A Novel Review Book Podcast

anovelreviewpodcast

Hello and welcome to A Novel Review podcast series. Through this podcast Seamus will tackle the endless world of literature, one book at a time! New Episodes Weekly

  1. FEB 8

    One Journey, Two Voices - Huckleberry Finn vs James (Mark Twain & Percival Everett)

    To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com   Who gets to tell history? Just because we have a story doesn’t mean we have the truth. History is a woven tapestry of perspectives, one that grows richer and more honest the more voices we allow into it. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn presents a narrative where side characters exist largely to serve Huck’s moral journey. In contrast, Percival Everett’s James reclaims the identity of one of those marginalised figures, shifting the perspective and challenging the reader to reconsider what was left unsaid. No longer a character in service of plot, James explores the duality of perception, the power of narrative voice, and the nature of silence, especially how history forgets those who did not speak, even when silence itself was an act of self-preservation. In this episode, I compare Huckleberry Finn and James to examine perspective, narrative authority, race, and the ways literature shapes our understanding of truth and history.   Painting: Today I painted Huck and James on a raft along the Mississippi   Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:   The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain James by Percival Everett What is History by E.H. Carr Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe     Substack: https://substack.com/@alexanderwoolven Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5 Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com   Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com  IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/  -------- #BookPodcast, #BookTube, #BookLovers, #ReadingCommunity, #LiteraryPodcast, #BooksAndSociety, #ReadingForChange, #LiteratureLovers, #ReadersOfYouTube, #PodcastEpisode, #SeasonalContent, #ThoughtfulReading, #BookDiscussion, #CulturalConversation

    22 min
  2. 12/28/2025

    Travelling the world through books | A book world tour review

    To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com Substack link: Reflections on a world book tour https://alexanderwoolven.substack.com/p/reflections-on-a-world-book-tour   In 2025 for the podcast, I wanted to try something different to bring meaning to the podcast. Having grown up in a typical Anglo household, my upbringing was surrounded by the normality of Western books. This is in no way a criticism of something that couldn’t be helped, especially because those books are colourful, wonderful and the reason I fell in love with literature.     Painting: Today I painted a globe coming out of a book   Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:   Italy The Moon and the Bonfires by Ceasare Pavese A Girl Returned by Donatella Di Pietratntonio Germany I Was There by Hans Peter Richter A Girl in Berlin by Anonymous Chile The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende Space Invaders by Nona Fernandez Japan Days at the Morasaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagasawa Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto Nigeria Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo Afghanistan The Kite Runner by Khaleed Hosseini The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi United States of America Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy The Colour Purple by Alice Walker China Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua Naked Earth by Eileen Chang India The White Tiger by Avind Adiga The God of the Small Things by Arundhati Roy England Watership Down by Richard Adams The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald The Netherlands The Assault by Harry Mulisch Midnight Blue by Simone Van Der Vlugt Australia Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin   Additional segments throughout the podcast include:   Mantle Piece Moments What are you reading? On that Quote   Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5 Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com   Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com  IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/  -------- #BookPodcast, #ChristmasPodcast, #HolidayPodcast, #BookTube, #BookLovers, #ReadingCommunity, #LiteraryPodcast, #BookishChristmas, #HolidayReading, #BooksAndSociety, #ReadingForChange, #LiteratureLovers, #ReadersOfYouTube, #PodcastEpisode, #SeasonalContent, #ThoughtfulReading, #BookDiscussion, #CulturalConversation, #EndOfYearReflection, #ChristmasSpecial

    22 min
  3. 12/22/2025

    Christmas Novels | Four stories for the festive season

    To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com   Curl up with a warm drink for a very Christmassy episode of the podcast! This festive season its books stories that spark reflection, and how reading can inspire us to show up more thoughtfully in society. As the year comes to a close, this time of year encourages empathy, responsibility, and active participation in our communities. From small everyday actions to bigger conversations that matter, because being part of society isn’t just about observing; it’s about engaging, questioning, and caring.     Painting: Today I painted a candle   Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:   Advent by Gunar Gunnarsson A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Anderson The Wax Child by Olga Ravn   Additional segments throughout the podcast include:   Mantle Piece Moments What are you reading? On that Quote   Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5 Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com   Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com  IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/  -------- #BookPodcast, #ChristmasPodcast, #HolidayPodcast, #BookTube, #BookLovers, #ReadingCommunity, #LiteraryPodcast, #BookishChristmas, #HolidayReading, #BooksAndSociety, #ReadingForChange, #LiteratureLovers, #ReadersOfYouTube, #PodcastEpisode, #SeasonalContent, #ThoughtfulReading, #BookDiscussion, #CulturalConversation, #EndOfYearReflection, #ChristmasSpecial

    17 min
  4. 12/16/2025

    My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin | Female Agency & Coming of Age

    To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com   Some seek isolation for its freedom, but for Sybylla Melvyn, the open space of the Australian Outback only serves to drown her. Miles Franklin’s first novel, My Brilliant Career captures the lack of agency young girls and women growing up in rural Australia would have felt towards the turn of the 20th century. A country on the cusp of its own independence still saw half the population oppressed. Dreaming of a brilliant career, Sybylla’s frank attitude, and quick wit often gets her into trouble in a world where submission is a norm.   Painting: Today I painted a gum tree in the outback   Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:   Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin   Additional segments throughout the podcast include:   Mantle Piece Moments What are you reading? On that Quote   Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5 Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com   Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com  IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/  -------- #WakeInFright #KennethCook #Duality #Indulgence #LackOfJudgment #Outback #AustralianGothic #LiteraryAnalysis #PsychologicalThriller #BookAnalysis #feminsim

    22 min
  5. 12/02/2025

    Wake in Fright By Kenneth Cook - The paradox of living free from judgement

    To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com   Is the isolated outback town of Bundanyabba a paradise of absolute freedom or a living nightmare? This week, Kenneth Cook's novel, Wake in Fright, explores the disturbing duality at the heart of the story and how the lack of judgment in The Yabba can make hell of heaven in a life of excess and indulgence - a dangerous freedom that strips away social constraints. For the locals, this is heaven; a life free from moral scrutiny, for John Grant it is a nightmare he spirals into until the thing he wants to escape is the fabric of a town he is now intimately part of.   Painting: Today I painted a beer   Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:   Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin The Moustache by Emanuel Carrier   Additional segments throughout the podcast include:   Mantle Piece Moments What are you reading? On that Quote   Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRQzE_T2r6qPR_jbZNgZC1Q Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-novel-review-podcast/id1681724908 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uCgZyBj9T5uPQsfbqTUW5 Podbean: https://anovelreviewpodcast.podbean.com   Twitter: https://twitter.com/novelreviewpod Email: anovelreviewpodcast@gmail.com  IG: https://www.instagram.com/anovelreviewpod/  -------- #WakeInFright #KennethCook #Duality #Indulgence #LackOfJudgment #Outback #AustralianGothic #LiteraryAnalysis #PsychologicalThriller #BookAnalysis

    15 min

About

Hello and welcome to A Novel Review podcast series. Through this podcast Seamus will tackle the endless world of literature, one book at a time! New Episodes Weekly

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