the secret history by donna tartt is a seminal campus novel and the subject of today’s episode. it’s a book we’ve both read before, and likely the best book (so far) this season. after a chaotic kitten interlude, we dive into the trouble history of adapting this novel (featuring car accidents both real and imagined) and explore the impact of bennington college’s writers. bob talks through an idea for an elaborate netflix series. we both share our wildly different casting ideas. bob explains how the secret history is “marxism all the way down” and has a foot in genre literature. we pay respect to one of the all-time greats (judy poovey). we relate to richard’s time spent in a freezing warehouse. we make a plea to our patrons, both current and future.
reading list for season two
the bell jar by sylvia plath, 11/4
prep by curtis sittenfeld, 11/18
the art of fielding by chad harbach, 12/2
nickel boys by colson whitehead, 12/16
the virgins by pamela erens, 12/30
my education by susan choi, 1/13
giles goat-boy by john barth, 1/27
end zone by don delillo, 2/10
loner by teddy wayne, 2/24
the secret history by donna tartt, 3/10
sweet days of discipline by fleur jaeggy, 3/24
college novel by blake middleton, 4/7
real life by brandon taylor, 4/21
the instructions by adam levin, 5/5
the idiot by elif batuman, 5/19