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Two Month Review: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Open Letter Books
Each “season” of Two Month Review highlights a different new and amazing work of world literature, reading it slowly over the course of eight to nine episodes. Featuring a rotating set of literary guests—from authors to booksellers, critics, and translators—the individual episodes recap a short section of the book and use that as a springboard for a fun (and often irreverent) discussion about literature in a general sense, pop culture, reading approaches, and much more. Talking about great books doesn't need to be deadly serious, and the levity of 2MR makes it accessible to everyone (even if you’re not reading along). threepercentproblem.substack.com
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- 6 days ago55 min
TMR 31.8: "A Humanizing of Human Beings" [The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice]
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, and explore our extensive back catalog of more than 150 episodes. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) for all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com
- 1 weeks ago49 min
TMR 31.7: "Morgenstern or Mohrenfern or Whatever" [The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice]
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.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) for all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com
- 2 weeks ago50 min
TMR 31.6: "Our Children Are Not Our Possessions" [The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice]
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 terrible poem by Paul Wiens. (Chad: “Who?”)This week’s music is “Connect the Dots (Song of Secretariat)” by Car Seat Headrest.Next week’s episode will cover the rest of “Book Eleven,” which ends on page 424. If you want to follow along, the complete schedule can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) for all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com
- 4 weeks ago53 min
TMR 31.5: "I Could Have Been The Conductor of a Shawm Band" [The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice]
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 Imtraud Morgner is disrupting patriarchal literary forms, incorporating a dazzling array of literary structures, and having a great time writing this book. Also: Chad discovers the “Glossary” and learns about Paul Wiens for the second time this season.This week’s music is “Brothers” by Dan Deacon.Next week’s episode will cover up through page 360. If you want to follow along, the complete schedule can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) for all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com
- Jun 29, 20261h 1m
TMR 31.4: "When I Was a Barge" [The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice]
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 the idea of a “montage novel” and how this upends male-dominated patterns of fiction. This week’s music is “Not Today” by Kim Gordon.Next week’s episode will cover up through page 299 (“Fifth Intermezzo” and “Book Ten”). If you want to follow along, the complete schedule can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) for all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com
- Jun 12, 20261h 2m
TMR 31.3: "Eating Is an Act of Consciousness" [The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice]
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 Brian.)Next week’s episode will cover up through page 242. If you want to follow along, the complete schedule can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) for all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com
- Jun 5, 202655 min
TMR 31.2: "You're Just Not Used to Being Treated Like a Lady" [The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice]
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 complete schedule can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) for all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com
- May 29, 202652 min
TMR 31.1: "I Had to Sleep for 808 Years" [The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice]
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 Impact, the “Lady and the Unicorn” tapestries, Hopscotch and Tristram Shandy are all discussed, before Kaija gets to share the real reason she picked this book (spoiler: it’s a bunch of insults).This week’s music is “De Troubadour” by Lenny Kuhr, winner of Eurovision 1969.Next week’s episode will cover through page 116. If you want to follow along, the complete schedule can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) for all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com
About Two Month Review
Each “season” of Two Month Review highlights a different new and amazing work of world literature, reading it slowly over the course of eight to nine episodes. Featuring a rotating set of literary guests—from authors to booksellers, critics, and translators—the individual episodes recap a short section of the book and use that as a springboard for a fun (and often irreverent) discussion about literature in a general sense, pop culture, reading approaches, and much more. Talking about great books doesn't need to be deadly serious, and the levity of 2MR makes it accessible to everyone (even if you’re not reading along). threepercentproblem.substack.com
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