Why I Really Like This Book
These are podcasts about forgotten fiction, for curious readers, and for anyone who likes old books. Sometimes they're stories, sometimes they're not. Most of the authors write in English; and sometimes they don't. But all the books I talk about, I really really like. I hope you will too.
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My name is Kate Macdonald: I'm an English lecturer, and a lifelong browser in second-hand bookshops. I post weekly (sometimes fortnightly) ten-minute podcasts on a Friday, on the books I really like which I think deserve new readers. NEW! Hear a PodAcademy interview with me about forgotten fiction here. Subscribe now through the RSS feed button below, or the iTunes link above. The music for the podcast intro is by The Tribe Band. Lucy Marsh did the drawing and Matthias Opsomer lettered it. Patrick Belk and Martin Fowler hold my tech safety net.

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Questions? Send me a message by mailing me at kate [dot] brussels [at] yahoo [dot] com.

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He's not a forgotten author, The Witches of Eastwick is not forgotten either, but this is a book I really, really like, and it's all about witches. Updike writes about Rhode Island witchcraft as if it were European, and his devil is a money-splashing New York loudmouth. There's a hint of Lovecraftian occult in here too, but it's a great novel of innocent corruption and the simple pleasures of the coven. For those who like their snacks spicy and their hot tubs steaming.

Direct download: John_Updike_and_The_Witches_of_Eastwick.mp3
Category:fantastical -- posted at: 12:30 AM
Comments[2]

  • The movie, as I remember, dispenses with the plot, omitting a crucial character, Jenny.

    posted by: Gary on 2011-12-13 16:08:56

  • Completely agree. "Witches" had a bit of everything - deadpan humor, suspense, amazing prose (this is Updike, after all), enough of a plot (although plot was not Updike's strong suit). Well worth a read!

    posted by: Jim on 2011-12-09 23:38:41

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