In which Charis and Sharon discuss the second half of WHOSE BODY? We cover shellshock, literary Modernism, the novel’s experimentation with narrative form, and Sayers’ interest in theology, vocation, and social responsibility. Additionally, we reveal the culprit, our favorite lines, and what else we were reading at the time we recorded this episode!

Download the episode 2 transcript.

Shownotes:

• The Tumblr post about Poirot that Charis loves is this one.
• Sharon mentions THE COUNTRY AND THE CITY (Raymond Williams) in relation to our discussion on the false binary in literature between pastoral and urban spaces.
• The Sherlock Holmes story that Charis brings up in relation to secrets in the countryside is “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches” (full text available online here).
• In the discussion on Modernism, Sharon references THE GREAT WAR AND MODERN MEMORY (Paul Fussell), an influential book of literary criticism. Fussell’s thesis is that the trauma of WWI necessitated the changes in poetic language and narrative representation that gave rise to Modernist forms. Sharon also very cheekily brings up Virginia Woolf’s claim that “in or about December, 1910, human nature changed,” from Woolf’s essay titled “Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown” (full text available online here).
• Sharon’s example of the type of formal experimentation most closely associated with Modernism is ULYSSES (James Joyce).
• When we recorded this podcast, Sharon was also reading MAGIC FOR LIARS (Sarah Gailey), wherein a non-magical PI is hired to investigate a murder at a magic school.
• Charis was reading THE FOREST UNSEEN (David George Haskell) and NIGHT WATCH (Terry Pratchett) when we recorded this podcast. THE FOREST UNSEEN chronicles Haskell’s year of observing one square meter of an old-growth Tennessee forest over the course of a year. NIGHT WATCH is a Discworld novel that also deals with themes of justice and social responsibility.