Close Reads Podcast

As is our custom here on Close Reads, we’re concluding this series on Francois Mauriac’s Vipers’ Tangle by answering some of your questions. We talk about Mauriac’s bibliography and biography, conversion stories in literature, Louis’ evolving heart, and much more! Thanks for tuning in and happy listening! 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

Now that we’ve read all of Mauriac’s Vipers’ Tangle, we can discuss the details. So in this episode, we dig into the degree to which we can trust the narrator as the novel goes on, the degree to which his children are malicious, and the degree to which he’s truly changed/saved in the end. And so much more. Happy listening! 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

Flannery O’Connor’s fiction has been described as “gothic,” “violent,” “unsentimental,” even “grotesque.” Yet it is also often described as funny. How can both be true? Well in this episode the whole gang is back together to discuss that very question during a live recording that took place at our recent “Close Reads on the Road” event in Concord, NC. So join us as we explore O’Connor’s famous story, “Good Country People” and try to ascertain where the humor in her work comes from and why it matters. Happy listening!Close Reads Podcast HQ is a community-supported endeavor. If you like what you hear, please consider subscribing. 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

Welcome back to Close Reads. This week we’re discussing the way Vipers’ Tangle shift gears in this section and what it means for our understanding of the characters, the goals of the book, and our interaction with it. Plus: lots of conversation about Isa and marriage. Happy reading! 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

Welcome back to Close Reads! This week we discuss why Vipers’ Tangle isn’t better known, the degree to which the book wants to be sympathetic with the narrator, where we’re supposed to trust his perceptions, and some areas the book might fall short of being truly great (to David, anyway). Happy listening! 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

This week we kick off a new book with some conversation about Sean’s obsession with Graham Greene, why books about spiritual struggle are so compelling, whether this book has an unreliable narrator, and the difference between a novelist who is Catholic and a Catholic who is a novelist. Happy listening! 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

You had questions about Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont—we have answers. Thanks so much for participating in this series of this episodes and happy listening! 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

The reading list for 2025 is officially official! After a lively nominating season and much debate (which you can hear in this episode), we have chosen nine books to discuss next year. We’re heavy on classics this year, by design—and we’re going to take our time as we read them. If you’d like to hear how these books came to be chosen (and the books that didn’t quite make the cut), click that “play'“ button to check our “Great Winnowing” conversation. Here’s to a great year of reading together! A few notes: * You can click here buy these books through Goldberry Books.* The complete schedule, with dates and number of weeks per book, will be relased later this year. We do not yet know the order in which we will read them (including which will be read first). * The first subscriber-exclusive book for 2025 will be The Betrothed, an Italian novel by Alessandro Manzoni. We will announce the second title soon. * The titles in our monthly series on mystery fiction will be announced in early October Happy listening! 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

As we come to the end of Elizabeth Taylor’s novel, it’s time to discuss the degree to which the ending is tragic (vs. merely melancholy). Plus: what do we make of Ludo’s storyline, Mr. Osmond’s role in the final chapters, and the moral framework of the story. Happy listening! 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

Welcome back to the Close Reads! This week we discuss whether Ludo is a decent guy, compare the real Desmond to the fake one, contemplate the creeping scourge of loneliness, and dig deep into a key chapter/scene. As always, happy reading! 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