radiant terminus – Three Percent

Two Month Review #7.9: Radiant Terminus (Chapters 39-49/END)

Chad Post — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 20:00:43 +0000

Chad and Brian finish off��Radiant Terminus and talk about possible interpretation of the ending, whether anyone came out of this book OK, the balance between humor and horror, written vs. oral culture, possible readings or approaches to the novel, and a desire for a “Post-Exotic” journal.

They also revisit Volodine’s two-part series, “” from The New Inquiry, and mention McKenzie Wark’s “.”

As always, you can watch these episodes live on our the day before they’re released in podcast form.

Season Eight will launch in mid-April (details TK) and will focus on Sjón’s��. Get your copy now!

Follow , and for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests.

You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to It really helps people to discover the podcast.

This season’s music is all from��Mother Earth’s Plantasia��by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear “A Mellow Mood for Maidenhair.”

Two Month Review #7.8: Radiant Terminus (Chapters 27-38)

Chad Post — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 12:30:35 +0000

This is a jam-packed episode as Rachel Crawford joins Brian and Chad to talk about Kronauer’s “trial,” Hannko and Samiya in the Taiga, the lasting impact of PTSD, the post-post-apocalyptic world, Russian literature and French minimalism, New Jersey, and more. This is the penultimate episode of season seven, and sets up a lot of things to talk about next week, including these by Volodine.

As always, you can watch these episodes live on our the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, March 20.

Follow , and for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests.

You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to It really helps people to discover the podcast.

This season’s music is all from��Mother Earth’s Plantasia��by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear “You Don’t Have to Walk a Begonia.”

Two Month Review #7.7: Radiant Terminus (Chapters 20-26)

Chad Post — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 12:30:17 +0000

Chad and Brian go it alone through Kronauer’s “night of amok” as he attempt to murder Solovyei for his myriad crimes. Then they enter into part four of the book, “Taiga,” which is a collection of “narracts” set some seven hundred (or a thousand?) years in the future. Hannko is recreating the feminist post-exotic texts from before, along with her dad’s crazy ramblings; Kronauer is living in oil, suffering the thousand-plus year punishment Solovyei promised him. Plus, Chad had another Volodine inspired dream . . . as did Brian!

As always, you can watch these episodes live on our the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, March 13.

Follow ��Ի��, and for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests.

You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to It really helps people to discover the podcast.

This season’s music is all from��Mother Earth’s Plantasia��by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear “Swingin’ Spathiphyllums.”

Two Month Review #7.6: Radiant Terminus (Chapters 17-19)

Chad Post — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 13:30:43 +0000

With just Chad and Brian on this week’s episode, the show turns almost full superhero. We get Chad’s weirdly specific—and unnerving—Volodine-influenced dream. We get to see Samiya Schmidt transform into a raging version of Captain Marvel/Banshee. We get to see Kronauer assume his role as the one chosen to take down Solovyei. Brian and Chad also talk about the influence of language and ideologies on the characters, “cock’s language” and “to rut,” and speculate about just who����dreaming the dreamer.

As always, you can watch these episodes live on our the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, March 5.

Follow ��Ի��, and for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests.

You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to It really helps people to discover the podcast.

This season’s music is all from��Mother Earth’s Plantasia��by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear “Rhapsody in Green.”

Two Month Review #7.5: Radiant Terminus (Chapters 14-16)

Chad Post — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 15:00:19 +0000

Tobias Carroll (Transitory,��Reel) joins Chad and Brian to talk about the latest installment of��Radiant Terminus. These three chapters get��wild, as Schulhoff (who mysteriously disappeared shortly after his marriage to Hannko, Solovyei’s daughter) returns and tries to get Ilyushenko to kill him. And then the never-ending train finds Radiant Terminus and Solovyei launches a poetic attack . . . They also talk about the numbers in the book, angels, Chad’s dreams of suing the government, and much more.

As always, you can watch these episodes live on our the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, February 20.

Follow ��, and ��for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests.

You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to It really helps people to discover the podcast.

This season’s music is all from��Mother Earth’s Plantasia��by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear “Concerto For Philodendron & Pothos.”

Two Month Review #7.4: Radiant Terminus (Chapters 9-13)

Chad Post — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 12:30:31 +0000

Rhett McNeil joins Chad Post and pinch-hitter Kaija Straumanis to talk about the first half of part two of��Radiant Terminus, “Ode to the Camps.” From recounting Chad’s latest Volodine-inflected dream to a discussion of the ways various ideologies (fairy tales, anarcho-capitalism, Marxism-Leninism) play out in the novel, to the connection between these ideologies and male violence and the way in which the characters are almost like shadows in the novel, this is a wide-ranging, very dialed in episode. As always, there is laughter and a lengthy recap, but it also goes very deep into the novel and Volodine’s overall game.

As always, you can watch these episodes live on our the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, February 20.

Follow ��, , and ,��for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests.

You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to It really helps people to discover the podcast.

This season’s music is all from��Mother Earth’s Plantasia��by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear “Ode to an African Violet.”

Two Month Review #7.2: Radiant Terminus (Chapters 1-3)

Chad Post — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 12:30:46 +0000

From Tarkovsky to��Jessica Jones, this week’s episode covers a lot of ground. Anthony and Chad are joined by Hailey Dezort to walk through the first three chapters of Antoine Volodine’s��Radiant Terminus. There’s a lot to unpack, from the plant names, to the nature of men, to horrible fathers, to the humor found in Gramma Ugdul talking to the core of a failed nuclear reactor. Given how plotted this novel is, you can definitely follow along, even if you haven’t��read the section yet.

Also, we get to find out who Hailey thinks Khrili Gompo is, and we officially changed this season’s contest: Whoever sends in the best drawing of one of the imaginary plants found in��Radiant Terminus��will receive copies of both of his previous published Open Letter titles AND all forthcoming ones.

If you want to get one of these t-shirts, email Open Letter and let us know!

As always, you can watch these episodes live on our the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live the evening of Wednesday, February 6th.

You can also get 30% off��, or , by using the code VOLODINE at checkout from the Open Letter website. (Offer is only good until midnight Eastern on 1/31.)

Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official

Follow ��, , and for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests.

You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to It really helps people to discover the podcast.

This season’s music is all from��Mother Earth’s Plantasia��by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear “Symphony for a Spider Plant.” (A very Volodine title.)

Two Month Review #7.1: Radiant Terminus (Introduction)

Chad Post — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 22:00:20 +0000

We’re back! . . . And a few days late. Chad explains why on the podcast itself, but suffice it to say that last week was a bit, um, stressful. But Brian and Chad finally got together to talk about Antoine Volodine in general, post-exoticism, Brian Evenson’s introduction to Radiant Terminus, similarities between Evenson’s writing and Volodine’s, this season’s game (SEND US YOUR DREAMS!), Volodine’s essay in ,��and much more.

As always, you can watch these episodes live on our the day before they’re released in podcast form. The next episode will be recorded live on Wednesday, January 30th at 11am Eastern.

You can also get 30% off��, or , by using the code VOLODINE at checkout from the Open Letter website. (Offer is only good until midnight Eastern on 1/31.)

Feel free to comment on this episode—or on the book in general—either on this post, or at the official

Follow ��Ի��for more thoughts on Volodine and literature in general, and for information about upcoming guests.

You can find all the Two Month Review posts by clicking here. And be sure to It really helps people to discover the podcast.

This season’s music is all from��Mother Earth’s Plantasia��by Mort Garson, which is Moog music for plants. This week you can hear the opening track from the album, “Plantasia.”

“Radiant Terminus” Two Month Review Reading Schedule

Chad Post — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 15:00:23 +0000

It’s almost time for the next season of the��Two Month Review—our��seventh��season. (That’s a solid number.) This season we’re returning to do an Open Letter title, , translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman.

The most patently sci-fi work of Antoine Volodine’s to be translated into English,��Radiant Terminus��takes place in a Tarkovskian landscape after the fall of the Second Soviet Union. Most of humanity has been destroyed thanks to a number of nuclear meltdowns, but a few communes remain, including one run by Solovyei, a psychotic father with the ability to invade people’s dreams—including those of his daughters—and torment them for thousands of years.

When a group of damaged individuals seek safety from this nuclear winter in Solovyei’s commune, a plot develops to overthrow him, end his reign of mental abuse, and restore humanity.

Fantastical, unsettling, and occasionally funny,��Radiant Terminus��is a key entry in Volodine’s epic literary project that—with its broad landscape, ambitious vision, and interlocking characters and ideas—calls to mind the best of David Mitchell.

For those of you who like to read along with these seasons—not entirely necessary! although I promise the jokes are funnier and the insights more insightful if you do—here’s the official reading schedule. I’m listing the release dates below, but you should follow our (or ) to find out about the live YouTube recordings, where you can ask questions, point out your own observations, correct things we got wrong, etc.

(Note: Most YouTube recordings are Wednesday morning, but this depends on the availability of our guests, and is subject to change.)

(One other note: We have almost a full slate of guests already lined up, including some old favorites and some really cool newcomers. I don’t want to list them now in case anything goes wrong, but this should be a star-studded season.)

1/24: Introduction to Volodine

1/31: Chapters 1-3 (pgs 1-77)

2/7: Chapters 4-8 (pgs 78-127)

2/14: Chapters 9-13 (pgs 128-193)

2/21: Chapters 14-16 (pgs 193-253)

2/28: Chapters 17-19 (pgs 254-308)

3/7: Chapters 20-26 (pgs 309-363)

3/14: Chapters 27-38 (pgs 364-415)

3/21: Chapters 39-49 (pgs 416-468)

So tune in next week for a general introduction to post-exoticism, Volodine’s pseudonyms, and much more. And then we’ll be back on 1/31 to talk about the opening sections of the book.

Also, in case you haven’t already bought a copy from your local indie bookstore, you can use the code VOLODINE at checkout our site, and receive 30%��or any other title.

“Radiant Terminus” by Antoine Volodine [Why This Book Should Win]

Chad Post — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 19:00:00 +0000

Today’s “Why This Book Should Win” fiction entry is from Rachel Cordasco, former BTBA judge, and curator of Speculative Fiction in Translation.

by Antoine Volodine, translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman (France, Open Letter Books)

In Radiant Terminus, we have a novel that disturbs and enthralls, sucking us in to a nightmarish void of a world that might be Purgatory or the Buddhist “Bardo” or some dystopian point in the near/far future. Needless to say, in this moment when the “Second Soviet Union” has fallen and nearly all mammalian life on Earth has died, one wonders if such a distinction even matters anymore.

Antoine Volodine, author of “post-exotic” works, has created a cast of characters who move across this wrecked yet lush landscape, seeking some sort of (radiant?) terminus where they can finally find shelter and rest. They converge on a small commune that is slyly named “Radiant Terminus,” run by a man named Solovyei, who spins and declaims his own epic narrative prose poems that tell of his malicious capacity to bring people back—but only partly—from the dead. And then there are people like the Gramma Udgul (and Solovyei himself?), whose exposure to high levels of radiation have rendered them, in some sense, immortal.The title itself suggests a terminal that emits radiation (e.g., energy unleashed by nuclear reaction)—thus an end point that is always in flux.

Often, the narrative itself starts sounding like Solovyei’s strange and haunting prose poems (or vice versa), the sentences building up momentum as they amble along toward a terminus:

The time did come when those who had the talent declaimed epic chants, invented poetic or comedic monologues, or recited propaganda texts that had stuck with them in their earlier life, or parts of communist, post-exotic, or feminist romances. The audience accompanied them by approving or voicing speeches, as we did in the old days during Korean pansori performances, when Korea still existed and we still believed in beauty, the future, and the impossibility of death.

Volodine’s deft manipulation of irony and careful weaving together of narrative perspectives and voices, all stage-managed, perhaps, by Solovyei, makes Radiant Terminus worthy of the BTBA prize. By the end of the book, you’ll feel like you’ve wandered across the bewildering landscape of Volodine’s own mind, and how many authors have you read who can do that? Exactly.