Aug 5, 2026 · 2 hr 13 min · 12 segments
Somehow we didn't even notice that this was Episode 69 while we were recording. We sincerely apologize to our listeners for the lack of 69-related bits. We hope that, despite our oversight, you enjoy…
Uh, I find when I start talking about this book, I just feel like I'm becoming, like, a Dalkey Archive hypebeast-
[laughs]
... where, like, by the end of this series, I'm gonna be wearing, like, a little Dalkey Archive tote bag, and I'm gonna have, like, a John Fosse hat.
And I'm gonna be like-
Yeah, and I'm gonna be like, "You know I always keep it 100." And then I'm gonna hold up, like, two copies of The Tunnel [laughs] um, next to my e- either of my ears.
And the reason I'm saying this is because anytime I start talking about this book, I quickly become incoherent.
And so I'm wondering, uh, before we start, a- how do you feel about it now? 'Cause I think we opened the last episode, I distinctly remember you saying you felt like you'd been punched in the face.
I- has that feeling carried over, or maybe has it settled? H- how are you feeling?
Yeah.
Um, I did find myself thinking about that as I was working through the second, uh, kinda section here, or the second, like, batch of three chapters, so to speak.
Um, because yeah, that, that first section was very disorienting, um, particularly, like, kind of getting a feel for, like, what Gass is doing here with, like, again, stuff that you just don't see happening a lot in even literary, like, highbrow literary fiction with the way he's playing around with font and with, like, page layout-
Yeah
...
in a way that, like, really...
The only book I can think of that I've read that, like, does that to the same extent is maybe, like, House of Leaves by Danielski.
Yeah, yeah.
I feel like here on the second section, I feel like, A, I, I have a much better, I think, understanding of, of this character, uh, and kind of what he's supposed, what, what his deal is, what I'm kind of watching him go through.
I think I have, like, a better grasp on, like, what the point of this book is.
Oh, nice.
Uh, I find when I start talking about this book, I just feel like I'm becoming, like, a Dalkey Archive hypebeast-
[laughs]
... where, like, by the end of this series, I'm gonna be wearing, like, a little Dalkey Archive tote bag, and I'm gonna have, like, a John Fosse hat.
And I'm gonna be like-
Yeah, and I'm gonna be like, "You know I always keep it 100." And then I'm gonna hold up, like, two copies of The Tunnel [laughs] um, next to my e- either of my ears.
And the reason I'm saying this is because anytime I start talking about this book, I quickly become incoherent.
And so I'm wondering, uh, before we start, a- how do you feel about it now? 'Cause I think we opened the last episode, I distinctly remember you saying you felt like you'd been punched in the face.
I- has that feeling carried over, or maybe has it settled? H- how are you feeling?
Yeah.
Um, I did find myself thinking about that as I was working through the second, uh, kinda section here, or the second, like, batch of three chapters, so to speak.
Um, because yeah, that, that first section was very disorienting, um, particularly, like, kind of getting a feel for, like, what Gass is doing here with, like, again, stuff that you just don't see happening a lot in even literary, like, highbrow literary fiction with the way he's playing around with font and with, like, page layout-
Yeah
...
in a way that, like, really...
The only book I can think of that I've read that, like, does that to the same extent is maybe, like, House of Leaves by Danielski.
Yeah, yeah.
I feel like here on the second section, I feel like, A, I, I have a much better, I think, understanding of, of this character, uh, and kind of what he's supposed, what, what his deal is, what I'm kind of watching him go through.
I think I have, like, a better grasp on, like, what the point of this book is.
Oh, nice.
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