One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez weaves a spellbinding tale of the Buendía family across seven generations in the mythical village of Macondo, blending magical realism with profound human truths.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/literature/comments/1bxnhnx/100_years_of_solitude_liking_it_but_wondering_why/
• https://direct.mit.edu/ecps/article/9/2/254/126205/Ascent-to-glory-how-One-Hundred-Years-of-Solitude
• https://ijrjournal.com/index.php/ijr/article/view/1922
• Proceedings of the 2022 3rd International Conference on Mental Health, Education and Human Development (MHEHD 2022)
• https://anabaptistworld.org/una-sociedad-conflictiva-muestra-como-indicios-conflictos-de-valores-un-analisis-del-libro-cien-anos-de-soledad-de-gabriel-garcia-marquez/
• https://lithub.com/why-is-one-hundred-years-of-solitude-eternally-beloved/
• Journal Home Page Available: https://ijels.com/, Journal DOI: 10.22161/ijels, 3IJELS-2025, 10(2), (ISSN: 2456-7620) (Int. J of Eng. Lit. and Soc. Sci.)

Buy this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LOCfvZ

This link is an affiliate link. If you make a purchase, I may earn a commission - at no additional cost to you.

Slaughterhouse 5 remains Vonnegut's timeless gut-punch on war's absurdity, following Billy Pilgrim as he's unstuck in time amid Dresden's firebombing and alien abductions. This episode unpacks its sci-fi satire, dark humor, and enduring mantra "So it goes"—a stark reminder that in 2026's endless conflicts, humanity still hasn't learned to stop the madness. Join us for a reread that transcends eras.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/s/slaughterhousefive/book-summary
• https://study.com/academy/lesson/slaughterhouse-five-analysis.html
• https://www.grin.com/document/267472?srsltid=AfmBOorKXN_vgkGoD8DBiAu-M841AsX0CXTcAbSVe9aqpZ9vbW2Kz5D2
• https://bookanalysis.com/kurt-vonnegut/slaughterhouse-five/
• https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Slaughterhouse-Five/
• https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/184345/slaughterhouse-five-by-kurt-vonnegut/9780385333849/teachers-guide/
• https://crafterfox.eu/review-kurt-vonnegut-slaughterhouse-five/

Buy this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bz5lK5

This link is an affiliate link. If you make a purchase, I may earn a commission - at no additional cost to you.

In this episode, we’re talking about Dostoevsky’s The Idiot — a story that feels surprisingly modern for a 19th-century novel. Prince Myshkin shows up in a world driven by ego, greed, and power plays, trying to live with total honesty and kindness. Sound familiar? We explore how his struggle fits right into today’s age of social media, moral gray zones, and endless noise — and what it really means to stay good when the world calls you naïve.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-idiot/themes
• https://anunexpectedjournal.com/beauty-in-tragedy-the-idiot-dostoevsky-and-eucatastrophe/
• https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/idiot-analysis-major-characters
• https://hesse.projects.gss.ucsb.edu/works/idiot.pdf

This time, we’re unpacking The Handmaid’s Tale — the story that somehow feels both decades old and eerily current. From red cloaks to resistance, we’re talking about what Margaret Atwood’s world says about power, control, and how close fiction can hit to home. Tune in as we connect Gilead’s chilling rules to the headlines and conversations shaping today’s world.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/h/the-handmaids-tale/critical-essays/literary-analysis-of-the-handmaids-tale
• https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/handmaids-tale-analysis-major-characters
• https://central.edu/writing-anthology/2019/06/03/the-art-of-becoming-ordinary-an-analysis-of-the-handmaids-tale/
• https://pmt.physicsandmathstutor.com/download/English-Literature/A-level/Notes/AQA/The-Handmaid's-Tale/Overview%20and%20Key%20Scenes.pdf
• https://www.matrix.edu.au/the-handmaids-tale-text-analysis-year-11-english-advanced/
• https://www.studienet.dk/the-handmaids-tale/analysis

In this episode, we dive into Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice — a haunting tale of beauty, obsession, and the dangerous pursuit of perfection. What happens when art collides with desire, and admiration turns into fixation? More than a century later, its reflections on vanity, fame, and yearning feel strangely familiar in an age of social media and self-curation. Join us as we explore why this story still mirrors the fever of modern life.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://literariness.org/2022/10/10/analysis-of-thomas-manns-death-in-venice/
• https://campuspress.yale.edu/modernismlab/death-in-venice/
• https://www.litcharts.com/lit/death-in-venice
• https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/death-venice-analysis-setting
• https://www.editoreric.com/greatlit/books/Death-in-Venice.html
• https://imagesofvenice.com/death-in-venice-by-thomas-mann/
• https://lareviewofbooks.org/blog/essays/desire-disease-thomas-manns-death-venice/

Against the shimmer of champagne and the hum of jazz, The Great Gatsby reveals a dream built on illusion and desire. In this episode, we step beyond the glittering parties to uncover the loneliness behind the lights—and explore how Gatsby’s pursuit of an unreachable ideal still echoes in our modern chase for fame, fortune, and perfection.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/great-gatsby-analysis-setting
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7467143/
• https://literaryvault.com/ap-lang-reads-the-great-gatsby-f-scott-fitzgerald/
• https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-notes/3595152

James Joyce’s Ulysses turned an ordinary day in Dublin into one of the greatest adventures in literature. In this episode, we explore how a single June day in 1904 still mirrors the chaos, beauty, and inner monologues of our own digital age. From stream-of-consciousness storytelling to the search for meaning in everyday moments — Ulysses proves that not much has changed in the human heart, even after more than a century.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://ums.org/2024/10/11/a-casual-readers-guide-to-ulysses/
• https://www.english.ox.ac.uk/ten-minute-book-club/joyce-ulysses
• https://campuspress.yale.edu/modernismlab/ulysses/
• https://www.ulyssesguide.com/

Dive into Sinclair Lewis's timeless 1935 warning, It Can't Happen Here, where a populist demagogue seizes power and dismantles democracy. This gripping tale of fascism's stealthy rise feels eerily prescient amid today's polarized politics and authoritarian echoes worldwide. Join us as we unpack its lessons for our turbulent era.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://www.illiberalism.org/fascism-in-the-english-world-a-review-of-it-cant-happen-here-and-prophet-song/
• https://bookthrasher.com/2024/11/03/it-cant-happen-here/
• https://www.english.ox.ac.uk/ten-minute-book-club/lewis-it-cant-happen-here
• https://www.litcharts.com/lit/it-can-t-happen-here/summary