It’s time for a new book! Welcome to Housekeeping by Mariynne Robinson. In this episode, Shari and Rhea introduce listeners to the author, and this strange new place they find themselves now, Fingerbone, Montana, a vastly different world from early 1700’s England, for sure! They then dive into the narrative, talk about the eccentricities of the characters, the aliveness of the setting, and the possibility of motherhood as a place. They marvel over Robinson’s sparkling, image-rich prose, and notice immediately the profundity of water imagery throughout. Clearly, water will play an important role in unfolding Housekeeping’s deeper themes. But how? Rhea wrote an excellent post introducing Housekeeping and its author. It contains the reading schedule, a set of bookmarks for each section, excellent links to interviews with Marilynne Robinson, War & Peace connections, and a new opportunity we’re inviting you to join: a practice of journaling on place. Stay tuned. More to come on that in an upcoming essay post by Shari (on the Reader & Writer Substack).Thanks for listening to The Reader & the Writer! If you liked this epidsode, ❤️ it and share it! This helps us reach more folks who love literature like you.The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, become a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe
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1:03:30
Moll Flanders | Part 6
Welcome to the last episode of Moll Flanders! In this episode Shari and Rhea dive deep into Moll’s moment of repentance and her life as a penitent afterwards. Do we believe her? Does she become a reliable narrator in the end? What is the difference between repentance and penitence anyway?? They also go back to the question they asked themselves early on: why does this novel feel so contemporary and necessary for our 21st century time? All this and much more. As mentioned at the beginning of the episode, R&W’s next slow read will be Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. Listen to the episode, or read this post for specifics about this change to the 2025 R&W reading lineup.Below is the reading schedule for Housekeeping. Pick up a copy and start reading!Thanks for listening to this edition of The Reader & the Writer! If you liked it, ❤️ it and share it.The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the literary work we’re doing, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe
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1:05:19
Moll Flanders | Part 5
Welcome to R&W’s on-going read of Moll Flanders. In this episode, Rhea and Shari talk about Moll’s brazenness with her thievery, the hollowing out of her soul, the events leading up to her capture, and how Defoe manages to truly make Moll “nameless” by the time she reaches the end—that is, the end of her “Course of Life for forty Years,” a “horrid Complication of Wickedness, Whoredom, Adultery, Incest, Lying, Theft, and in a Word, every thing but Murther and Treason.” (p. 355 of novel)Next week they will finish the novel. It promises to be an excellent conversation!Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! If you liked what you heard, hit the ❤️ button and share it with someone. Anyone. We’re not picky.The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. If you love literature and like the work we’re doing here, become a free or paid subscriber. You won’t be sorry. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe
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57:55
Moll Flanders | Part 4
Welcome back to Moll Flanders, the novel that reads like a slow motion train wreck. In this episode, Rhea and Shari discuss Moll’s continued decent and desecration of her soul. They discuss Moll as an addict; this insatiable need she has now developed to thieve after years of morally depraved choices. They wonder at Moll’s string of failed marriages and ask at what point these failures are because of her extreme lack of discernment rather than simply “bad luck.” They circle back to what they think Defoe is doing by telling this story. That is, what is the “aboutness” of this story really?? Is it about revealing and condemning the injustices woven through England’s social class system at that time? Is it about the injustices society foisted upon women? Or, is Defoe really trying to answer the question: Can there be redemption for people like Moll Flanders? If so, where does it come from? How? What are your thoughts on all these things? Leave a comment below! We’d love to hear from you.We have two episodes left for Moll Flanders: * June 17th, pages 297-363* June 24th, pages 364-427One important note: R&W has made an adjustment to the second half of the 2025 reading schedule. Please stay tuned for an official announcement on that, coming soon!Thanks for listening to The Reader & the Writer! If you liked this post, hit the ❤️ button and share it. You can support the literary work we’re doing here by becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe
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55:07
War & Peace | Part 5 - May Reading
Welcome back to our year long read of War & Peace! In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss all the drama that’s suddenly boiling over in this story. They discuss all the matchmaking that is suddenly happening, compare each couple’s foundation, complications, motives, etc. They talk about the Rostov’s downward spiral, and Pierre’s ever-deepening malaise over life. They discuss the connections they see between Moll Flanders from Daniel Defoe’s novel of the same title, and various characters in W&P. And, they agree on the two characters they see as rising to the top as being the main characters of the story. (It’s only taken ‘til May!)Let us know in the comments section if you agree with our assessment. And share any other thoughts you had while listening to our conversation!Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! If you liked what you listened to, hit the ❤️ button and pass it around!The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the literary work we’re doing, become a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe
Our lives, from their beginnings, are storied, and find their fullness when nestled securely within the Great Story; the one that opens, “In the Beginning…” Here on The Reader and the Writer, we delight in and give witness to that Great Story by reading and discussing those excellent works of literature written since. thereaderandthewriter.substack.com
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