TMR 10.4: “Is it Translatable” [Ducks, Newburyport]

Rhett McNeil (translator of Machado de Assis, Gonçalo Tavares, Antonio Lobo Antunes, and more) joins Chad and Brian to talk about the way in which Ducks, Newburyport is less of a single-sentence and more of a never-ending list, about how it is and isn’t like Ulysses, about time in the novel, about Ellmann’s playfulness, about entropy vs. eternal recurrence, and giving the middle finger to Strunk & White. They also play a short round of “Did this Happen in Florida or Ohio?”

If you’d prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on YouTube along with all our past episodes. (And this very funny 1 minute version where Chad’s computer went crazee.) Next week’s episode (up to page 360) will be broadcast live here. And you can discuss this book at the reactivated Goodreads Two Month Review Discussion Group.

This week’s music is “Comeback Kid” by Sharon Van Etten.

Follow Open Letter, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And follow Patrick on Twitter and Instagram for hot takes and pictures of Vermont bookstores.

Be sure to preorder Brian’s book, Joytime Killbox, which is now officially available from BOA Editions. And get Rhett’s latest translation, Reading Is Walking by Gonçalo Tavares.

You can also support this podcast and all of Open Letter’s activities by making a tax-deductible donation through the University of Rochester. (Or by attending our gala.)

You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps people to discover the podcast.