On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their discussion of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, focusing on the prologue and chapters one and two. Topics include: First experiences with Waugh Waugh's nostalgia The prologue The book's various juxtapositions The sacred and the profane The book's spiritual hauntings 3 key decaying institutions and more... This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors of the Old Western Culture se...
May 23, 2017•1 hr 6 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David discuss C.S. Lewis's classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and it's victory in our Great Books Bracket this spring. Topics include: Why the Narnia stories have maintained their reputation for so long The differences in reading it for the first time as a child as opposed to as an adult Which Narnia book should be read first Lewis's philosophies on reading and more... Plus, they kick the show off by discussing how to know if dislik...
May 16, 2017•59 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David conclude their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , by answering listener questions. Topics include: How O'Connor's contemporaries viewed her work Angelina and Tim's Amazon-style reviews of O'Connor Anagogical/allegorical reading O'Connor's appeal to non-Christians Rapid-fire questions and much more... *** This episode is brought to by our friends at Roman Roads Media, purveyors o...
May 10, 2017•1 hr 21 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , with "Judgement Day". Topics include: The next book we'll be reading on Close Reads The complicated nature of this story It's serious flaws Comparing The Geranium with Judgement Day Is it confusing on purpose or because of bad writing? The weird glasses scene The good and bad of the "southern code" Coleman's wisdom and loyalty Ta...
May 02, 2017•1 hr 13 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , with "Parker's Back". Topics include: The differences between "Parkers' Back" and her other work The theatrical nature of the story Parker's awe The deeper meaning of the characters' actions Reading Sarah Ruth Parker's image (and its all-seeing eye) Why O'Connor chose to use a Byzantine icon *** This episode is brought to by our ...
Apr 25, 2017•1 hr 15 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , with "Revelation." Topics include: Whether this is a good story to use to introduce stuents to O'Connor The racism of characters in the story Mrs. Turpin's gradual openness Mrs. Turpin's Christ-haunted-ness Seeing ourselves in Mrs. Turpin Judging Mrs. Turpin Mrs. Turpin's avenging angel of judgment Mrs. Turpin's mystical vision *...
Apr 17, 2017•1 hr 19 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , with "The Lame Shall Enter First." Topics include: whether this story is less grotesque, the clinical-ness of the prose, psychology vs spiritual in the story, whether Shepherd repents, O'Connor vs the enlightenment, Norton as Shepherd's mirror, Norton's loneliness, faith like a child, and O'Connor the smuggler *** This episode is...
Apr 10, 2017•1 hr 24 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , with "The Comforts of Home." Topics include: the theatrical nature of O'Connor's work, this story vs. the others in this collection, whether the mother is right to take an interest in Sarah, common critical readings that emphasize sexual tension, the opening paragraphs, Thomas as pharisee, the absence of dark grace, and more. See...
Apr 03, 2017•1 hr 27 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , with "The Enduring Chill." Topics include: O'Connor's sense of humor, the autobiographical nature of the story, the meaning of the names, where Asbury's illness came from, the work of the Holy Spirit in the story, and much more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to ...
Mar 29, 2017•1 hr 17 min
On this episode of Close Reads, David chats with Dr. Ralph Wood, author of Flannery O'Connor and the Christ-Haunted South , about Flannery O'Connor's reputation for grimness. Topics include: When Dr. Wood heard O'Connor give a reading live in 1962, O'Connor's sense of humor, the scandalousness of the gospel in O'Connor's canon, Julian's mother in Everything That Rises Must Converge , A View of the Woods ' lack of quality, and much, much more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informa...
Mar 24, 2017•1 hr 14 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , with "A View of the Woods." Topics include: Whether Mary actually exists, Mary as mirror of her grandfather, O'Connor's mysterious use of pronouns, the battle between Fortune and Pitts, the story's comments on modernism, and the damnation of Fortune. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public epis...
Mar 20, 2017•1 hr
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , with "Greenleaf." Topics include: The romance of the bull, the bull as Christ-figure, O'Connor's commentary on Southern Christianity, sympathy for the Greenleafs, class differences in the story, Mrs. May's irreligion, Mrs. May's disdain for the bull, and the medieval theme of ecstasy in the story's ending. PLEASE NOTE: STARTING A...
Mar 13, 2017•1 hr 9 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David begin their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge , beginning with the titular story. Topics include: The 2017 Close Reads literature bracket, first experiences with O'Connor (18:10), O'Connor's "metaphysical realism" (26:40), story summary (37:11), the real racist in the story (41:50), the effect of coming home in O'Connor's work (51:40), the coin (62:45), the ambiguity of the end (...
Mar 06, 2017•1 hr 21 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David answer listener questions about Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Topics include: More on how to say "Sayers", Wimsey vs Darcy (12:20), Miss Meteyard as representative of Sayers (19:25), Current states of mystery stories (21:55), Says on good Christian art (38:55), Wimsey's sorrow at the end of the book (51:40), and what Sayers to read next (57:00). *** Click here to join t...
Feb 27, 2017•1 hr 5 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David conclude their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Topics include: Who else the murderer could have been (6:45), whether Justice was served in the end (14:00), whether Wimsey was actually a good detective in this book (36:30), Tallboy's possible redemption (45:00), and the book we'll read next on the show. *** Be sure to subscribe to the Close Reads feed...
Feb 20, 2017•56 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Topics include: Comparisons between this book, Netflix's The Crown , and BBC's Downton Abbey; class issues between characters; the lack of appeal in the evil in the book; the slow burn tensions; and how Greek (the language) can help us pronounce "Death Bredon." *** Click here to join the Close Reads Face...
Feb 13, 2017•1 hr 6 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Topics include: Why Tim isn't overly excited about this book, what about it people most like, the modernism of the prose, the various jumping perspectives, and the theme of phantasms. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with o...
Feb 06, 2017•1 hr 4 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayers' classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Topics include: How to say "Death Bredon," how Sayers ups the stakes and tension in these chapters, the role of young Ginger Joe, Lord Peter as Bertie Wooster, and similarities with Brave New World . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to dis...
Jan 30, 2017•1 hr 4 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayer's classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise , one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Topics include: the anxiety and cultural malaise of post-WWI Europe, the liturgy of the mystery story, why Angelina loves Lord Peter Wimsey more than Mr. Darcy, Sayers/Wodehouse comparisons, the in-media-res start of the book, and the nature of the advertising in the book. ** Click here to join the Close...
Jan 23, 2017•57 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David kick off their ongoing discussion of Dorothy Sayer's classic mystery novel, Murder Must Advertise, one of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Topics include: The value of mystery stories as literature, Lord Peter vs Sherlock Holmes, Dorothy Sayers biography, and Sayers' rules of mystery writing. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...
Jan 16, 2017•59 min
On this episode of Close Reads, Tim, Angelina, and David discuss some of the books that excited them most in 2016. Titles include a difficult Great Book, a fantastical novel about a runaway slave, and several books of culture criticism. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe...
Jan 02, 2017•1 hr 9 min
