The Mookse and the Gripes Summer Book Club
Episode 34: A Lost Lady, by Willa Cather
Back at the end of May we decided to do a summer book club for The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast. To pick the book we’d read and discuss, we held a vote on Twitter. The vote was close (at least among three of the four titles), but ultimately the winner was Willa Cather’s A Lost Lady, her 1923 novel about the decline of a certain American Western ideal, among many other things.
I’m sure the other options would also have been enriching, but I think A Lost Lady was the perfect choice. It is, for one thing, short! In my Library of America edition, it takes up just less than 100 pages. But even better, this is a rich, subtle book.
We appreciate everyone who shared thoughts with us on Twitter. You can search for those using the hashtag #LostLady2022. It seems that folks who read the book with us were happy with the experience.
In this episode, Paul and I sit down with Chris Wolak, from the great podcast Book Cougars, which she hosts with Emily Fine. We’ve listened to Chris and Emily for a long time, and we knew Chris was a long-time Cather aficionado. We were in for a treat: it was delightful and insightful to chat with her for about 90 minutes about this great book!
Salka Valka giveaway
At the start of this episode, we announce another giveaway opportunity: this lovely Archipelago Books edition of Salk Valka, by Halldór Laxness, translated by Philip Roughton.
To enter, simply email mookseandgripes@gmail.com, or reply to this newsletter in your email, and tell me you want to enter the giveaway. Paul and I will draw the winner in our next episode!
Upcoming Episodes
August 25: César Aira
September 8: Epic Reads
September 22: Hotel Novels with Jacqui Wine
Episodes are released on Thursdays, though Patreon supporters get them two days earlier.
César Aira
Our next episode has a number that ends in a five. That means it’s a special author focus episode! If you have read any books by César Aira, let us know! We’d love to share some listener thoughts when we record on August 20.
Thanks to Patreon Supporters
Once again, thanks to our Patreon supporters. It is due to your support that we are able to pay for the hosting services and have enough left over for giveaways and the like.
Every month, we do a special Patreon bonus episode, which are often laid back conversations about . . . books! We’ll have one coming for August soon!
Episode 34 Show Notes
A Lost Lady, by Willa Cather
Salka Valka, by Halldór Laxness, translated by Philip Roughton
O Pioneers!, by Willa Cather
My Ántonia, by Willa Cather
Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather
The Professor’s House, by Willa Cather
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
First Love, by Ivan Turgenev
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
“Finding Marian Forrester: A Restorative Reading of Cather’s A Lost Lady,” by Anneliese H. Smith, from Colby Library Quarterly, Vol. 14, no. 4, December 1978, pg. 221 - 225.
Butcher’s Crossing, by John Williams
A Lost Lady: Scholarly Edition, Nebraska Press
My Mortal Enemy, by Willa Cather
Stoner, by John William
Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson
Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
A Lantern in Her Hand, by Bess Streeter Aldrich
The Emigrants, d. Jan Troell
The New Land, d. Jan Troell
“Neighbor Rosicky,” by Willa Cather
The Emigrants, by Vilhelm Moberg
Unto a Good Land, by Vilhelm Moberg
Giants in the Earth, by Ole Edvart Rølvaag
Meek’s Cutoff, d. Kelly Reichardt
Certain Women, d. Kelly Reichardt
McTeague: A San Francisco Story, by Frank Norris
About the Podcast
The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast is a book chat podcast. Every few weeks we are talking about some bookish topic or another.
Please join us! You can subscribe at Apple podcasts or go to the feed to import to your favorite podcatcher. You can also listen to us on YouTube, if that’s your thing (though I’m still trying to figure that out, so be patient if there are some strange uploads and re-uploads).
Many thanks to those who helped make this possible! If you’d like to donate as well, please visit our Patreon page. We have been reworking the Patreon, and I’m excited that I figured out how to get Patreon subscribers early access to our episodes! Every supporter has their own feed that he or she can use in their podcast app of choice to download our episodes a few days early. We are also working on bonus episodes for certain tiers, since we really want to show our thanks. Please go check it out!