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 19.7: "The Good Rememberer (A How-To Guide)" [THE REMEMBERED PART]
Former TMR guest Patrick Smith returns to discuss his reread of the first two volumes of the trilogy, how Fresán's writing inspires him, hanging on to flights…
Two Month ReviewTMR 19.6: "The Impossibility of Painting with Watercolors in the Rain" [THE REMEMBERED PART]
Chad and Kaija break down the final bit of the first part of the third volume in Fresán's trilogy (phew), revisit the "is this difficult to read?" discussion…
Two Month ReviewTMR 19.5: "The Burning Gaze of Vladimir Nabokov" [THE REMEMBERED PART]
Separated by 10 hours—like podcasting jet lag?—Chad and Brian work through some observations and rants (specifically about a shitty NY Times list of the best…
Two Month ReviewTMR 19.4: "Read like Dracula and write like Frankenstein!" [THE REMEMBERED PART]
From Nobel Prize favorites to Proust to competitive cliques on the mountain, this week's episodes is almost as sprawling as the ex-writer's airplane thoughts…
Two Month ReviewTMR 19.3: "DREAM + MEMORY = INVENTION" [THE REMEMBERED PART]
Kaija Straumanis pinch hits this week for a discussion about Lost, airplanes, the past and nostalgia, writers vs. narrators, autofiction, how hard it is to…
Two Month ReviewTMR 19.2: "Now That Everything That Has To Happen Has Happened" [THE REMEMBERED PART]
And they're off! Brian and Chad start remembering all that they're supposed to remember about the first two volumes of the trilogy (green cows!) and get…
Two Month ReviewTMR 19.1: Where Are We At? [THE REMEMBERED PART]
Maybe not the most informative of recaps, but Brian and Chad discuss what the love about Fresán's writing, things they recall from the first two volumes of the…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 22: "The Dream Ends" [THE DREAMED PART]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 21: "IKEA" [THE DREAMED PART]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 20: "Living in Pandemica" [THE DREAMED PART]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 19: "This Is a Bullshot" [THE DREAMED PART]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 18: "The Past Is a Broken Toy That Everyone Fixes in His Own Way" [THE DREAMED PART]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 17: "Adaptations" [THE DREAMED PART]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 16: "Wuthering Heights Is Weird" [THE DREAMED PART]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 14: "Tulpas" [THE DREAMED PART]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 14: "What We Talk About When We Talk About Dreaming" [THE DREAMED PART]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 13: "Who Dreams the Dreamer" [THE DREAMED PART]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 12: THE DREAMED PART ["We Remember Everything"]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 11: The Author Himself!
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 10: THE INVENTED PART [Pgs. 441-552]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 9: THE INVENTED PART [Pgs. 405-440]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 8: THE INVENTED PART [Pgs. 361-404]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR Fresán Relisten Ep. 7: THE INVENTED PART [Pgs. 301-360]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewFresán Relisten Ep. 6: The Invented Part [Pgs. 231-300]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewFresán Relisten Ep. 5: The Invented Part [Pgs. 208-230]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewFresán Relisten Ep. 4: The Invented Part [Pgs. 99-207]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewFresán Relisten Ep. 3: The Invented Part [Pgs. 46-98]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewFresán Relisten Ep. 2: The Invented Part [Pgs. 1-45]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewFresán Relisten Ep. 1: The Invented Part [Introduction]
Welcome to the Great Fresan Relisten of 2023! Over the next four weeks, we'll be reissuing an episode a day from the The Invented Part and The Dreamed Part…
Two Month ReviewTMR 18.10: "Looks Like a Lump of Shit to Me" [Ann Quin]
The final episode of this season focuses on The Unmapped Country: Stories and Fragments, focusing on the titular story/unfinished novel, along with a few other…
Two Month ReviewTMR 18.9: "Your Name? Your Trauma?" [Ann Quin]
Chad, Brian, and Kaija finish up their discussion of Tripticks, which basically devolves into reading out the funniest lines they can find from the this…
Two Month ReviewTMR 18.8: "No. 1 X-Wife" [Ann Quin]
NIGHTRIPPPER!!!!!!!!!! This week's music is "Dirty Boots" by Sonic Youth. You can watch next week's discussion of Tripticks live on YouTube. (Reading schedule…
Two Month ReviewTMR 18.7: "I Would Like To Exhaust the Limits of the Possible" [Ann Quin]
Kaija Straumanis filled in for a domestically distressed Brian, and Chad went all psych0-philosophical on this week's episode, talking about schizoid…
Two Month ReviewTMR 18.6: "Forms Forming Themselves" [Ann Quin]
This week, Brian, Chad, and Kaija discuss the first half of Passages, arguable Quin's most poetic book, and definitely most experimental one to date. They talk…
Two Month ReviewTMR 18.5: "Reads Without Turning a Page" [Ann Quin]
Kaija Straumanis joins Chad and Brian this week to talk about orchids, hot takes (did S. sleep with L.?? how exactly did she die?), creepy British dudes…
Two Month ReviewTMR 18.4: "Pursuit to the Point of Indiscretion" [Ann Quin]
Chad and Bria dive into Three, discussing the humor of the dialogue, the poetic-cinematic techniques Quin employs, monogamy and marriage, whether or not L was…
Two Month ReviewTMR 18.3: "Why This Eternal Escaping?" [Ann Quin]
Dead dummies, drowned tramps, resolving the Oedipal complex, the forever incompleteness of the number "3," sex, the sea, slapstick comedy, irony, competing…
Two Month ReviewTMR 18.2: "BUY BERG'S BEST HAIR TONIC" [Ann Quin]
Chad and Brian dive into the first half of Berg this episode, mispronouncing words, talking about the literary scene Quin came out of, whether or not Berg/Greb…
Two Month ReviewTMR 18.1: Who Was Ann Quin?
The eighteenth season of the Two Month Review is all about Ann Quin's books—all four novels and her collected stories and fragments—and starts off with an…
Two Month ReviewTMR 17.8: "On This Bed, On This Same Mattress" [Eltit + Hahn]
In the final episode of this season of the Two Month Review, Brian, Chad, and Katie debate whether or not our narrator is in limbo, whether or not this book…
Two Month ReviewTMR 17.7: "I Erased Your Face" [Eltit + Hahn]
Katie and Chad tackle this section alone, discussing the revolutionary background of the main characters, going off into Bernadine Dohrn, the SDS, the Weather…
Two Month ReviewTMR 17.6: "The Letters Defeated You" [Eltit + Hahn]
In addition to talking about the Trump/Tesla/Lockwood conspiracy theory, our hosts this week discuss "bone avalanches," how translators are paid, the global…
Two Month ReviewTMR 17.5: "Our Organicity" [Eltit + Hahn]
Chad and Brian go it alone and discuss "navel gazing" novels, books that entertain vs. ones about the prose, where Eltit's novel resides on that spectrum…
Two Month ReviewTMR 17.4: "I Watched the Death Machine" [Eltit + Hahn]
Technical difficulties are kept to a minimum on this week's episode, as Chad, Brian, and Katie talk about the advancement of plot, the French New Novel, the…
Two Month ReviewTMR 17.3: "Mónica & Carlos & Tony" [Eltit + Hahn]
In lieu of a live episode, this week's TMR features interviews with Mónica Ramón Ríos and Carlos Labbé about their relationship with Diamela Eltit and her role…
Two Month Review17.2: "Pure Hatred" [Eltit + Hahn]
Technical difficulties abound as Chad struggles to find reliable Wifi in Latvia. (While being recruited by the Russian mafia?) Katie and Brian take the lead…
Two Month ReviewTMR 17.1: "You Behaved Like a Dog"
TMR is back, breaking down Daniel Hahn's translation diary, Catching Fire, alongside his translation of Never Did the Fire by Diamela Eltit. In this episode…
Two Month ReviewTMR 16.13: "Fürst Pückler" [2666]
We've reached the end of 2666 and Chad, Katie, and Brian convene to talk about how amazing the ending is, publishers protecting authors, love and family, the…
Two Month ReviewTMR 16.12: "Senselessness" [2666]
Chad and Brian talk about more vampires, about semen, about senseless scene after senseless scene, about WWII, about masterpieces and mediocre writing, about…
Two Month ReviewTMR 16.11: "Hello, Big German" [2666]
We're in the home stretch, as Archimboldi appears at last. Chad, Katie, and Brian discuss his origin story, vampires, seaweed, the nature of time, various…
Two Month ReviewTMR 16.10: "Three Men and a Congresswoman" [2666]
Chad and Brian tackle the braided narratives that close out "The Part About the Crimes," discussing Michel Butor's thoughts about detective novels (from…
Two Month ReviewTMR 16.9: "Repetition" [2666]
Brian's back to talk about dead baby jokes, repetition, the power of reading, snuff films, matriarchal lineage, and much more. Chad didn't sleep before this…
Two Month ReviewTMR 16.8: "Klaus Haas" [2666]
Chad and Katie go it alone on this special Thanksgiving episode, going deeper into "The Part About the Crimes," talking about Chris Andrews's critical book on…
Two Month ReviewTMR 16.7: "The Next Dead Woman" [2666]
Chad, Brian, and Katie dive into "The Part About the Crimes," talking about the fact that the Penitent gets more detective time than all of the murdered women…
Two Month ReviewTMR 16.6: "Fire, Walk With Me" [2666]
After Chad, Katie, and Brian finish recapping the end of "The Part About Fate"—including the Twin Peaks reference, representations of violence, the apocryphal…
Two Month ReviewTMR 16.5: "DANGER MONEY FOOD STARS USEFULNESS" [2666]
In the first chunk of this week's episode, Brian, Chad, and Katie break down the first half of "The Part About Fate" and look specifically at Kessler's speech…
Two Month ReviewTMR 16.4: "Ramon Llull and His Fantastic Machine" [2666]
This two-part episode opens with Katie, Brian, and Chad talking about madness, the pursuit of knowledge, what great authors "struggle against," and much more…