Two Month Review

Ted Morrissey (The Tunnel at 25) returns to talk about his favorite section of The Tunnel, which has some Joycean overtones, and is a little less angry than some of the other parts of the book. (See: Kohler talking about breakfast, saying nice things about Martha.) It is a section that gets into the core of Kohler’s argument in Guilt and Innocence in Hitler’s Germany—an argument that can also be summarized for our times as, “who is more evil: Trump or someone who joins ICE?” A fun way to kick off 2026 with laughs and intellectual musings, and some additional background on Gass’s relationship to academia. This episode’s music is “This Year” by The Mountain Goats.The next episode will drop in 2026 and will cover “Susu, I Approach You in My Dreams” (pages 475–533). The complete schedule (if you’re reading along in real time) can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

In this section of The Tunnel, Gass looks at academia, committees, power dynamics on campus, and the “curse of colleagues.” Chad, Brian, and Kaija have a lot of fun with this section talking about how gross Kohler is, which colleague of his they most represent, whether or not any of these people are “real,” and the state of college as a public institution in 2025. This episode’s music is “Sideboob” by English Teacher.The next episode will drop in 2026 and will cover “Around the House” (pages 437–475). The complete schedule (if you’re reading along in real time) can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Lori Feathers (Interabang Books, Big Book Project) joins Kaija, Chad, and Brian to talk about “The First Winter of My Married Life” in which Kohler and Martha suffer the invasive noises of a nearby neighbor, Kohler loses his cool because of his inconsolable son, and various memories are explored thanks to a photo album. They talk about this, about how Kohler is manipulating the reader (why? to what end?), the cruel humor of the book, and much more—including the unveiling of what book we’ll be covering next season . . .This episode’s music is “Spring and by Summer Fall” by Blonde Redhead.Next week we’ll cover “The Curse of Colleages” (pages 386–437). The complete schedule (if you’re reading along in real time) can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Chris Via of Leaf by Leaf joins Kaija, Brian, and Chad on this episode to talk about “Why Windows Are Important to Me.” They discuss Chris’s ten-hour-long project on The Tunnel, why “Blackboard” is his favorite section, edges and nodes and architecture in literature, philosophy and metaphors, and much more. A very high-level, intellectual episode thanks in large part to Chris’s contributions!This episode’s music is “Das Verschwinden” by The Notwist.Next week we’ll cover “The First Winter of My Married Life” (pages 334–385). The complete schedule (if you’re reading along in real time) can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Covering the “Mad Meg” section (pgs 214–282), Chad, Kaija, and Brian talk about the juxtaposition of Kohler’s childhood Sunday drives with the bombast of Mad Meg’s lectures, about Southern Gothic writing and Flannery O’Connor, blaming others for your sadness, history and ideas, and more.This episode’s music is “The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)” from Car Seat Headrest.We’ll be back on December 4 to cover “Why Windows Are Important to Me” (pages 282–334). The complete schedule (if you’re reading along in real time) can be found here.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com