What is it about a book - the characters, the story, the history, the authors - that gets you hooked every time? Your British and American hosts are ready and willing to nurture your dependency with deep dives and discussions about literature across genres and authors, from classic to postmodern and everything in between.
Gary and Siena are back after a long hiatus! What have we been up to? What has changed in the four years since our last recording? WHAT do we think of Dubliners and what were our favourite stories within it? And how do we interpret its most famous story, The Dead? Rejoin us for the long awaited revival of How's the Water! Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast for more content and updates about future episodes!
28 Jan 2022
Finnegans Wake: Come to Our Midden Heap!
Gary and Siena tackle James Joyce's final and most convoluted work of fiction, Finnegan's Wake! Are you up to attempting this colossus? And how can you do that without letting it drive you nuts? Featuring an entertaining plot reveal, comparisons to Ulysses, and a talking butt amongst a cast of colourful characters. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!
22 Dec 2021
Agnes Grey: Poor and Happy
Gary and Siena return to their favourite Brontë sister with Agnes Grey, the autobiographical debut novel of Anne Brontë. Our hosts draw comparisons between this book and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, as well as the works of Anne's more well-known sisters - also, briefly, Dangerous Minds and Freedom Writers . Featuring stories about their worst ever jobs, and references to Charlotte Brontë's (allegedly) malicious nature. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @w...
28 Oct 2021
Dracula: This Airbnb Sucks!
In a very spooky Halloween edition of How's the Water?, Gary and Siena cover one of Siena's favourite books, Dracula by Bram Stoker. Is it as scary as she remembers? How does Van Helsing get back and forth to Amsterdam so quickly? And would being a vampire really be all that bad? Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!
2 Oct 2021
White Teeth: Coincidence Wins Y2K
Gary and Siena discuss the coolness of Zadie Smith, multicultural Britain and great transitions in her debut and award winning novel, White Teeth. Also included: memories of the Great Storm of October 1987 and Gary feels attacked by the depiction of the middle class Chalfens. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!
30 Aug 2021
House of Leaves: Laughs and Screams
Gary and Siena relive their postmodern nightmares as they examine Mark Z. Danielewski's bestselling novel House of Leaves. Featuring light trash talk, some spooky music and a shout out to Meow Wolf's House of Eternal Return. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes! Virtutes Instrumenti by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4590-virtutes-instrumenti License: https://film...
31 Jul 2021
The Periodic Table: Argon, Potassium, Nickel, Vanadium
Gary and Siena get elemental as they round off their European literature series with the brilliant Italian writer Primo Levi and his collection of short stories, which unexpectedly and elegantly combine his love of chemistry with his struggles during the rise and fall of fascism in Italy. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!
13 Jun 2021
W: A Shadow Amongst Their Shadows
Gary and Siena piece together Georges Perec's W, or The Memory of Childhood, exploring themes of false memories and the loss of identity stemming from the author's experiences as a young boy in France amid The Holocaust. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!
13 May 2021
Left-Handed Dreams: Logical Quicksand
Gary and Siena are back with an overdue deep dive into Italian writer Francesca Duranti's complex and charming novella, which covers the themes of multiple articulations of being, "otherness", and the acceptance of diversity in just 118 pages. And don't hesitate to get in touch with what you think of bidets. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!
3 Mar 2021
Independent People: Shared Stubbornness
Gary and Siena take on the Icelandic masterpiece Independent People by Nobel Prize winning writer Halldór Laxness, known as The Tolstoy of the North! Join them as they discuss the nature of independence, innocence and isolation against the backdrop of a rural life during the turmoil of the early 20th century. Bring coffee. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!
3 Feb 2021
Perfume: Scents and the City
Gary and Siena explore the smells and peculiarities of 18th century France through Patrick Süskind's historical fantasy novel, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. Plus smelly coworker stories and a review of the German series featured on Netflix! Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!
19 Jan 2021
The Brontë Sisters: Don't Drink the Water!
As Gary and Siena bid adieu to the Brontës, they discuss a (fictional) book that paints Charlotte as a stone-cold murderous control freak and attempt to separate fact from fiction. Plus poems! Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!
6 Jan 2021
Wuthering Heights Part 2: Unquiet Slumbers
Gary and Siena continue to unwind the complicated plot of Wuthering Heights and explore a deeper analysis of the characters and themes. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes! Music: Secrets of Plants by Lobo Loco From Free Music Archive CC BY NC
30 Dec 2020
Wuthering Heights Part 1: We've Done Us All a Favour
In Part 1 of the examination of Emily Brontë's only finished novel, Gary and Siena share what they have learned about the reclusive author, explore an alternate Heathcliff origin story, and discuss the famous 1939 film. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast for updates on future episodes!
31 Oct 2020
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Always Listen to Your Aunt
Gary and Siena discuss Anne Brontë's much underrated (in their esteemed opinion) classic, including typical 19th century women problems and horrible needy jealousy. Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast to stay up to date on future episodes!
5 Oct 2020
Jane Eyre: She Should've Gone to Madeira
Our hosts look in depth at Charlotte Bronte and her most famous novel. They also examine the under appreciated hard work of Grace Poole before wondering whether Jane’s altruism is her biggest drawback.
26 Sept 2020
Introducing: The Brontë Series
Gary and Siena introduce and discuss their upcoming four-part series, focusing on the lives and works of the Brontë sisters. Featuring snazzy music, US/UK accent problems, and the village of Howarth, Yorkshire.
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