Episode · The Book Review · 2020-07-10
Books mentioned on David Mitchell's Vast and Tangled Universe
Gilbert Cruz discussed Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell, The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and others, The confidence game by Maria Konnikova, and Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl. Daniel Mendelssohn discussed Number9Dream by David Mitchell, Ghostwritten by David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas by David Stephen Mitchell, and Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. Alexandra Alter discussed Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump Ph.D. and The Room Where It Happened by John R. Bolton. Greg Cowles discussed Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell and Shakespeare in a Divided America by James Shapiro. John Williams discussed The fire next time by James Baldwin.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Utopia Avenue
Discussed“what makes a book a David Mitchell novel critic Daniel Mendelson will be here to talk about Mitchell's latest book Utopia Avenue and how it fits in to his full body of work”
Where to get it
-
The Biggest Bluff
The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova is a captivating memoir detailing the author's immersive journey from complete novice to professional poker player while exploring the intersections of human psychology, attention, and control.
Discussed“Maria kova will join us to talk about her new book the biggest Bluff”
Where to get it
-
Number9Dream
Discussed“and I was as I was by Cloud Atlas one of his subsequent books number nine dream”
Where to get it
-
Ghostwritten
Ghostwritten is a structurally inventive debut novel by David Mitchell that weaves together multiple seemingly unrelated narratives spanning across the globe from Tokyo to New York.
Discussed“but I think first of all I think ghost written is one of the most beautiful books and there was something haunted and haunting about it”
Where to get it
-
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is a historical novel by David Mitchell set within the closed trading post of Dejima in Nagasaki during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Discussed“to me the Turning Point happened with his fifth novel The thousand autumns of Jacob dooit am I pronouncing that correctly”
Where to get it
-
The Goldfinch
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is a sprawling novel that follows a young boy whose life is upended by a museum bombing, eventually drawing him into the underworld of art forgery and antique trade.
Discussed“I remember your review of The Goldfinch the Donna tart novel”
Where to get it
-
Cloud Atlas
Cloud Atlas by David Stephen Mitchell is an intricate, multi-layered novel that weaves together interconnected stories across different time periods and genres.
Discussed“I loved Cloud Atlas which I remember reading on a transatlantic flight and I was like a crack addict”
Where to get it
-
Black Swan Green
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell is a critically acclaimed coming-of-age novel that explores youth and adolescence through a semi-autobiographical lens.
Discussed“you know I actually liked Black Swan green the sort of coming of age story which seems to be autobiographical”
Where to get it
-
The confidence game
The Confidence Game by Maria Konnikova explores the psychology of con artists and why intelligent people repeatedly fall for scams and manipulation.
Discussed“your previous book as you've mentioned was called The Confidence Game”
Where to get it
-
Too Much and Never Enough
Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L.
Discussed“number one is Mary Trump's book too much and never enough and she is Donald Trump's niece”
Where to get it
-
The Room Where It Happened
The Room Where It Happened by John R.
Discussed“the second is the room where it happened John Bolton's book”
Where to get it
-
Hamnet
Hamnet is a deeply moving historical novel by Maggie O'Farrell that imagines the domestic life of William Shakespeare and the profound grief surrounding the death of his young son.
Discussed“I'm getting into a little bit of a Shakespeare mood and the reason is there's a book that's coming out very soon like this week or next week that's got a lot of buzz by an Irish writer named Maggie oeral called hamnet which is kind of a biographical look at Shakespeare's life and especially his wife and his son”
Where to get it
-
Shakespeare in a Divided America
Shakespeare in a Divided America is a non-fiction book by James Shapiro that examines how various political and cultural factions in the United States have weaponized Shakespearean plays to fight contemporary culture wars.
Discussed“I'm reading a book that came out earlier this year by James Shapiro called Shakespeare in a divided America”
Where to get it
-
The fire next time
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin is a searing and brilliant collection of essays examining race, religion, and American identity through letters and personal reflection.
Discussed“and the one that I'm going to talk about this week is James Baldwin's the fire next time which a lot of people have been talking about for not just the the past couple of months in America but also since tanasi coats I think sort of modeled his book between the world and me after part of this book”
Where to get it
-
Save Me the Plums
Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl is a vibrant memoir chronicling the author's tenure as the editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine during a time of immense cultural and culinary shifts.
Discussed“it's called save me the plums by Ruth Reichel”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (16) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“he is the author of many many books including most recently ecstasy and ter and the Memoir an odyssey a father a son and an epic and a becoming in September three rings a tale of Exile narrative and fate”
“he is the author of many many books including most recently ecstasy and ter and the Memoir an odyssey a father a son and an epic and a becoming in September three rings a tale of Exile narrative and fate”
“he is the author of many many books including most recently ecstasy and ter and the Memoir an odyssey a father a son and an epic and a becoming in September three rings a tale of Exile narrative and fate”
“you've got Don dilo's great Jon Street Rody Doyle's the commitments Jonathan leams you don't love me yet”
“you've got Don dilo's great Jon Street Rody Doyle's the commitments Jonathan leams you don't love me yet”
“you've got Don dilo's great Jon Street Rody Doyle's the commitments Jonathan leams you don't love me yet”
“so I think you were last year for about four years ago for your previous book The Confidence scheme”
“I did this for The Confidence Game my last book”
“I did it for Mastermind my first book”
“he had a couple of books I think in between this and a previous book that he edited for the library of America called Shakespeare and America”
“this new book is called Shakespeare and a divided America and and that book was a collection of pieces looking at similarly the reception of of Shakespeare in America from 1776 to the present day”
“and the one that I'm going to talk about this week is James Baldwin's the fire next time which a lot of people have been talking about for not just the the past couple of months in America but also since tanasi coats I think sort of modeled his book between the world and me after part of this book”
“that book is called begin again and it's about James Baldwin”
“isn't it about a bear the mountain lion the mountain lion”
“I think her most well-known Memoirs are tender at the bone and comfort me with apples”
“I think her most well-known Memoirs are tender at the bone and comfort me with apples”