Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast

This week, we had an in-depth exploration into the heart of what defines a novel or literary work as truly exemplifying the “Americana” genre. While there are clear overlaps between Americana and American literature as a whole, Americana has a distinct aesthetic and perspective that evokes a strong sense of nostalgia, harkening back to fading memories and ways of life.







NoteThe following is an editorialized transcript of the podcast episode about the defining traits of Americana books. If you would like to listen to the podcast, click the play above orlisten on your favorite platform with the links below.











It frequently centers the narrative on characters’ profound connections to and reverence for the natural landscape, rural lifestyles, and the struggles of the oppressed in overcoming adversity – all prominent threads woven into the greater American story.







The Major Characteristics of Americana
















The Great Gatsby







Google Books Preview:

Preview

















Author:

F. Scott Fitzgerald











Published:

01/05/2021





Genre:

American Literature





Publisher:

Modern Library





ISBN:

9780593133569







Show Details











A hallmark of archetypal Americana works is how they render the vast American landscape itself as almost a character, providing a rich backdrop that the people’s narratives play out against. Iconic examples like Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath depict the harsh reality of the Dust Bowl through the lens of migrant farmworker families, contrasting their plights against the harsh yet majestic expanse of the countryside they traverse.







This ties directly into another prominent Americana theme – the restless spirit of mobility that has defined America, with people pulling up roots and migrating long distances in pursuit of new economic opportunities and fresh starts wherever possible.







However, we discussed the nuances of how Americana encompasses various subgenres that deviate from the nostalgia-driven, memory-centric core aesthetics. Dystopian novels set in America like Fahrenheit 451 or The Handmaid’s Tale have a futuristic, often cautionary tone diverging from Americana’s wistful longing for the past.







Yet the horror genre as shaped by Edgar Allan Poe can still provide poignant Americana-style soci...

It’s time for Americana for the month of April! We’re kicking things off with the 2023 adaptation of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (as well as the stage musical of the same name). We are introduced to the story in 1909 Georgia, following two teenage sisters, Celie and Nettie Harris. Celie has been repeatedly impregnated and abused by their father, who takes away her children. The sisters dream of escaping their traumatic home life.







Nettie is allowed to attend school with hopes she can become a teacher, while Celie is forced to work at their family’s store. An older man named Albert, referred to as “Mister,” takes an interest in marrying Nettie, but their father marries him off to Celie instead, as he considers her the “ugly” sister.











We see the heartbreaking image of Celie following Mister on foot as he rides on a horse to take her to his home. Mister is an alcoholic widower with children he neglects. Celie is expected to be a wife, mother, and maid all at once to Mister and his kids from a very young age.
















The Color Purple







Google Books Preview:

Preview

















Author:

Alice Walker











Published:

04/04/1982





Genre:

American Literature





Publisher:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt





ISBN:

9780156028356







Show Details











When Nettie shows up after being kicked out by their father for rebuffing his advances, Mister initially allows her to stay and help Celie. However, after Nettie denies Mister’s sexual approaches towards her, he casts her out, severing ties between the sisters, though they vow to write to each other.







A Young Life Stolen







Years pass, and we see Celie still enduring abuse from Mister in 1917. Mister’s son Harpo gets married to the bold, free-spirited Sofia—their dynamic highlights how unusual Sofia’s lack of subservience is for the period. When Harpo comes to Celie asking how to “control” his wife, Celie naively suggests hitting her based on her own experiences with Mister’s abuse, as well as that suffered at the hands of her father.







This leads to Sofia leaving Harpo for a while after she beats him up for attempting to hit her. We see her admirable strength as she explains to Celie that her naïve advice came from jealousy over Sofia’s refusal to be oppressed.







The famous blues singer Shug Avery, who had a previous relationship with Mister, arrives in town to perform at the juke joint Harpo opened after his split from Sofia. Shug strikes up an unexpected friendship with Celie.







We learn Shug does not truly care for Mister beyond a physical relationship, understanding his true misogynistic nature that Celie has been so tragically impacted by. Shug’s free-spirited lifestyle as a perfo...

We begin discussing the 2024 Netflix miniseries adaptation of the novel One Day by David Nicholls. The 14-episode series faithfully adapts the 2009 book, which was previously made into a 2011 film starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. This new adaptation stars Ambika Maud as Emma Morley and Leah Woodall as Dexter Mayhew in the lead roles.







One Day Summary







Courtesy of Netflix





The premise follows Emma and Dexter, introduced as students at the University of Edinburgh, who meet on July 15th, 1988 – their college graduation day. A spark occurs between the opposites – Emma is driven and aspires to be a writer, while Dexter is privileged yet aimless. After sharing an intimate night together, their lives reconnect annually on that same date, July 15th.







In the early episodes, we see their lives diverge as Emma struggles as a reluctant Mexican restaurant worker while failing to publish her writing. Meanwhile, Dexter lazily teaches English abroad fueled by family money before finding a minor celebrity as a loud, obnoxious TV personality. Their friendship persists despite romantic tensions and compatibility issues.











As the years progress, Emma finally gets her start as a novelist living in Paris, though a romantic reconciliation with Dexter leads nowhere when he’s newly married to another woman after getting her pregnant. Emma returns to London and begins a relationship with aspiring comedian Ian, which ends due to her lingering feelings for Dexter resurfacing.







Dexter’s life is a roller coaster – he has a daughter with his first wife Sylvie but their marriage crumbles due to his immaturity and her infidelity. Finally, after over a decade of push-and-pull, Emma and Dexter commit to one another as a couple in the late 90s. They marry and he opens a successful cafe bakery with her support and his inheritance after his mother’s passing.







Courtesy of Netflix





Tragically, on the 15th anniversary of their fateful first meeting in 2002, Emma dies suddenly in a biking accident. This shatters Dexter, who regresses into destructive alcoholism and substance abuse, pushing away his daughter and friends in his all-consuming grief over the years.







The miniseries skips through the aftermath – Dexter’s hardships caring for his cafe alone, his loved ones’ attempts to support him through recovery’s ups and downs, and glimmers of acceptance as he forms new bonds with his aging father. In heartbreaking final scenes, a more clear-eyed Dexter returns to Edinburgh to reminisce at the old sites of his memories with Emma.











Final Thoughts







While immensely sad overall, the adaptation concludes on a wistful note of hope that Dexter can move forward while cherishing Emma’s lasting impact on his life’s journey. We discuss how the series deftly captures the melancholic yet uplifting atmosphere of Nicholls’ original novel through its excellent performances and adherence to the source material’s writing thanks to the author’s direct involvement.







Both the writing and performances are standouts in the miniseries, with Maud and Woodall’s chemistry a high point. Though Dex and Em’s relationship has its early fumbles, their differences seem to be what draws them together.

We’re kicking off this episode by catching up on our recent reads. Shirin has just started the highly anticipated Bride by Ali Hazelwood but found it giving off more supernatural Underworld vibes than expected Twilight vibes with its arranged marriage between a vampire and werewolf.







Meaghan has finished reading Bride and the psychological thriller None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell. She raves about how compulsively readable None of This Is True was, perfectly suited for devouring in one sitting on vacation without stopping due to the intriguing premise and steady unveiling of twists and turns.











After covering our current nightstand picks, we transitioned into the main topic – exploring the rising popularity of mythology and folklore retellings beyond the heavily saturated realm of Greek myths. We highlighted Neil Gaiman as a prolific author contributing to this genre across various works.







Mythology Retellings: Exploring Other Avenues













His most famous, American Gods, featured a mash-up of deities and myths from different cultures finding themselves in modern-day America. Gaiman has also published dedicated books like Norse Mythology, a collection of short stories reimagining tales of Odin, Thor, and Loki in his distinctive narrative style. His novel Anansi Boys likewise drew from African folklore centered on the trickster spider Anansi.







We noted that while the ancient Greek pantheon has long dominated mythology retellings, other cultural mythologies are having more of a pop culture moment lately, partially driven by increased mainstream familiarity with figures like Norse gods through the Marvel movies. This has opened the door for more retellings in this space like Genevieve Gornichec’s The Witch’s Heart exploring Loki and Odin’s perspectives.







However, we’re also seeing plenty of subtler fantasy novels inspired by various cultural folklore without being overtly categorized as mythology retellings. Popular series like the Raybearer books by Jordan Ifueko or the rise of “mythic fiction” like Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan showcase the resurgence of diverse folklore fueling new fantasies.













The enduring Arthurian legend and medieval tales remain a constant source for retellings as well, with authors exploring the perspectives of more obscure characters like The Lady of Shallot rather than just the typical love triangle narratives. We discussed how these ancient epics from Beowulf to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have inspired countless authors including Tolkien, who wove Germanic mythology throughout his fantasy realms.











Looking beyond the predominance of European mythologies in fantasy, we expressed excitement over the potential to see more adaptations drawing from folklore around the world that have been largely untapped so far in novels and on screen.







The Untapped Potential Of Mythology Retellings

In this episode of the podcast Fully Booked, we’re discussing the 2000 Coen Brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a modern adaptation of the ancient Greek epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. The film stars George Clooney as Ulysses Everett McGill, an escaped convict who persuades his chain-gang companions Delmar and Pete to join him on a madcap adventure across 1930s Mississippi. Under the pretense of retrieving buried treasure from a bank heist, Everett’s true goal is to reconnect with his estranged wife Penny before she remarries.







We learned that the Coen Brothers took the overarching story and character archetypes from The Odyssey and recontextualized them in a Depression-era American South setting filled with distinctive regional music, dialect, and culture. Just as Odysseus encountered mythical beings on his journey home, Everett, Delmar, and Pete face a series of bizarre, comedic misadventures involving encounters with figures representing gods and monsters from Greek lore.













Themes and Characteristics











Their string of unfortunate events includes getting drugged and robbed by Sirens, confronting a cyclops-like Bible salesman named Big Dan, evading the relentless pursuit of a Poseidon-esque lawman, stumbling into a Ku Klux Klan rally, and inadvertently achieving fame as the musical act “The Soggy Bottom Boys.” Throughout it all, their dimwitted antics and utter lack of self-awareness provide a humorous counterpoint to the seriousness of the situations they find themselves in.







A major theme is the power of American roots music and its ability to bridge cultural divides, highlighted by the integrated Soggy Bottom Boys’ hit performance that quells a racist politician’s rabble-rousing. We see how Mississippi Governor Pappy O’Daniel, representing a modern Zeus figure, is savvy enough to embrace their appeal to win over the public.







The film deftly balances its zany escapades with sobering commentary on 1930s Southern racial politics, economic hardship, crime, and injustice. However, its overarching tone is one of madcap whimsy and celebration of the region’s rich musical heritage, aided by contributions from acclaimed folk and bluegrass artists on the soundtrack.







Despite their misadventures, at their core Everett, Delmar, and Pete remain haplessly determined fellows bound on an epic journey simply to get home. In updating such an ancient story for the American milieu, the Coens crafted a quirky yet poignant depiction of the struggles everyday people faced during the Great Depression.







We come to understand that while Everett claims noble intentions of regaining his marriage and family, his selfishness and lack of responsibility were likely what broke that bond in the first place. The ending leaves Everett and Penny’s reunion ambiguous, bickering over his inability to find her original wedding ring – a fitting unresolved conclusion as their issues appear to remain unresolved.

















Sticking To The Source







Yet against all odds, through their implausibly cyclical encounters with outlandish strangers and brushes with peril, the trio demonstrate the essence of The Odyssey ...

Let’s Talk about myths, baby! We begin our discussion by reflecting on the unseasonably mild winter weather in Canada and how it has left us feeling disoriented about the changing of seasons. Despite our uncertainty, we decided to move forward with the topic at hand – the recent surge in popularity of mythology retellings, especially those inspired by Greek and Roman myths.







We note that while such retellings have existed for centuries, there has been a massive resurgence of these stories in the past 5-6 years. We point to Madeline Miller’s acclaimed novel Circe as one of the catalysts that reignited interest in this genre. However, the real driving force behind the hype seems to be the plethora of romantic retellings centered around the Hades and Persephone myth. Authors like Scarlett St. Clair, Katee Robert, and others have found immense success in reimagining this story through a spicier, fantasy romance lens with Hades often portrayed as the ultimate “shadow daddy.”











Modern Depiction Of Zeus





A New Take On Old Tales







As we delve deeper, we recognize the mixed feelings surrounding these Hades and Persephone tales. On one hand, we understand the appeal of this darker, sexier take that departs from the original myth where Persephone was essentially a prisoner of Hades. However, we hope readers approach these works with the knowledge that the source material has problematic roots – frequent instances of rape, abuse, and the subjugation of women. Our desire is that these new romantic retellings don’t perpetuate such toxic tropes into the modern era.







Conversely, we appreciate how many recent mythology retellings are reclaiming these ancient stories and giving voices to traditionally silenced female characters. Authors like Margaret Atwood, Pat Barker, and others have created compelling narratives from the perspectives of Penelope (the wife of Odysseus), the women of Troy, and other women who were largely plot devices in the original myths. We find it refreshing to see these new nuanced portrayals that explore the struggles and depths of these women in ways the ancient texts did not.







Modern Depiction Of Medusa





Even traditionally vilified figures like Medusa are getting a chance to be viewed through a different lens, much like how modern retellings provide more nuanced perspectives on devils and demons. Just as the devil is often reframed as a morally gray anti-hero, we celebrate the opportunity to see women like Medusa as complex protagonists rather than one-dimensional evil figures.







As we discuss the possible reasons behind this mythology renaissance, we acknowledge that ancient myths were always meant to entertain and captivate audiences. The core stories have proven their lasting value by continuing to inspire new works over a thousand years later. Writers today are simply tapping into the familiarity of these tales while putting their own creative spins on them.

















The Power of Social Media







We also credit social media and the online book comm...