The Big Book Project
The Big Book Project is a multi-venue reading experience for bibliophiles fascinated by long or dense works of fiction and interested in discussing them with others, one novel at a time. The works selected will be capacious novels from the mid-nineteenth century through today that possess an abundant writing style or complexity in structure and themes. The notion that reading need not be a solitary activity has special resonance with these novels given that there is much to discuss, elaborate upon and question in the authors’ expression of ideas. I like to think of these novels as abundant because I appreciate their richness and volume, characteristics bestow a sort of grace to luxuriate with the text. The critic and scholar Alexander Nehamas writes that when a work of art beckons, it is because we do not fully understand it but feel the strong desire to do so. And it is this deliberative process, the journey, of trying to understand why a novel is extraordinary that I want to explore with fellow readers at The Big Book Project. We discuss books like Roberto Bolaño’s 2666
Episodes
In this episode of The Big Book Project, Lori sits down with novelist and philosopher Mark de Silva to explore his monumental 2022 novel The Logos — a thousand-page meditation on art, perception, capitalism, and the visual texture of contemporary life.
A writer steeped in philosophy and the visual arts, Mark reveals how The Logos emerged from nearly a decade of research into advertising theory, image culture, and the psychological f...
In this final discussion of Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner, Lori is joined once again by Dr. Larry Allums to close out one of the most haunting and inexhaustible novels in American literature.
Together, they trace Faulkner’s labyrinth of narration—Quentin and Shreve’s imaginative reconstruction of the Sutpen story—and explore what it reveals about truth, storytelling, and the South’s enduring obsession with its past...
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In this episode of The Big Book Project, Lori Feathers and Dr. Larry Allums delve into Chapter 7 of William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!—one of the novel’s most intricate and revealing sections.
They trace Thomas Sutpen’s backstory from his rugged Appalachian boyhood to the life-altering moment that shapes his “design.” What begins as a story of social humiliation—being told to “use the back do...
In this episode of The Big Book Project, host Lori Feathers and literary scholar Dr. Larry Allums continue their deep exploration of William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!—turning to the enigmatic and multi-layered Chapter 6.
This chapter introduces a new voice into Faulkner’s intricate web of narrators: Shreve McCannon, Quentin Compson’s Canadian roommate at Harvard. Lori and Larry discuss how Faulkner weaves Shreve into the novel’s ...
Welcome back to The Big Book Project, hosted by Lori Feathers. In Video 2, Lori continues her discussion of William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! with returning guest Dr. Larry Allums. Together, they unpack the intense drama of Chapters 4 and 5, where Rosa Coldfield’s narration reveals her humiliation at the hands of Thomas Sutpen — and Faulkner deepens his exploration of race, obsession, and the tragic design at the heart of Sutpen...
In this episode of The Big Book Project, Lori Feathers is joined by Dr. Larry Allums to launch our collective read of William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! — one of the most complex and unforgettable novels in American literature.
They unpack the biblical and mythological dimensions of the novel, explore its shifting narrators, and discuss how Faulkner used the story of Thomas Sutpen to expose the South’s tangled history of ambition,...
This week on The Big Book Project I’m joined by Nick During, publicist at New York Review Books, for a deep dive into Henrik Pontoppidan’s monumental novel A Fortunate Man translated by Paul Larkin.
Pontoppidan, who won the 1917 Nobel Prize in Literature, gives us one of the great portraits of ambition, love, and disillusionment at the turn of the 20th century. His protagonist, Per, dreams of modernizing Denmark through a grand engi...
Join host Lori Feathers and guest Chad W. Post (Dalkey Archive Press & Open Letter Books) as they dive into the world of Portuguese writer António Lobo Antunes, one of the most significant literary voices of the last 50 years.
They discuss Antunes’s groundbreaking style—shifting voices, fragmented memory, and narrative consciousness—as well as the political and historical backdrops of his fiction, including Angola and ...
In this final conversation on The Kindly Ones, I’m joined again by Tom Flynn to explore the last chaotic stretch of Jonathan Littell’s massive and deeply unsettling novel.
We talk about the feverish pacing, the bizarre turns, and the chilling final scenes—from Max biting Hitler’s nose to the feral children in the woods. Does the book fall apart, or is it mirroring the collapse of the world it depicts? Is Thomas even real? Why does i...
Why do some readers gravitate toward sprawling, ambitious novels that take weeks—or even months—to read? What is it about long books that makes them so immersive, so risky, and so rewarding?
In this episode of The Big Book Project, Lori Feathers is joined once again by writer and professor James Elkins for an in-depth conversation about the magic and challenges of big books. They explore their personal criteria for what makes a long...
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In this episode of The Big Book Project, Lori sits down with Brad Costa, sales representative for W.W. Norton and an extraordinary reader, to discuss Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones.
Brad brings a unique perspective as someone who worked in library archives with Holocaust materials, offering profound insights into the novel’s detailed depiction of bureaucratic evil, moral...
In this episode of The Big Book Project, Lori Feathers is joined by Professor Dorian Stuber for a deep dive into Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones. They explore the book’s place within Holocaust literature, its historical accuracy, and the challenges it poses to readers and educators alike. From the banality of evil to the controversial portrayal of sexual deviancy, Lori and Dorian unpack the themes, narrative choices, and lasting...
In this episode of The Big Book Project, Lori Feathers sits down with art historian, theorist, and novelist James Elkins to discuss his new book A Short Introduction to Anneliese published by Unnamed Press—the second novel in his five-volume literary experiment, Five Strange Languages.
James shares the 20-year journey behind this sprawling, genre-defying project, its dizzying structure, overlapping timelines, and why his fictional c...
Tom Flynn returns to The Big Book Project to continue our group read of Jonathan Littell’s The Kindly Ones—this time tackling pages 333–427, a harrowing descent into the frozen siege of Stalingrad.
Lori and Tom unpack the disturbing realism and psychological depth of the novel, exploring themes of unreliable narration, classical tragedy, and the machinery of fascist ideology. They ask hard questions: Is Littell's depiction of a...
https://substack.com/@thebigbookproject
In this episode of The Big Book Project, host Lori Feathers is joined by acclaimed translator David McKay to explore The Remembered Soldier, the haunting and deeply psychological novel by Anjet Daanje, newly released in English by New Vessel Press.
This episode unpacks the long journey of bringing The Remembered Soldier from a small regional publisher in the Netherlands to intern...
https://substack.com/@thebigbookproject
In this solo episode of The Big Book Project, host Lori Feathers returns to reflect on the latest section of Agaat by Marlene van Niekerk—around page 300—and dives into the nuanced layers of communication, legacy, and emotional power that define this extraordinary novel.
As Milla’s physical condition deteriorates due to ALS, her only form of communication is her eyes. Yet even in silence, she a...
In this special episode of The Big Book Project, host Lori Feathers is joined by Nanci McCloskey—Associate Publisher and Director of Sales & Marketing at Tin House Books—to kick off our next group read: Agaat by Marlene van Niekerk.
📚 Agaat is a psychological epic set in apartheid-era South Africa, told through the complex relationship between two women—Milla and Agaat. Originally published in the UK under the title The Way of ...
In this episode of The Big Book Project, Lori Feathers is joined by literary critic and bookseller Tom Flynn for an in-depth discussion of Roberto Bolaño’s 2666. As we near the end of our 11-week deep dive, we explore the novel’s most compelling themes—literary obsession, systemic violence, and the enigmatic figure of Archimboldi.
📖 Key Topics Discussed:
✔️ Tom Flynn’s experience reading 2666 and seeing its stage adaptation
In this episode of The Big Book Project, Lori Feathers unpacks one of the most haunting themes in Roberto Bolaño’s 2666: the slow erosion of humanity in the face of systemic violence. Through the lens of The Part About Archimboldi, we explore the chilling parallels between Nazi Germany and the fictional town of Santa Teresa—modeled after the real-life femicides of Ciudad Juárez.
Key Themes Discussed:
- The link between the Holocaus...
https://substack.com/@thebigbookproject
In this episode of The Big Book Project, Lori Feathers continues the deep dive into Roberto Bolaño’s 2666, focusing on the second section of The Part About the Crimes. As the narrative unfolds, we examine the harrowing depiction of systemic complicity in the Santa Teresa femicides. From the corruption of the police and prison guards to the media’s role in sensationalizing crime, we discuss how...
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