Episode · The Book Review · 2021-05-14
Louis Menand on The Book Review: books mentioned
Louis Menand on 'The Free World'
Gilbert Cruz discussed The Free World by Louis Menand. Louis Menand discussed 1984 by George Orwell, An American Dream by Norman Mailer, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, and The Lonely Crowd by David Riesman and others. Tina Jordan discussed Middlemarch by George Eliot, Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac and others, and Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. Philip Lopate discussed Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. Elizabeth Harris discussed American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. Greg Cowles recommended The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Ghislaine Bogdanove recommended The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Pamela Paul discussed Beijing Payback by Daniel Nieh and Yoga by Emmanuel Carrère.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Free World
The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War is a sweeping cultural and intellectual history by Louis Menand that examines how artistic and philosophical ideas evolved in the United States from the end of World War II to the dawn of the turbulent 1960s.
Discussed“he is the author of The metaphysical club and his newest book is called the Free World”
Where to get it
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1984
1984 by George Orwell is a classic dystopian novel depicting a totalitarian regime characterized by extreme surveillance, historical denial, and psychological manipulation.
Discussed“I wrote a chapter on Orwell because he seemed like logically I had to write about 1984 and then a chapter on existentialism”
Where to get it
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An American Dream
Discussed“1965 he publishes a novel called an American Dream which the protagonist kills his wife and throws her out the window”
Where to get it
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The Feminine Mystique
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is a landmark 1960s feminist text that investigated the widespread unhappiness and unfulfilled potential of women trapped in domestic suburban roles.
Discussed“and so three years later Betty foran writes The Feminine Mystique and that suddenly unleashes this pent up frustration”
Where to get it
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The Lonely Crowd
The Lonely Crowd by David Riesman, Nathan Glazer, and Reuel Denney is a classic sociological study that examines shifting American character types, particularly the transition from inner-directed to other-directed social behavior.
Discussed“most famous of those is David reesman who publishes the lonely crowd in 1950 and that book is read as a critique of the conformist mentality”
Where to get it
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Middlemarch
Middlemarch by George Eliot is widely celebrated as a masterwork of Victorian literature, chronicling the lives and aspirations of provincial society in the fictional town of Middlemarch.
Discussed“George Elliott on the other hand for example in in Middle March Heavens but this is dry reading”
Where to get it
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Cousin Bette
Discussed“Balzac a reporter said quote has the wind taken out of his sails by a scroll on the fly leaf of cousin Betty which reads I shall need to be fumigated after this”
Where to get it
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Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy is a tragic Victorian masterpiece that follows the heartbreaking struggles of Tess Durbeyfield as she navigates harsh social moralities, poverty, and the devastating consequences of men in rural England.
Discussed“here is one Thomas Hardy comment which says this is insufferable rot which I know will make your hackles rise Pamela because it looks like it's about Tess of the Derber vills”
Where to get it
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Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita centers on the deeply disturbing relationship between an adult narrator and a young girl whom he exploits across America.
Discussed“so for instance I have two essays in the Golden Age of the American essay one by Vladimir Nabokov about Lolita and the other by Lono trilling which is an analysis of Lolita now some readers will simply say Lolita is beyond the pale”
Where to get it
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American Dirt
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is a gripping and intensely controversial novel that follows a mother and son fleeing their home in Mexico as migrants pursued by a violent drug cartel.
Discussed“and I remember at the last ba the book that was on everyone's list and people were just wildly enthusing about was American dirt Janine cummings's book which became a bit controversial after it came out”
Where to get it
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The Committed
The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen is a gripping sequel to the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer, following its protagonist into the complex political and criminal underworld of 1980s Paris.
Recommended“I'm reading the committed by Viet tanw”
Where to get it
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The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler is a quintessential hardboiled detective novel that introduced private investigator Philip Marlowe and established the shadowy, cynical atmosphere of Los Angeles crime fiction.
Recommended“and uh and I've been reading his first novel The Big Sleep from 1939”
Where to get it
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Beijing Payback
Discussed“I'll talk first about this other book I read called Beijing payback by Daniel N”
Where to get it
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Yoga
Yoga by Emmanuel Carrère is a genre-bending autobiographical work that chronicles the author's journey through depression, psychiatric hospitalization, and spiritual seeking, while openly questioning the boundary between strict truth and fiction.
Discussed“which is called yoga where he reveals that not everything in the book is true and he tells you a certain things that that aren't true”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (9) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“he is the author of The metaphysical club and his newest book is called the Free World”
“this is a sequel to his debut novel The sympathizer which won the pet surprise back in like 2015”
“actually he gets involved in the Paris underground in a way that keeps reminding me more than anything of the Sal Bell novel The Adventures of Augie March where it's another story of an outsider”
“the first novel in this sequence of novels that he's writing um the sympathizer is set partly in Vietnam and partly in Southern California”
“in fact I think I talked about this on the podcast maybe six or seven years ago when I was reading L miss araa the Victor Hugo novel that I stopped reading books by French authors”
“I'm reading the committed by Viet tanw and I I'm reading Raymond Chandler's the big sleep and I read Beijing payback by Daniel n and yoga by Emanuel career”
“I'm reading the committed by Viet tanw and I I'm reading Raymond Chandler's the big sleep and I read Beijing payback by Daniel n and yoga by Emanuel career”
“I'm reading the committed by Viet tanw and I I'm reading Raymond Chandler's the big sleep and I read Beijing payback by Daniel n and yoga by Emanuel career”
“I'm reading the committed by Viet tanw and I I'm reading Raymond Chandler's the big sleep and I read Beijing payback by Daniel n and yoga by Emanuel career”