This week we're reading James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, published in 1916.

Moments of adolescent significance: on heated dinner-time conversations, a child's keen sense of injustice, the fear of burning in Hellfire, contemplating eternity, sexual guilt, and teenage rebellion. Which did we relate to the most?

Theory of aesthetics: why are evo psych explanations distasteful? Do Aquinas' three criteria give us an objective description of art? How about Stephen's 'impelled action' theory? can we tell propaganda, pornography and sermonising apart from the real deal? Does Joyce's novel kinda fail by its own lights?

(00:00:00) intro (00:05:54) Baby tuckoo and the moocow (00:14:35) Dinner time convos and unjust punishments (00:23:18) Hell and the true nature of eternity (00:33:38) Epiphany (seeing a hot girl at the beach) (00:40:15) Stephen’s theory of beauty and aesthetics (00:56:40) Did we like the book?

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NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

• Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood
• Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein
• Gravity's Rainbow — Thomas Pynchon

This week we're discussing C.P. Snow's influential 1959 lecture 'The Two Cultures', on the growing division between literary and scientific intellectuals:

"So the great edifice of modern physics goes up, and the majority of the cleverest people in the western world have about as much insight into it as their neolithic ancestors would have had."

Why do literary types tend to be Luddites? Is it kinda good that hubristic tech bros refuse to read the classics? Has the gap narrowed or widened in recent decades? How closely does The Two Cultures map onto the stemcels vs shape rotators meme? And of course Cam analyses the various status dynamics at play.

Trickling out episodes atm while Rich is on paternity leave. Normal service will resume shortly

WRITE US:

We love listener feedback. Send us a note at douevenlit@gmail.com to correct our hot takes, add your own, or ask a question.

NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

• James Joyce - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
• Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood

Back to the novels. This week, the DYEL boys decide to try Butcher's Crossing, the first novel from John Williams, the author famous for writing the so-underrated-it-might-be-overrated-but-probably-is-now-just-correctly-rated novel Stoner. As to be expected, it's not on the same level of Stoner but we still enjoy it.

Decline of the buffalo: Rich reminds Cam that we already had this discussion in our episode of Blood Meridian but Cam forgot it and found himself in new disbelief on the staggering decline of the North American Bison.

Emerson and finding yourself: It turns out Rich went through an Emerson phase. Well, actually more of a Thoreau phase but the both had three names and wrote around the same time so it counts. We discuss Emerson's idea of transcendence and whether this novel is meant as a refutation or embodiment of it.

Miller: Not on the level of the Judge in Blood Meridian but a memorable character in his own right. Rich has some small gripes with his characterisation.

CHAPTERS

(00:00:01) Intro (00:06:10) Summary (00:07:53) Emerson's transcendentalism (00:17:30) American Buffalo: Decline, hunting, skinning (00:26:02) Miller's stoicism and characterisation (00:34:24) Schneider's empty (Chekhov's) gun (00:41:18) Does Miller's motive make sense? (00:46:26) Lesser work to Stoner (00:48:54) Anti-Emerson (00:53:02) Ending and nihilism (01:00:15) Outro and next picks

WRITE US:

We love listener feedback. Send us a note at douevenlit@gmail.com to correct our hot takes, add your own, or ask a question.

NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

• James Joyce - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
• Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood