Shows / Two Month Review
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…
Episodes
Two Month ReviewTMR 32.6: “A Tolerable Straight Line” [Tristram Shandy]
Harold Rogers (Tropicália) comes on to talk about his new novel, Humpty Dumpty, and Laurence Sterne’s influence on his writing. After that, the conversation…
Two Month ReviewTMR 32.5: “So Often Has My Judgment Deceived Me in My Life” [Tristram Shandy]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 32.4: “Zounds!” [Tristram Shandy]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 32.3: “The Subordination of Fingers and Thumbs To ******” [Tristram Shandy]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 32.2: “This Requires Explanation” [Tristram Shandy]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 32.1: “Masterstroke of Digressive Skill” [Tristram Shandy]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR: Summer Reading
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 30.8: "The Fatherland or Death!" [I the Supreme]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 30.7: "I Should Like to See You Do What I Do!" [I the Supreme]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 30.6: "Second-Rate Attilas of the Disunited Provinces" [I the Supreme]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 30.5: "I Am Highly Optimistic But Not Amnesiac" [I the Supreme]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 30.4: "Construction of the Super-Race by Means of Nutrition" [I the Supreme]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 30.3: "Man Is an Idiot" [I the Supreme]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 30.2: "Representation of Writing As Representation" [I the Supreme]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 30.1: "They're Daring to Parody My Supreme Decrees Now" [I the Supreme]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.12: "Writing Is Hiding From History" [The Tunnel]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.11: "I Appreciate That Answer" [The Tunnel]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.10: "Curve Him and Unnerve Him" [The Tunnel]
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…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.9: "To Orchestrate the Common Hate" [The Tunnel]
Ted Morrissey (The Tunnel at 25) returns to talk about his favorite section of The Tunnel, which has some Joycean overtones, and is a little less angry than…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.8: "It Is Betty Boop" [The Tunnel]
In this section of The Tunnel, Gass looks at academia, committees, power dynamics on campus, and the “curse of colleagues.” Chad, Brian, and Kaija have a lot…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.7: "Men Are Tormented by Men" [The Tunnel]
Lori Feathers (Interabang Books, Big Book Project) joins Kaija, Chad, and Brian to talk about “The First Winter of My Married Life” in which Kohler and Martha…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.6: "Welcome to History" [The Tunnel]
Chris Via of Leaf by Leaf joins Kaija, Brian, and Chad on this episode to talk about “Why Windows Are Important to Me.” They discuss Chris’s ten-hour-long…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.5: "Historians Make History" [The Tunnel]
Covering the “Mad Meg” section (pgs 214–282), Chad, Kaija, and Brian talk about the juxtaposition of Kohler’s childhood Sunday drives with the bombast of Mad…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.4: "What Principle Is Not a Prejudice?" [The Tunnel]
As Kohler begins to dig his actual tunnel, Chad, Kaija, and Brian talk about Culp as a sort of döppelganger, complicity, the symbolism of a tunnel, losing…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.3: "I Think He Was Loud Because He Was Alone" [The Tunnel]
This week Chad, Brian, and Kaija talk about the midwest as hell, locusts and tornados, one’s family and attempts to escape it, forms of love found in the book…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.2: "Our Proper Bliss Depends on What We Blame" [The Tunnel]
On this week’s episode, Ted Morrissey (author, creator of The Tunnel at 25) joins Kaija, Brian, and Chad to talk about “Koh Whistles Up a Wind” and how to…
Two Month ReviewTMR 29.1: "We Must Study the Fascism of the Heart" [The Tunnel]
For this season of the Two Month Review, we’re leaving the sunny, paranoid skies of Pynchon’s California behind in favor of William Frederick Kohler’s study…
Two Month ReviewTMR 28.6: "Preparation H" [Vineland]
Peter Coviello (Vineland Reread) joins Kaija, Brian, and Chad to talk about the ending of Vineland, how it compares to One Battle After Another, what the…
Two Month ReviewTMR 28.5: "Is This The Start of a Cheap Romance" [Vineland]
For the penultimate episode of this season, Andrew Merritt of the Life on Books podcast joined Chad and Kaija to talk about the original arrangment between…
Two Month ReviewTMR 28.4: "The People's Republic of Rock and Roll" [Vineland]
Chad, Brian, and Kaija try to start out on a light note—goofing on the Phoenix children’s names—but things get deadly serious (pun intended) when they get into…
Two Month ReviewTMR 28.3: "This Perhaps Demented Karmology Hustle" [Vineland]
A bit of a digressive episode in which Brian, Kaija, and Chad discuss expectations and excitement, why Vineland is considered a “lesser” book of Pynchon’s, the…
Two Month ReviewTMR 28.2: "A Sort of Esalen Institute for Lady Asskickers" [Vineland]
On this week’s episode, Chad, Kaija, and Brian discuss chapters 6–8 of Pynchon’s Vineland, three very episodic chapters featuring Frenesi and her family…
Two Month ReviewTMR 28.1: "They Love it When You Owe Money" [Vineland]
Our six-week discussion of Pynchon’s Vineland kicks off with a bang as Brian, Chad, and Kaija are joined by Rodrigo Fresán (author of Melvill, Mantra, The Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR 27.8: "A Border, Gentlemen, Is For Crossing" [Tomb of Sand]
Daisy Rockwell joins the gang this week to talk about her translation, the challenges and joys of translating Tomb of Sand, its structure, what “dhwani” means…
Two Month ReviewTMR 27.7: "She, The Child, The Buddha" [Tomb of Sand]
At long last we learn of Ma’s connection to Pakistan and Rosie, and the stories behind the Buddha featured in Part II and the chironji seeds. Chad, Kaija, and…
Two Month ReviewTMR 27.6: "The Calculus Gets Scrambled" ["Tomb of Sand"]
With Brian still settling in to his new digs, Chad and Kaija are left to take on the most unsettling section of Tomb of Sand so far—the death of Rosie and the…
Two Month ReviewTMR 27.5: "Translation Isn't Easy" [Tomb of Sand]
Chad and Kaija go it alone this week, so there are a few more inside jokes than usual. (And a nod to the brilliant Knowledge Fight podcast.) But they also talk…
Two Month ReviewTMR 27.4: "Rag-Tag Shoulder Sack-Toting Gang" [Tomb of Sand]
After a blissful, quiet time in which Ma and Rosie Bua turn junk into Etsy projects, the chaos descends on Beti’s house—and the missing Buddha is found. And…
Two Month ReviewTMR 27.3: "And She Begins to Make Music" [Tomb of Sand]
This week, Chad, Brian, and Kaija discuss their various reactions to the end of Part I and opening of Part II. They also revisit the idea of “meeting a book…
Two Month ReviewTMR 27.2: "I Am the Wishing Tree" [Tomb of Sand]
A lot of this week’s discussion is about “meeting a book where it is” and looking at the literary strategies Geetanjali Shree & Daisy Rockwell use in this…
Two Month ReviewTMR 27.1: "Dude, Can't You Laugh?" [Tomb of Sand]
Chad, Kaija, and Brian start of the new season featuring Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree and translated from the Hindi by Daisy Rockwell by looking at the…
Two Month ReviewTMR 26.9: "The Two Women Kissed and Separated " [The Golden Notebook]
Kaija, Brian, and Chad reach “The Golden Notebook” inside of The Golden Notebook, and discuss the ways in which this novel push back against various…
Two Month ReviewTMR 26.8: "I No Longer Had a Sense of Time" [The Golden Notebook]
On this, the penultimate episode of the season, Kaija and Chad talk about Anna’s dissociation and dissolution, Saul Green and who he really is, narrative and…
Two Month ReviewTMR 26.7: "And What Is the Next Stage?" [The Golden Notebook]
In this episode, Kaija, Chad, and Brian talk about the really awful men in this book, along with fragmentation, fractals, and postmodernism talk as they…
Two Month ReviewTMR 26.6: "The Dream Marked a Change in Anna" [The Golden Notebook]
In this section, Chad, Brian, and Kaija go over "Free Women: 3," asking if anyone is truly free, along with the next excerpt from the "Black Notebook," which…
Two Month ReviewTMR 26.5: "Everything Will Be As Usual, In Fact" [The Golden Notebook]
In this new episode covering up to page 352 of Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook, Chad, Brian, and Kaija talk about the difficulty in keeping the various…
Two Month ReviewTMR 26.4: "You Can Be Very, Very Serious in a Musical" [The Golden Notebook]
Is The Golden Notebook just novels all the way down? Brian, Kaija, and Chad talk about the idea that the “Free Women” sections of the book are just another…
Two Month ReviewTMR 26.3: "Literature Is Analysis After the Event" [The Golden Notebook]
Chad, Kaija, and Brian finish off the first "part" of Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook by looking at the Yellow Notebook (a novel called "The Shadow of the…
Two Month ReviewTMR 26.2: "Mashopi Hotel" [The Golden Notebook]
Brian returns this podcast to talk about his initial thoughts, especially as they relate to postmodernism and fragmentation. In the rest of the episode Chad…
Two Month ReviewTMR 26.1: "Chaos, That's the Point" [The Golden Notebook]
This new season kicks off with a bit of an overview of Doris Lessing’s career and some of her fun quotes. Then, after getting into her 1971 introduction to The…
Two Month ReviewTMR 25.9: "Discipline and Anarchy" [Empire of the Senseless]
Chad—the world’s biggest Kathy Acker stan?—Brian, and Kaija finish up their discussion of Kathy Acker’s Empire of the Senseless looking for possibly pathways…
Two Month ReviewTMR 25.8: "The USA Is a Dead Nation" [Empire of the Senseless]
Chad doubles down on his love of Kathy Acker while Kaija continues to be unamused, and Brian sits somewhere in the middle. Nevertheless, this leads to a great…