Left Shelf

David Foster Wallace is singular at putting you straight into the minds of his characters, who are tragically sympathetic and simultaneously deplorable. The depressed person in “The Depressed Person” is no exception - her loneliness, self-obsession, agonies and fears are intricately described so that even in moments where one feels exhausted by her, one can also relate to her pain...

Zadie Smith’s debut novel, one she wrote at the tender age of 19, is full of irony, witty sayings, and wild rollercoaster storylines. It is the epitome of social and personal chaos spanning several generations, families and cultures.  In this episode, we discuss immigrant psychology, radicalization (left or right), genetic manipulation (?) and the tides of history...

True to its name, the short story The Case For and Against Love Potions by Imbolo Mbue both heeds caution and encouragement about using love potions...

Thank You Ma’am by Langston Hughes (Communist? Communist!!) follows a young boy named Roger as he tries to steal a woman’s purse. The story follows a simple arc -- one event, two characters in three pages -- and yet is ripe with hope and optimism. In this episode, we explore Langston Hughe’s life and touch on the Harlem Renaissance, while also discussing themes of mutual aid and reciprocity...

Outline by Rachel Cusk tries to grasp personhood and identity in the midst of absence and loss through the (titular) outline of the narrator. The narrator tries to understand herself by understanding others. She listens to the stories about marriage and divorce, family, ambitions  or even writing itself. In this episode, we discuss the stylistic and philosophical aspects of the book, and whether or not we agree with it...

The Salaryman by Krys Lee is a painfully real rendition of what happened as the South Korean economy collapsed in the mid-1990s. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s strict bailout policy forced large lay-offs and what were once guaranteed jobs for people quickly disappeared. In this episode, we touch on Korea’s history and how it shaped the setting described in this piece. We also touch on alcohol consumption as an aspect of culture, disillusionment and the act of being a human being...

“Letters to Martin” is a book that, through the flow of twelve meditations on historical as well as present events, leads to an understanding of contemporary political struggles. Written as letters to Martin Luther King Jr., this book addresses many of the issues faced by millions of people across the country today — economic inequality, freedom of assembly, police brutality, ongoing social class conflicts, and geopolitics. In this episode, we sit down to talk with the author of the book, Dr...

Roots: the connections we have with the natural environment around us; Trunk: the connections we have with each other; Crown: the connections we have with the mystical; Seeds: the hope that propagates life forward. “The Overstory” is a book that, through the structure of trees, expands the size of a singular human life and re-contextualizes the scales of time and geography. In this episode, we sit down with a guest, Navel Orange, to discuss this impassioned and moving work by Richard Powers...

“Tlön, Uqbar and Orbis Tertius” is an almost prophetic short story by Jorge Luis Borges about reality and the experiment of thought. In this episode, we sit down with our valued guest Thomas to discuss this complex labyrinth of a story. In our conversation, we dive into the strange world of Uqbar and the even stranger world of Tlön...

James Tiptree Jr. (spoiler alert!) is actually the pseudonym for Alice Sheldon, who in her cyberpunk short stories like “The Girl Who Was Plugged In”, addresses gender issues head on. The short story is snarky, crazy, fast-paced, and explicit in its criticism of rigid gender roles and clearly outlines the inevitable tragedies that result from it...