Ep. 38: Now for Something Completely Different: the Great American Short Story Cycle

Send us Fan MailAnd now for something completely different.  In its 38th episode, the Great American Novel Podcast throws away its foundational genre with no more regard for decorum than cats and dogs shacking up in sheer defiance of the apocalypse. In this episode we instead consider a host of short story collections held to be so coherent, so cohesive, and so excellent that they are often considered as novels.  We ponder: are these books novels?  Are they greater than the sum of their parts?  Are they worthy of their places in the canon? Your hosts consider and discuss Wineberg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson; In Our Time, by Ernest Hemingway; Cane, by Jean Toomer; Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Catherine Anne Porter; Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner; Love Medicine, by Louise Erdich; and The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien.  All opinions are the hosts' own and do not reflect the points of view of their employers, publishers, relatives, pets, or accountants. All show music is by Lobo Loco.  The intro song is “Old Ralley”; the intermission is “The First Moment,” and the outro is “Inspector Invisible.”  For more information visit: https://locolobomusic.com/.