A literary criticism series from the London Review of Books, hosted by acclaimed critic James Wood, Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard. Part of the Close Readings collection, this podcast offers deeply analytical, essay-style close readings of canonical and contemporary fiction, tracing the evolution of literary realism from Flaubert and Dostoevsky through Chekhov, Tolstoy, Woolf, and Nabokov to modern writers like Amit Chaudhuri and Gwendoline Riley. Each episode—sometimes featuring guest novelists such as Elif Batuman—dissects a single novel or story, exploring narrative technique, authorial voice, and the philosophical tension between artifice and authenticity in fiction. The tone is erudite, reflective, and academically rigorous, yet accessible to serious readers and students of literature. Ideal for lifelong learners, English literature enthusiasts, and fans of literary criticism seeking rich historical and theoretical context behind the world's great novels. Full episodes require subscription, with free extracts available to sample the show's meticulous, scholarly approach to fiction's enduring question: what makes a story feel real?
A literary criticism series from the London Review of Books, hosted by acclaimed critic James Wood, Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard. Part of the Close Readings collection, this podcast offers deeply analytical, essay-style close readings of canonical and contemporary fiction, tracing the evolution of literary realism from Flaubert and Dostoevsky through Chekhov, Tolstoy, Woolf, and Nabokov to modern writers like Amit Chaudhuri and Gwendoline Riley. Each episode—sometimes featuring guest novelists such as Elif Batuman—dissects a single novel or story, exploring narrative technique, authorial voice, and the philosophical tension between artifice and authenticity in fiction. The tone is erudite, reflective, and academically rigorous, yet accessible to serious readers and students of literature. Ideal for lifelong learners, English literature enthusiasts, and fans of literary criticism seeking rich historical and theoretical context behind the world's great novels. Full episodes require subscription, with free extracts available to sample the show's meticulous, scholarly approach to fiction's enduring question: what makes a story feel real?
