TMR 14.6: “A Strolling Game of Pocket Billiards” [J R]
Chad and Brian go it alone this week, and prove that even the most claustrophobic sections (trigger warning for anyone who grew up with hoarders) of J R are also riotously funny. They also don’t understand money or business, but no one else in the book seems to either . . . There’s also a lot of talk about Gibbs’s footwear issues.
This week’s music is “Laugh Track” by Ben Hopkins, one of the greatest songs of 2020.
If you’d prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on YouTube along with all our past episodes. You can watch the next episode on Wednesday, January 27th where you’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions, make comments, or correct inaccurate statements. Here’s where you can find the complete reading schedule.
Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.
Be sure to order Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is now officially available at better bookstores everywhere thanks to BOA Editions
You can also support this podcast and all of Open Letter’s activities by making a tax-deductible donation through the University of Rochester.
The large image associated with this post is copyrighted by William Clifford.
Harpers published a piece from JR around the time the book was published in 1975. It’s from this part of the book. It’s set in the 96th St apartment and features Bast and Rhoda. It’s worth tracking down for the illustrations.
I am enjoying the podcasts a lot, especially your guessing about what is going to happen to various characters.
Eigen is supposed to be Gaddis but despite the author’s intention, I think Gibbs, who is supposedly modeled on someone else, is the character that Gaddis inhabits.