The Foxed Page

Luiselli is TOO GOOD. This readable, complex, multi-faceted text proves yet again that she's a voice we need to hear. Listen in for a better appreciation of the structure, the polyphonic nature, its autofiction elements and the crucial use of echo. Plus what I think is REALLY GOING ON HERE.

NEVER have I been so riveted by a controversy. When's the last time LITERATURE caused this kind of stir?? Listen in to explore: what Cusk is actually up to; where I think sympathy lies; how looking closely at the title, the cover, the opening, and THE TEXT gives us the best way to understand the whole knotty, complex, fascinating thing!

If you loved this book this summer (or didn't quite think it lived up to NORTH WOODS), go back to school with me (and Miles and Kate and their kids) to study why the novel works well in so many ways--and falls a little short in others. Plus! A look at how Mason's humor is really firing on all cylinders in this one! Interview referred to in podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/poured-over/id1567969228?i=1000775778354

The average moviegoer can't answer that because, honestly--who's plowed through the 592-page epic poem recently? With today's lecture, no one needs to, but you might end up WANTING TO. We discuss what THE ODYSSEY actually is, when it was sung, when it was written, whether it was actually Homer who did the writing and so much more. Then we dive into the difficulty of translating this behemoth, with some gorgeous (and hilarious) comparisons of lines from the years 1611, 1967, 1996 and 2018. Lastly we dive into my impressions of the movie, which I saw AT A DRIVE-IN. In a mere hour you could feel a lot smarter about one of the foundational texts of all of Western Literature. Listen in now!

Besson might have lured us in with Marcel P., but we stayed for the STORY. Listen in to find out how the prose, the plotting and the TURN (??) in this novel function so well.

Who ISN'T talking about the release of LIFE OF M on August 25?? Prepare for Cusk's new work by reminding yourself--or finding out for the first time--why her approach to fiction is so radical. OUTLINE's narrative, structure and even basic description means plenty of grist for my mill. Whether you loved the book or were left wondering what the hell just happened--prepare for some super-rich edification. (This is a REPOST of an earlier lecture.)

Yes. I'm going to read and analyze something I MYSELF WROTE. I promise it won't be boring. Also, it's short.

See the three question marks in the title above? Listen in to find out who would hate each one of them. We all have an impression of Stein, but Levy offers up (and problematizes) so much more.

With all its inventive, kooky, paramilitary (!) elements, Lost Lambs is delightful and wholly original. Except when it seems like a DIRECT descendent of Thomas Pynchon. Listen in to fully appreciate the narrative stance, the postmodern elements (don't worry, I'll provide a definition), the structure, and the ways this frothy novel is crucially subversive. And the gnats! Dive in to hear my theory for wtf is up with all the GNATs!

I picked up THE GIRLS WHO GREW BIG in the bookstore but ended up reading NIGHTCRAWLING. Wow is Mottley a talent to be watched. Based on a true story, the novel digs deeply into police corruption, the failures of the education and employment systems, misogyny, corruption, life as a young Black woman in Oakland...to say nothing of the realities of sex work. We explore a strong, recurring motif, figurative language, ingenious plotting (and some that doesn't work quite as well). I get myself into pretzels to avoid any spoilers until the end, though this book is so good you would want to read it even if you knew exactly what was coming. Give this novel the attention it deserves now!

Whether you love this iconic, culty, groundbreaking novel or you don't get the hype; whether you believe it's a feminist treatise or a meditation on the promise and the shortfalls of communism, you'll finish this lecture feeling like you've gotten some SERIOUS LITERATURE under your belt. If you haven't read this 1962 phenomenon--or haven't for a while--this lecture is a good (re)introduction to why the unique structure and radical candor about everything from motherhood to post-War politics in Southern Rhodesia, to the difference between the clitoral and vaginal orgasm (at least in Lessing's [somewhat hilarious and highly suspect] opinion) make this worth its 600+ pages.

NEVER READ IT? NO PROBMLEM! NO READING REQUIRED! I READ THE (very short) STORY TO YOU! Clearly I'm caught up in the frenzy surrounding Christopher Nolan's THE ODYSSEY. I've only seen the trailer, but ARGOS (Odysseus's dog) appears not once but TWICE in about two minutes. I could NOT stop thinking about Joy Williams's incredible short story about our hero's best friend. Forty-five minutes from now, you could feel smarter, more informed about the movie, and maybe a little better ABOUT DEATH. Williams is amazing: in three mere pages, she takes us well beyond The Odyssey into the kind of land only Williams can create. Nolan seems to be doing well with the source material. Williams's ultra-brief interpretation is a masterpiece.

Honestly? I was sucked in by the covers of these slim volumes. When I saw we were about to get very groundhog-day, I wasn't so sure. After taking a close look at the title, the opening, the microcosm of marriage, the incredible figurative language and the novella's FAITH IN THE POWER OF WRITING, I'm feeling ready to dive into book two!

This novella--an excerpt of THE PALE KING--was a revelation. Just as its publisher Sarah McNally says in the preface, Wallace's cult-status fame as a challenging writer can be daunting, and his oeuvre is so large, it's hard to know where to begin. This is where to begin! The lecture is probably best heard if you've read The Pale King (and/or this amazing section itself) but I like to think lovers of DFW will get lots out of this even if you haven't read him in years. It was SO GOOD to return to this work: his later, more grounded, warmer, incredibly moving work. In this case, about tax law and radical tedium. Doesn't get better than that.

I loved The Perfect Couple. I even loved the UNperfect parts. Part of the reason there's a second tv series is because Hilderbrand is so good at what she does. Listen in to fully appreciate this juicy, splashy series! (And if you're someone who turns up her nose at Hilderbrand, but you want a frothy beach read, listen in to hear why her work is much better than you think!)

When I came across a new short story by Ben Lerner, an audio version of the story read by Lerner, an interview with Lerner about the short story AND a nonfiction piece by Lerner related to the story, I felt like I'd entered a very Lernerian world. Tune in for a quick ten minutes that will convince you to hunt down out "The Readers." Not only is this the very best prose, but the pieces also combine to provide a fat PRIZE at the end of that hunt. NO READING NECESSARY!

It might not be the flashiest part of Strangers, but it's worth taking a quick look at why Burden's prose functions so well. Also! My sense of specific thing that makes this far more than a cautionary tale about women and personal finances. AND! My own personal crusade about how we should describe this woman while recommending this book to everyone we know.

Andrew Sean Greer is one of those writers who wrote a book that is so uncommonly GOOD that everything after it pales in comparison. Less--with its propulsive plot, its sneaky narrator and its incredible twist--continues to be an enormous favorite of mine. VILLA COCO might stand in the shadow of that earlier work, but so much is working well here. Especially if you're someone who starts it and feels it lag, this lecture is for you. It picks up! And if you have the real strangths of the novel in mind, it'll be all the more CHARMING. NO SPOILERS! A GOOD PRE-READING lecture!

Moore is SO GOOD that the last half of the lecture is just me doing my favorite party trick! I think of two numbers, then go to the first number's corresponding page and the second number's line. Then I sit back and just revel (explaining all the while) in the author's sheer genius. Truly, every single line in this slim cult classic could inspire its own lecture. Listen in now to how Moore pulls off this hilarious, inventive, dark and ultra-intelligent first novel.

Famously, the enduring appeal of 84, Charing Cross Road rests on its correspondence between an American TV-writing woman and a British bookseller. But what if the slim volume's real power comes mostly just from the independent, iconoclastic, sassy and powerful Helene? Or from Helene and all the other female voices in this delightful favorite? Treat yourself today! (If you haven't read it, you might take the hour to do so before listening. No spoilers, really, but we get pretty in depth.)

Much has been made of Nelio Biedermann's wunderkind status. And there are plenty of reasons people are calling his debut novel "virtuousic" and "astonishing." It was SO fun to look at why much of this novel really worked, and why much of it . . . didn't.

Famously, the 240 "propositions" BLUETS produce a genre-bending, poetic, heady, broody, completely INGENIOUS work. Whether you've read it a dozen times or picked it up or, tried it and thought, what is happening here, listen in to more fully appreciate SO MUCH about its structure, its fascinating narrative stance, its HUMOR and the radical thing Nelson is doing by foregrounding all those old, white, male philosophers. This was such a gratifying lecture to record. Seventy-six minutes from now, you could--thanks to Nelson--feel inspired, humbled and a little smarter.

This controversial page turner is SO engaging. Find out why I think that's the case (from a literary perspective) while also allowing me to provide some forensic-style info as to the book's original shape (IT WAS MAYBE SEMI-UTOPIC!), what is actually going on in the assault scene (it's complicated) and what we might make of the ending. This lecture was SO fun (and weirdly short). Listen in now!

The Blue Flower is considered Fitzgerald's masterpiece, and for good reason. It's challenging--an entirely different approach to historical fiction, with subtle, nuanced, gorgeous prose. She makes late-1700s Saxony feel immediate and accessible and you FEEL so much for these people. Listen in to fully appreciate how she produces a book that readers go back to again and again, gaining so much more every single time.

Tune in to hear why James's 1880 New York novel might be all of the above--plus funny! The close look at the innovative, wry narrative stance is reason enough to spend an hour thinking about this slim book. Not to mention the excellent characterization, the use of satire and the send up of the Gothic meddlesome spinster aunt! Treat yourself now!

I can't remember the last time a novel evoked such strong--and opposing!--reactions. This 2018 novella appealed back then but my re-reading was even more satisfying. Listen in to hear the many ways Murata is a master of satire. Maybe more interestingly, take a fascinating look at sexuality in the novel via two other Murata essays. Indulge yourself in talk about this smart, unique novel now!

Lerner's new novel(la) is a revelation. One that deserves a LOT of our attention. It's a text that tests the limits and potentials of what fiction can do. Whether you loved it or came away wondering what the hell you just read, these ninety minutes should deepen your appreciation for this latest from one of my very favorite writers of all time.

The Russian master's slim novel from 1958--just a year after Lolita--is such a dream. Truly one of my favorite books. We dive deep into narrative stance, satire, structure, figurative language, the campus novel and SQUIRRELS.

The reading public had ridiculously high expectations for whatever followed Jones’s break-out bestseller—and wow have those expectations have been met. KIN might seem like a straightforward, delightful  page turner but the book is so good because of all the nuanced, complex ways that Jones develops structure, dialogue, plot, figurative language, minor characters, historical setting etc. Listen in to FULLY APPRECIATE this rich work.

Wow was this rewarding. Lispector's cult following knows what it's talking about! her body of work is globally, universally acclaimed for an approach that truly feels singular. Listen in to hear how her harrowing childhood informs her writing. Together we'll dig deep into how stream of consciousness, figurative language and writing from the body all add to the genius. These slim novels are the kind of work that REALLY reward deeper analysis.

Saunders fans came to this with very high expectations. Rightly! The MacArthur-winning genius won the Booker for the insanely great Lincoln in the Bardo! When VIGIL fell a tiny bit short for me, I went to the source--interviews with George--to really understand what he was going for. I wanted the best experience of this book! The results were fascinating. Listen in to gain the deepest appreciation for why Saunders is always worth our while.

Even *I*--longtime Enrigue superfan--was a little suspicious of this one. Turns out a "multifaceted war story," a "Western that Goes Where McCarthy Wouldn't," the story of the surrender of Geronimo, was RIVETING.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Let us thank GOD for the Irishification of the American arts! This lecture explores the haunting “An Encounter” before delving into the masterpiece, “The Dead.” Find out how Joyce changed the face of literature, and how his portrayal of the Irish people is actually a portrayal of EVERYONE. Maybe Joyce seems a little heavy?? Choose from my talks on Sally Rooney's INTERMEZZO, Claire Keegan's radical SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE or FOSTER, Anna Burns's insanely great MILKMAN or a handful of other Irish masterpieces.

There are dozens of reasons why Moore is one of my favorite writers of all time. Indulge yourself in the 20 minutes it takes to read (or listen to!) this story then dig DEEP with me. The work is ridiculously smart and dark and poignant and unique and HILARIOUS. I'll say it before we even start: YOU'RE WELCOME.

This Booker Prize shortlister SEEMS quiet, spacious and spare but wow is it rich. The closer you look (allow me to guide you), the better it gets. Don't let the subtleties of this gorgeous novel be lost on you! Listen in now.

People! Enrigue's new novel NOW I SURRENDER comes out today in English. Before you dive into that one, brush up on all the ways the man is a genius. This exploration of YOU DREAMED OF EMPIRES will give you a deeper understanding of the title, the unique narrative stance, why the book feels so dreamy, the humor and whether or not we can read this as a FEMINIST novel.

Much is made of this insanely great novel(la)'s economy but it's the RICHNESS that draws me back again and again and again. Everything is so perfectly dark and smart and hilarious and poignant. We dive in (no pun intended) to the unique narrative stance, the richness of her characterization and her masterful employment of figurative language. This book is SO GOOD.

Prepare to be liberated.

Leave it to a Nobel Prize winner to turn out a book that is so charming, rich, funny, complex and sophisticated. I love this novel so much. Listen in to hear how this potent mix of melodrama, fiction and memoir keeps me returning to it over and over.

Finally, we tackle this GIANT of South American Literature. "The Aleph" is smart (obviously) but also self-deprecating, ultra-rich and HILARIOUS. The man's a genius. The story is genius. Indulge now and feel--in just 80 minutes--a little smarter.

NO READING REQUIRED! "1950s Nancy was a Barbie. But 1930s Nancy was a single, friendless BITCH." (Bitch in the very BEST kind of way.) This line from The Bookstore (now playing off Broadway) opens a fascinating--and somewhat damning--window onto American culture. But the best part of revisiting these books is how GOOD they are. Listen in to hear what most of us missed about these iconic bestsellers.

Emerald Fennel's new movie version of Wuthering Heights (and my SON'S OFF-BROADWAY DEBUT) sent me right back to the novel and WOW is there a lot to say about this book. Allow me to break down whether it's a love story or all about revenge, why there's no sex, what the narrative stance has to do with the gothic, and SO MUCH MORE.

I have never loved an epistolary novel (a novel in letters). But at every turn Evans avoided the pitfalls. Not only that, but The Correspondent ends up being a rich, moving read. Tune in to find out how she pulls it off, what made me put it down--only to pick it right back up--and why this work deserves a closer look.

DISCONTENT started with such potential that my very high expectations were somewhat dashed. Serrano starts so strong: she paints the work place, interrogates the internet, incorporates visual art, promotes the concept of the chosen family and more. But much hinged on the ending and for me, it didn't deliver. Listen to see what's working really well and what isn't. Discontent really helps you see why pulling off a strong novel is REALLY HARD TO DO.

Actually, probably, I'd never read it because I was scarred by "The Lottery" in grade school. I should NOT have been afraid. Hangsaman is incredible! It also has some verrrrry confusing elements that deserve the deepest of analysis. Listen in for exactly that. What a masterpiece!

NO READING REQUIRED! Kick off 2026 with a new foxed page experience: an entire short story read to you--with my analysis--in one brief(ish) lecture! Come away feeling transported and inspired by true literary genius (Kincaid's, haha, not mine).

We all read The Catcher in high school (when it was largely wasted on us) but too few of us explore Salinger's short fiction. His stories are SO GOOD. A deep dive into "Bananfish" will not only help you appreciate the inimitable dialogue, the spareness, the characterization and all that makes Salinger one of America's best writers--but you'll end up feeling a little smarter and a little more HUMAN as we kick off 2026.

I fully agree with the Booker Prize judges that FLESH is "singular" and "extraordinary." I can see why it won! I do, though, have a few arguments to make.

NO READING REQUIRED! Find out why we are SO DRAWN to this unlikely, enduring classic. Also: I grapple with the sequel.

This deep dive into the importance of our everyday objects--together with compelling reason why we homebodies love home--was such an eye-opener! Listen in to hear how our things provide crucial, existential cues. Also: allow me to GIVE YOU FULL PERMISSION to handle that not-so-wanted gift you're about to receive this holiday season.