TMR 29.7: "Men Are Tormented by Men" [The Tunnel]
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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The Tunnel (Gass novel)
12 min read
This podcast episode is discussing William H. Gass's experimental novel 'The Tunnel', analyzing specific sections and the character Kohler. Understanding the novel's structure, themes, and literary significance would provide essential context.
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William H. Gass
12 min read
Gass is the author of The Tunnel being discussed. His literary philosophy, experimental prose style, and place in postmodern American literature would help readers understand the 'cruel humor' and narrative manipulation techniques mentioned.
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Dalkey Archive Press
12 min read
Referenced as having its own companion podcast, Dalkey Archive is a significant independent publisher of avant-garde and experimental literature, directly connected to the type of challenging literary fiction being discussed.
Lori Feathers (Interabang Books, Big Book Project) joins Kaija, Chad, and Brian to talk about “The First Winter of My Married Life” in which Kohler and Martha suffer the invasive noises of a nearby neighbor, Kohler loses his cool because of his inconsolable son, and various memories are explored thanks to a photo album. They talk about this, about how Kohler is manipulating the reader (why? to what end?), the cruel humor of the book, and much more—including the unveiling of what book we’ll be covering next season . . .
This episode’s music is “Spring and by Summer Fall” by Blonde Redhead.
Next week we’ll cover “The Curse of Colleages” (pages 386–437). The complete schedule (if you’re reading along in real time) can be found here.
You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.
Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive.
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