logo

“Melvill” by Rodrigo Fresán & Will Vanderhyden [Excerpt]

From Rodrigo Fresán & Will Vanderhyden's Melvill, which releases on Tuesday, October 8th, and which Publishers Weekly—in a Starred Review, no less—referred to as a "masterpiece." And yes, it is about that Melville: A dying father in the grip of fever and delirium recounts his youth, his Grand Tour, the ...

TMR 19.12: “Fill Up with Karmas” [THE REMEMBERED PART]

Brian returns to help breakdown the ending to Rodrigo Fresán's "Part Triptych." Is it earned? Is it sincere?? Is this all a Jacob's Ladder scenario??? Chad and Brian debate that along with concepts of time in fiction, the Karmas, the wetness of Latvian meat, Melvill and Mulligan Stew. Fun is had as this long, amazing ...

TMR 19.11 “Exit and No Return and Gone Forever” [THE REMEMBERED PART]

Kaija Straumanis guest stars on this episode in which we discuss brain tumors, memory loss, the true story behind the story of The Impossible Story sending the exwriter into exile, whether of not Saint George is a saint (and dragons), paternity, and the next Fresán book to come out from Open Letter, Melvill. This ...

TMR 19.10: “The Fine Art of Leaving Something Out” [THE REMEMBERED PART]

For the first time in the history of the Two Month Review, Chad had to go it alone. He stuck in there, didn't get too crazy, and covered the last chunk of Part II of The Remembered Part. Illness, heartbreak, mental anguish, suicide, Ella, and a mission. It's all in this episode. This week's music is "Bloodletting (The ...

TMR 19.9: “The Dream of the Invention of the Memory, Etc.” [THE REMEMBERED PART]

Veeeeekingdor!!!!! This week's episode is pretty wild, with stories of Riga FC, stoic faces, Fresán's visit to the University of Rochester, Kurt Vonnegut, Andrei The Untranslated (follow his blog!, support his Patreon!), the purpose of book readings and the most uncomfortable ones, time and fiction, and much more! And ...

TMR 19.8: “Notes for a Theory of the Fabric of Memory” [THE REMEMBERED PART]

Brian is back and Chad flubs the intro, so things are basically as they should be . . . They talk about fragmentation, big flawed double albums (and why they're so intriguing), how comedy works, Hey Uncle Walrus vs. Uncle Hey Walrus, memory and the losing of it, and much more. This week's music is "1979"  and 'Tonight, ...

TMR 19.7: “The Good Rememberer (A How-To Guide)” [THE REMEMBERED PART]

Former TMR guest Patrick Smith returns to discuss his reread of the first two volumes of the trilogy, how Fresán's writing inspires him, hanging on to flights of prose, all of the wind in this book, what it means to fall, dogs, and much much more. It's a comprehensive, deep look into what it takes to be a good reader, ...