The Drip All Spoilers Collective

The Spoilers are back with an episode about Charmaine Wilkerson's worthy novel, Black Cake -- just in time for the Hulu release of the series on November 1st. If you haven't read the book, all you have to do is listen to our episode and you'll be ready to watch whatever Oprah ends up doing for this adaptation. As for us, we have a lot to say about this sprawling novel. There's a lot we love and some things we don't, but one thing cannot be denied -- this book got us to thinking: love, family, secrets . . . oh man, those secrets! Don't miss this one, folks. You just might learn some some things you didn't know about the Spoilers, themselves!

In this episode the Spoilers talk about Aidoo's wonderful novel, but as you might expect, they end up talking about patriarchy. And in particular they spend a lot of time talking about Esi and her car. You know, we don't always understand Esi (there are lots of questions), but in the end we all really love her and we all wish we were riding in that car with her wherever she wants to go. Don't miss this one. We can all go for a ride!

In this, our 45th episode, the Spoilers are back with what they thought would be a frolicking, early summer show about Baxter, a Black Canadian aspiring dentist who works as a sleeping car porter on a cross-continent train in the late 1920s (surprise! it took a while to edit!). Paced like a marathoner in a Dodge Challenger, this novel is relentless in its depiction of racialized labor in a very close environment. Not all of us loved this book, but that always makes for an interesting conversation -- and you will get nothing less here, even though you had to wait for three months. Anticipation makes things even better they say . . .

In this special Driplet, Anita gives Todd the chance to share his narrative of injury and recovery. After suffering a hemorrhagic stroke in February of 2020, Todd had to learn to read again while teaching a literature class, living away from his partner, and dealing with the fallout of a pandemic. In this funny, but personal episode, Anita and Todd explore the challenges of illness and recovery, and what it means when an injury manifests itself as an inability to read or remember names and faces. Eventually they weigh in on the ongoing debate over science of reading vs. reading recovery teaching pedagogy -- something Todd became obsessed with shortly after he learned to read again. You won't want to miss this chance to venture inside the illogical mind of one of the spoilers . . .

Did you know many Black writers including Zora Neale Hurston, Frank Yerby, and Lorraine Hansberry wrote works in which most or all of the characters were white? One of the best of these is James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room. In this episode, we discuss Baldwin's classic second novel, with its tortured main character, David, an American marking time in Paris. While not a book with a propulsive plot, we were all three blown away by the writing. We also marveled at Baldwin's ability to render compelling, flawed, and believable white characters. Mostly, we were fascinated by the emotional and psychological predicament of David, a young man who is afraid to surrender to his feelings for another man, and why despite this fact, this book is almost always at the top of lists of the best queer novels ever written. Check this one out, you guys -- we think you'll like it. 

Let's be honest -- when the Spoilers first started reading Leone Ross's Popisho, they were kind of confused. But as this lively conversation reveals, we came to really love this strange, original, endearing book. It never missed an opportunity to surprise and delight us. Take a listen to this episode to hear how we go from perplexity to wonder and happiness. Take our word for it -- this episode was made especially for you.