Time to dust off your favorite huqin record. As the gramophone spins, the huqin's wail tells a story too desolate for words-oh! why go into it? Well, on this episode we explore Chang's desolate story "Love in a Fallen City" and parse why we think she bothers going into it. Join us as we discuss war, freedom, the deception of twice-over whoredom, sandflies, and the subtleties of love and Chang's narrative. 

 
If you are interested in joining up and receiving bad-ass artwork and hand-typed invitation letters (or if you want to see what else we have read or check out Nick's novella), go to our website: http://www.booksofsomesubstance.com/ 

 
Eileen Chang (張煐) [1920-1995] may now be most known for her novella Lust, Caution after Ang Lee adapted it into a popular film, but her two novels critical of the communist society that she fled The Rice Sprout Song and Naked Earth are becoming more widely read. B.O.S.S.'s next book will be Naked Earth.

12 - War for Love: Eileen Chang's Love in a Fallen City

你好 (Ni hao) Comrades! Join us,  kan-pu Nathan, Nick, and David, for another full length episode of Deep Cultural Propaganda from American Imperialists (aka The Books of Some Substance Podcast).

Dystopian literature and discussions of authoritarianism abound, and few things were more dystopian than living under the slow-crushing boot of authoritarian Maoist China. On this episode, witness the true confessions of Nick's Obscure Relations with straight-edge militant punk bands, Nathan's deviant modes of Thought Mobilization, and David's Disgorging of Bitter Fluid.  

We highly recommend you find yourself a copy of Eileen Chang's Naked Earth, give it a read, and listen along.

If you are interested in joining up and receiving bad-ass artwork and hand-typed invitation letters (or if you want to see what else we have read or check out Nick's novella), go to our website: http://www.booksofsomesubstance.com/

Episode 13 - Obscure Revelations: Eileen Chang's Naked Earth

With Nick out for a little R&R, David and Nathan are joined by B.O.S.S. Boocklub mainstay Eric Heiman for our inaugural supplemental episode. 

On this episode, in preparation for further episodes on James Baldwin's literary work, we read one of his most famous essays "Notes of a Native Son" and discuss the recent documentary I Am Not Your Negro. We discuss Baldwin's struggle to shake off his father's bitterness in the face of racial oppression, his love for humanity, and his pristine analytical prose of the personal. 

Find a copy, watch the documentary, and give us a listen. 

If you are interested in joining up and receiving bad-ass artwork and hand-typed invitation letters (or if you want to see what else we have read or check out Nick's novella), go to our website: http://www.booksofsomesubstance.com/ 

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14 - Once Hate is Gone: James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son

Do you drink from the cup of trembling? Do you sup those dregs of hopelessness?

Welcome back B.O.S.S. listeners. We continue our journey into the work of James Baldwin by reading the story "Sonny's Blues," a narrative about addiction, artistic creation, communion, destruction, existential dread, music's universal power, poetic prose, pragmatism, siblings, suffering, the trap of home, race, redemption, and what we leave behind.

Once again, David and Nick find themselves trying to convince Nathan of the "substance" of the narrative. Does Nathan have his come-to-Jesus moment? Or, does he drink from the very cup of trembling? 

Find yourself a copy of the story, read it, and join us! 

To receive bad-ass artwork and hand-typed invitation letters (or if you want to see what else we have read (or check out Nick's novella)), go to our website: http://www.booksofsomesubstance.com/ 
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15 - The Cup of Trembling: James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

We are a bookclub, podcast, and publishing outfit from the Bay Area. Here are the most up-to-date episodes.

The B.O.S.S. (Books of Some Substance) Podcast