee to your local indie and get cracking!).Click here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

Welcome back! In our third episode we discuss House of Splendid Isolation by Edna O'Brien for the backlist deep dive. In the Marías portion we dig into Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me and A Heart So White. We really hit it out of the park in both sections, if we do say so ourselves.Books mentioned in this episode: The works of Edna O'Brien, specifically: Girl and The Little Red Chairs Chronicle of the Murdered House by Lúcio Cardoso, translated by Margaret Jull Costa & Robin Patterson Galore by Michael CrummeyAnd returning champions: John Crow's Devil by Marlon James A Companion to Javier Marías by David K. HerzbergerClick here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

Welcome back! In this second episode we discuss some literary news, specifically the passing of Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe and the US/Canada edition of the Republic of Consciousness Prize (chaired by our Lori Feathers) before moving onto a conversation on Tristan Egolf's Kornwolf. In the Marías portion we chat some more about Redonda and dive into All Souls and Dark Back of Time. Bonus points if you can guess exactly when we recorded this episode (hint: lime-sized hail in Dallas is a pretty good giveaway).If you're interested in giving the Republic of Consciousness longlist event a listen (and we know you are!), here's a link to a recording of that event.And if you're eager to hear more about Redonda and Try Not to be Strange (from one of our favorite presses, Biblioasis), here's a link to Lori's other podcast, Across the Pond, and the episode where she and Sam Jordison of Galley Beggar Press chat with Michael Hingston.Books mentioned in this episode: A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oe, translated by John Nathan The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan the works of Amelia Gray Tristan Egolf's other novels: Skirt & the Fiddle and Lord of the Barnyard Try Not to Be Strange: The Curious History of the Kingdom of Redonda by Michael Hingston A Companion to Javier Marías by David K. HerzbergerClick here to subscribe to our Substack and do follow us on the socials, @lostinredonda across most apps (Twitter and Instagram for now; we're coming for you eventually #booktok).Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs

Welcome to Lost in Redonda from Lori Feathers and Tom Flynn. Over the course of this podcast we will explore backlist gems and discuss the career of the late Spanish novelist Javier Marías, King of Redonda.In this introductory episode we say hello, spend a good while chatting about Marlon James' debut novel, John Crow's Devil, and begin our discussion of Marías' life and career.Books mentioned in this episode: Geek Love by Katherine Dunn Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthyPlease subscribe to our Substack to keep up to date with new episodes, a developing catalog of backlist connections, and more.Music: “Estos Dias” by Enrique UrquijoLogo design: Flynn Kidz Designs