The Story Explorer

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What is the outlook of a story? Hello listener, welcome to my podcast series: The Story explorer. I am a reader who has the need to talk with others about what I’ve read. I have started and joined many book clubs. I now run one in a little café in Johannesburg. You are all welcome to join. But because time is sparse for many of us and Johannesburg is not within travelling distance for many readers I am taking up the challenge to talk about books in a podcast. I believe a story always is embedded in something else. This will be the starting point of this podcast journey. I want to look at what is around the story; what is the location? Who are the characters? What is it that happens in the story? What does it do within me, the reader? What do I think the author wants to say? What does this story make me think about? These are questions I want to explore with books that I think are important. Books I believe we all should read and talk about.

  1. I wrote a letter to a friend about The Old Drift

    1D AGO

    I wrote a letter to a friend about The Old Drift

    In this episode of The Story Explorer, I’m reading you a letter I wrote to a friend. My friend often works remotely in different parts of Africa, and last year she recommended that I read The Old Drift by the Zambian-born writer Namwali Serpell. This novel won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2020. This is a true epic: more than five hundred pages long. And after finishing it, I wanted nothing more than to sit down with my friend and talk about it. But she was deep in remote field research, far away and difficult to reach. So instead, I wrote her a letter. In that letter, I poured out my thoughts, my questions, and my analysis of this remarkable novel. And today, I’m sharing that letter with you. That way, you can hear my reflections on the book, and my friend can listen too, wherever she happens to be working. In the letter, I unpack a label that is often attached to this novel: magical realism. Personally, I’m not convinced that label quite fits. In the episode, you'll hear why and what this book might be instead. As I often do, I also linger on the epigraph. Serpell opens the novel with a line from The Aeneid, Book 6, by Virgil, in the translation by Seamus Heaney. What echoes from that ancient Western epic inside this modern African one?I'll tell you. And what might it mean that Serpell chooses a line from a classical Latin poem to begin her story? My thoughts about this meaning making moment are in my letter. And now, without further ado, tune in and let me read it to you. Namwali Serpell's website · Publisher's note about Namwail Serpell winning the A.C. Clarke award in 2020 · ChristiSa.com · Connect with Christi on LinkedIn · Follow Christi Sa on Instagram · Follow Saint Germain on Instagram

    20 min
  2. Notes from Underground: a click for hope

    FEB 24

    Notes from Underground: a click for hope

    In this episode, I take you with me into my reading experience of Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I share the insights that slowly unfolded as I read, and especially what shifted for me when I returned to a poem by the Russian poet N. A. Nekrasov. While discussing the book at book club, I still felt like I wasn’t really getting it. I couldn’t quite grasp what was going on beneath the surface. So I started speaking my thoughts out loud: my doubts, my resistance, the questions that wouldn’t settle. And somewhere in that trail of thought, something shifted. It clicked. I suddenly arrived at an understanding of the novel that felt very different from most interpretations I’d heard. I came to see something essential: it is often the systems that become distorted and repulsive, not the human beings within them. And if systems are human-made, they are not beyond transformation. We can reshape what we have built. And that possibility, that responsibility, is our hope. Alma Classics has published Notes from Underground by F. Dostoevsky · ChristiSa.com · Connect with Christi on LinkedIn · Follow Christi Sa on Instagram · Follow Saint Germain on Instagram

    19 min
  3. Boom! A realisation: ADHD is not what I thought it is...

    FEB 3

    Boom! A realisation: ADHD is not what I thought it is...

    Words matter. In this episode, I share two insights I gained while reading Jessica McCabe's book 'How to ADHD'. This is a self-help book, and it's the first time I'm talking about a book from this category on the podcast. I include it in my story-exploring journey because self-help books are reflections of people's journeys; they are stories from individuals, and we can learn from them. Reading this book completely shifted my understanding of how an ADHD brain works, totally different from what I imagined. I give examples of how I picture an ADHD brain, and even use my own experience as a deaf person to explore what brains are capable of, highlighting similarities and differences with ADHD brains. I also touch on my study of Narrative Therapy with Dr. Chené Swart from Pretoria, and how this study opens up new realisations for me. I explain what this study involves in brief and discuss how naming a brain that doesn't follow the neurotypical path (a term I learned from Jessica McCabe) can shape perceptions, sometimes in misleading ways. Words matter. Each word we use creates a world, and when we change how we describe people with brains that are not neurotypical , we can change both the meaning and the impact of that label. Tune in to hear my reflections, stories and the surprising ways a single book can shift your thinking about this kind of brain. Jessica McCabe's website - How to ADHD · Dr. Chené Swart's website for more info about narrative work in our world · ChristiSa.com · Connect with Christi on LinkedIn · Follow Christi Sa on Instagram · Follow Saint Germain on Instagram

    17 min
  4. An Experiment Shared & A Challenge Received | In Conversation with Prof Siphiwo Mahala

    12/08/2025

    An Experiment Shared & A Challenge Received | In Conversation with Prof Siphiwo Mahala

    In this episode, I have a conversation with Professor Siphiwo Mahala about literature. With my podcast I aim to explore literary spaces in a broad sense. That means not only speaking to writers or readers, but also to the people who shape how literature is recognised and valued. Professor Siphiwo Mahala is the Chair of the Sunday Times Literary Awards and an associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Johannesburg. He is also an acclaimed writer in his own right. We talk about how the judging and selection process works. I explore a question that has been on my mind: what should a South African literary prize winner reveal or achieve in its texts? I think you, listeners, will find this fascinating. I begin this conversation with a little experiment. I read three of Siphiwo’s published works. Two short story collections; African Delights and his latest The Missing Pages, as well as his recent biography of Drum journalist Can Themba, Can Themba: The Making and Braking of the Intellectual Tsotsi. Based on these texts, I attempted to loosely sketch the “writer” that emerged in my mind. I read this experimental sketch to Siphiwo during our conversation, and you’ll hear how he responds. I then ask a few in-depth questions about Can Themba’s work, specifically his famous short story The Suit, and intertextuality. You’ll also discover which of Siphiwo’s stories is my favorite and why. At one point during our conversation, I get a very interesting challenge and my final question is which book we should read during the long summer holiday and festive season ahead of us. Professor Siphiwo Mahala is a writer, playwright, and critic · The announcement of the winner of the Sunday Times Literary Awards 2025 · ChristiSa.com · Connect with Christi on LinkedIn · Follow Christi Sa on Instagram · Follow Saint Germain on Instagram

    1h 5m
  5. Around the table with my book club

    11/12/2025

    Around the table with my book club

    This episode takes you, the listener, into a question based book discussion about the book So Long See You Tomorrow, by American author William Maxwell. The book is now available in a Vintage Classic, published by Penguin Random House UK. Originally published in 1980, it won the American Book Award and in 1995, William Maxwell received the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the short story. I was joined in the studio on a Saturday morning by three loyal members of the public book club I host at 44 Stanley, at Saint-Germain: Denise Alexander, Daniel Greeff, and Odette Graskie. Instead of dinner with wine, we had coffee and cake. A setting that reminded me of the familiar coffee-table gatherings in the Netherlands. Through a series of prepared questions, we explore the world Maxwell created in this short but moving novel. Denise shares that she noticed how in this novel “people keep quiet, they just carry on with life and they don’t voice anything.” We talk about the meaning of the title and the presence and meaning of the artwork 'The Palace at 4 a.m.' by Alberto Giacometti. Odette, who had researched the artist, describes the sculpture in detail for us, “It is made of just these sticks and could fall apart any moment”. We discover what it means to describe this novel as quiet, frail, or tragic. For example, Daniel Greeff shares that he realised, thinking about this book, that “the bravest thing one can do is admit to one’s frailty”. I share my own fascination with what is biographical and what is imagined. This question is based on a part of the introduction of the Vintage Classic that is written by Ann Patchett. This conversation is an example of what we can discover together when we ask each other questions about literary tools and share our personal reflections. The book is a Vintage Classic published by Penguin Random House UK · ChristiSa.com · Connect with Christi on LinkedIn · Follow Christi Sa on Instagram · Follow Saint Germain on Instagram

    1h 2m
  6. A Memoir and More Truth Telling | Gavin Evans

    10/07/2025

    A Memoir and More Truth Telling | Gavin Evans

    An interview with Gavin Evans author of Son of a Preacher Man. In this episode, I talk with award winning London-based South African writer Gavin Evans, author of Son of Preacher Man. While preparing for my book club discussion on James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain, I noticed the book Son of a Preacher Man lying in one of the piles on my book table. Both books tell the story of a preacher's son; one in fiction, the other in a memoir. That connection immediately sparked the idea to reach out to Gavin Evans. In this conversation, you'll hear me ask questions that emerged from that idea. Gavin Evans answers them with generosity and depth, sharing insights about his relationships with his parents, his conversions, what makes literature "good" or "bad", what is good writing, and how Marxist ideas continue to influence thinking in our world; I even learned that Marx writes beautifully. He also reflects on why right-wing views persist, the human need for love, and how living with his wife, Margie Orford, whose own memoir Love and Fury has just been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Non-Fiction Award, has made the present feel more present. This conversation evolves around my belief why writing memoirs matters: they differ from fiction, yet they hold equal importance in helping us make sense of our lives and the world we currently live in. Son of a Preacher Man, published by Jacana Media, South Africa · Non-Fiction work by Gavin Evans, published by Jonathan Ball publishers · ChristiSa.com · Connect with Christi on LinkedIn · Follow Christi Sa on Instagram · Follow Saint Germain on Instagram

    56 min
  7. Discover the mastery of short story writer Lydia Davis

    09/01/2025

    Discover the mastery of short story writer Lydia Davis

    Listen and be captivated by her exquisite brief stories. In this episode you can join me on a journey to discover Lydia Davis, winner of the 2013 Man Booker International Prize- now known as the International Booker Prize. She is renowned for her exceptionally brief stories. Some are just one sentence long, but don’t let their brevity fool you. Each story can make you pause, contemplate and bring you delight in unexpected ways. Rather than just interpreting her work or telling you why I think her books are worth reading, I’ll be sharing four of Lydia Davis’ short stories with you: stories that I believe are quite unique. A special thanks to Stuart Cairns from Love Books in Melville for introducing me to Lydia Davis’ work last year. It’s been a great ride to discover her voice. In this episode you’ll hear: -Sketches for a Life of Wassily; -Almost No Memory: -Money & -Travelling with Mother. You can find these stories in: The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis, copyright © Lydia Davis, 2004. I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I enjoyed reading them. More Information about Lydia Davis · Penguin Books - The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis · ChristiSa.com · Connect with Christi on LinkedIn · Follow Christi Sa on Instagram · Follow Saint Germain on Instagram

    35 min
  8. A Reckoning with my Dutch Ancestry

    08/06/2025

    A Reckoning with my Dutch Ancestry

    Realisations evoked by Ashraf Kagee's 'Song of the Slave Girl'. In this episode from The Story Explorer podcast, I take you on a personal journey from growing up in the Netherlands to discovering new perspectives here in South Africa. Before we start this exploration, a quick spoiler alert, I’ll be sharing key elements from the novel that inspired this episode. Still, I believe I do this in a way that leaves room for your own discoveries. The focus of this episode is ‘Song of the Slave Girl’ by South African writer, psychologist, and academic Ashraf Kagee. He lives in Cape Town and is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Stellenbosch University. This is his third novel. His debut ‘Khalil’s Journey’ won the European Union Literary Award in 2012 and the South African literary Award in 2013. Two other books that play an important role in this discussion are: ‘Early Slavery at the Cape of Good Hope, 1652-1717’ by Karel Schoeman, a celebrated South African historian and novelist, and ‘Indaba, my Children’ by Credo Mutwa, a legendary isiZulu sangoma and keeper of his people’s stories. These books inspired me to rethink aspects of my Dutch upbringing. In this episode I’ll share with you parts of that journey. I raise a difficult question for my Dutch listeners. And I offer a kind of ‘retelling’ of the factual record from Schoeman’s research, using a single word as an anchor to change the way we see the world. Jacana media: the publisher of Song of the Slave Girl · ChristiSa.com · Connect with Christi on LinkedIn · Follow Christi Sa on Instagram · Follow Saint Germain on Instagram

    25 min
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About

What is the outlook of a story? Hello listener, welcome to my podcast series: The Story explorer. I am a reader who has the need to talk with others about what I’ve read. I have started and joined many book clubs. I now run one in a little café in Johannesburg. You are all welcome to join. But because time is sparse for many of us and Johannesburg is not within travelling distance for many readers I am taking up the challenge to talk about books in a podcast. I believe a story always is embedded in something else. This will be the starting point of this podcast journey. I want to look at what is around the story; what is the location? Who are the characters? What is it that happens in the story? What does it do within me, the reader? What do I think the author wants to say? What does this story make me think about? These are questions I want to explore with books that I think are important. Books I believe we all should read and talk about.

Information

  • Creator
    Solid Gold Podcasts #BeHeard
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Solid Gold Podcasts #BeHeard
  • Show Website
    The Story Explorer