Two Month Review #7.4: Radiant Terminus (Chapters 9-13)

Rhett McNeil joins Chad Post and pinch-hitter Kaija Straumanis to talk about the first half of part two of Radiant Terminus, “Ode to the Camps.” From recounting Chad’s latest Volodine-inflected dream to a discussion of the ways various ideologies (fairy tales, anarcho-capitalism, Marxism-Leninism) play out in the novel, to the connection between these ideologies and male violence and the way in which the characters are almost like shadows in the novel, this is a wide-ranging, very dialed in episode. As always, there is laughter and a lengthy recap, but it also goes very deep into the novel and Volodine’s overall game.

As always, you can watch these episodes live on our YouTube channel the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, February 20.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, Brian Wood, Kaija Straumanis, and Rhett McNeil, for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests.

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This season’s music is all from Mother Earth’s Plantasia by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear “Ode to an African Violet.”