CanonicalPod

15/07/2022

In our new episode we take a look at Abdulrazak Gurnah's Paradise, an elegant, powerful postcolonial novel that invites the reader to understand the Arab and German presence in East Africa alongside its protagonist.

07/11/2021

05/11/2021

Reading a novel while awaiting the imminent climate apocalypse isn't the best way to spend one's time, but if you do wish to spend your pre-apocalypse days buried in a book, Offill's Weather is a fantastic choice. Listen to our review and find out why! This is the last book in our series on climate....

29/10/2021

Last week we panned The Man with the Compound Eyes. This week we discuss whether looking at this book from an ecocritical perspective can rescue this work from irrelevance. Join us as Eyad explains how those brainy ivory tower nerds might help us understand the real meaning of this book after all. T...

22/10/2021

Welcome to Apocalypse Soon: Book 2! Our climate fiction series continues with Wu Ming-Yi's The Man with the Compound Eyes. Reviewers have compared Wu's work to Murakami-- does this book justify that comparison? No, it does not. In fact this book is in contention for the Vagabonds prize for the worst...

15/10/2021

This week we present different readings of A Children's Bible. We puzzle through the parents' disappearance, Jack's illness and Art equaling the Holy Ghost. Also, Eyad explains to you why this book is great. This is the first book in our series on climate fiction. In our upcoming episodes we will al...

08/10/2021

We kick off our climate fiction series Apocalypse Soon! with a review of Lydia Millet's A Children's Bible. We discuss the narrative voice and the tone of this eerie apocalyptic allegory. We also talk about how Millet uses the bible here as a way of structuring the book and whether or not this book....

02/10/2021

The recent popularity of Nigerian fiction coincided with the rise of Nigeria and its middle class. What constraints does this put on Nigerian fiction, if any? And why do we want to read fiction from rapidly developing countries like Nigeria? Is it because we want to partake in cultural tourism? Or i...

24/09/2021

Things get heated this week as we debate if the plot is problematic, if the ending is problematic, if writing this novel in English is problematic... well you get the gist. This is the last book in our Contemporary Nigerian Fiction series. Join our book club discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r...

17/09/2021

This week James drinks the haterade while Eyad is moved by the novel: a surprising twist for a book full of them! We also discuss whether our American sensibilities toward drama/melodrama differ from Adebayo's and giggle about the scene wherein a p***s is twisted in a fight between men. It's a fun e...

10/09/2021

There will be spoilers in this episode as we nitpick the ending and the structure of Americanah, both of which we found to be problematic in parts. We also discuss whether or not this is a patriotic novel and if Americans are the intended audience. This is the second book in our Contemporary Nigeria...

03/09/2021

We're more contrarian than most readers. So how did we feel about Americanah, one of the most celebrated novels of the last decade? All thumbs up! Join us as we-- per usual-- nitpick a book that we all thought was thoroughly enjoyable. This is the second book in our Contemporary Nigerian Fiction ser...

27/08/2021

Is The Death of Vivek Oji trying to change how transgender people are perceived? Is it successful in doing so? We talk about these ideas and more in this episode. This is the first book in our Contemporary Nigerian Fiction series. We will also review and discuss Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi...

13/08/2021

This week we discuss the different views toward immigration in Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera, Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald and The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. Is it possible to create a new home in a new country? Do these novels reveal any shift in attitude toward immigr...

03/08/2021

Reading this slim volume as a companion piece to Adichie's sprawling Americanah for our series on modern Nigerian fiction. We'll also be discussing Akwaeke Emezi's The Death of Vivek Oji and Ayobami Adebayo's Stay With Me.

12/06/2021

A powerful, moving book that draws its power not from being sentimental but from being honest.