Discussion Notes: The Trouble with Goats and Sheep

Next month’s novel: Underground Airlines by Ben Winters

Rated: Clean

Tamara Woods

This month we welcome back Tamara Woods, author of The Shaping of an Angry Black Woman, and writer behind the PenPaperPad blog. She has been writing for 20 years, and has a passion for poetry.

Tamara is working with Literary Roadhouse behind the scenes to publish a poetry podcast soon. She was recently in New York interviewing poets. If you’re interested in poetry and want to support her podcast, please consider donating at Literary Roadhouse’s Patreon campaign. Every show we produce brings with it additional costs, so every bit helps.

Join Anais, Gerald, and Tamara in their discussion of Joanna Cannon’s debut novel The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. Grace and Tilly, two young girls in an English suburb in 1976 look for a neighbor who has gone missing.

The hosts analyze the novel’s ensemble cast, the rich prose, and the novels many themes. While all three hosts enjoyed the novel, they agreed that the first third of the novel felt different than the last 2/3rds. For Gerald, the rich imagery from the first third tapered of later in the book. Meanwhile, Anais found it difficult to reconcile the wise voice of the first third of the book with a ten year old child’s point of view. As for Tamara, she enjoyed the mystery’s suspense and gasped at key points as twists and clues were revealed.

This episode ends with a religious epiphany! Listen to find out who is God.

Did you enjoy Joanna Cannon’s mystery? Let us know what you think in the comment section below. Or, if you prefer, leave a voicemail by clicking on the feature to the left. By the way, we may play your voicemail on our next show, so tell us if you would prefer we did not.

Please leave an iTunes review! It helps us attract a wider audience and keep growing.

We (try to) air the first Friday of every month, and discuss the books on Twitter between shows using #LRHBookclub.

Discussion Notes: God Help the Child

Next month’s novel: The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

Rated: Adult Themes

Lovelyn Bettison

This month we’re joined by Lovelyn Bettison, author of Perfect Family and The Box. She is an avid reader of magical realism and a fan of Toni Morrison, who influences her work. You can buy her books on her website: lovelynbettison.com. Listeners of our weekly show may remember Lovelyn from our discussion of Zadie Smith’s “Escape from New York.”

Join Anais, Maya, and Lovelyn as they discuss Toni Morrison’s latest novel God Help the Child. The book follows primarily Bride and Booker as they try to find their adult identities, but are weighed down by the burden of childhood traumas.

The hosts analyze how Morrison’s prose departs from her usual style. At the same time, they highlight the ways in which this more subtle story remains quintessentially Morrison. For Lovelyn, the book’s magical realist elements tickled her imagination. Meanwhile Maya found the emotional of the book a bit muted. As for Anais, the relationship between shifts in point of view and theme seemed like a puzzle worth cracking.

What is Morrison saying about childhood trauma, and is there hope? Listen and let us know what you think in the comment section below. Or, if you prefer, leave a voicemail by clicking on the feature to the left. By the way, we may play your voicemail on our next show, so tell us if you would prefer we did not.

We (try to) air the first Friday of every month, and discuss the books on Twitter between shows using #LRHBookclub.

Discussion Notes: Tram 83

Next month’s novel: God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

Rated: Explicit

This month we discuss Tram 83 with John McCoy, host of Sophomore Lit, a podcast about your tenth grade reading list. Follow John on twitter @tracemcjoy

Join John and Anais as they discuss Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s debut novel Tram 83. Set in a fictional city-state in Western Africa, the novel shares a name with a frenetic jazz club where alcohol and sex transact like currency.

The hosts analyze Fiston’s unique prose and shifting tone. While, the narrator and point of view confound, they charm. Anais struggled to find the protagonist’s goal. Meanwhile John debated whether or not the characters represents individuals, or archetypes. To what extent does the novel echo the real world’s West African history? Does a setting like Tram 83 exist? How much of the story should be interpreted as allegory to the real world, and how much of it should be enjoyed as hyperbolic fiction?

If you have any comments, please share your thoughts in the comment section below. Or, if you prefer, leave a voicemail by clicking on the feature to the left. By the way, we may play your voicemail on our next show, so tell us if you would prefer we did not.

We air the first Friday of every month, and discuss the books on Twitter between shows using #LRHBookclub.