Episode 14: "The Comforters" by Muriel Spark
In which we begin what promises to be a fascinating reading experience
Hello,
This week we begin our read-through of Muriel Spark’s novels. The Comforters, her debut, was published in 1956 but, frankly (something Tom realizes he says maybe too often), feels like it could have come out yesterday. It’s an incredibly impressive novel: masterfully constructed; playful in its engagement with ideas; features gorgeously drawn characters; and really very, very fun and funny. We’re quite excited for this journey and hope you all enjoy it as much as we do!
Next week the first of our guests will join us to chat about a backlist title and this guest has some real nuts and bolts he’s able to share about the publication and translation of the novel (don’t know why we’re being coy as the episode list comes out next week anyway: we’re chatting about Jan Kjærstad’s The Conqueror with Open Letter Books publisher Chad Post).
And please get in touch with your thoughts on the new season, your reactions to any of the books we’ve covered so far, and let us know if there’s a title you’d be interested to hear us chat about.
As always, thank you for listening.