How to Eat an Elephant: A Little Book Club for Large Books

At long last, Ian, Megan, and Emily sit down to discuss East of Eden in all of its poignant fullness. We close read Steinbeck’s moving conclusion and use its thematic emphasis to look back over where we’ve come.

How to Eat an Elephant will be taking a hiatus while Megan settles into her new living situation in Edinburgh (!). We hope to be back soon with announcements about what you can expect from the show going forward!

P.S. Are you looking for our seasons on War and Peace or Les Misérables? Previous seaso...

Today Megan and Emily discuss Cathy’s final escape, then they turn to the climactic Cain and Abel scene and unpack the implications of Cal’s decision to repeat ancient history.

Be sure to join us next week for the big season finale!

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

P.S. Are you looking for our seasons on War and Peace or Les Misérables? Previous seasons of HEE are now available to paid Substack subscribers.

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Today the HEE crew talk about our growing admiration for Abra-cadabra, Kate’s human weakness, and the latent resemblances between parents and children. As we approach the end of the story, we begin to make some guesses about Steinbeck’s larger themes.

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

P.S. Are you looking for our seasons on War and Peace or Les Misérables? Previous seasons of HEE are now available to paid Substack subscribers.

Today Ian, Emily, and Megan discuss the cracks in Kate’s armor, Aron’s unbearable purity, Cal’s responsibility-taking, and Lee’s masterful parenting. It’s a breathless race to a conclusion no one can anticipate!

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

P.S. Are you looking for our seasons on War and Peace or Les Misérables? Previous seasons of HEE are now available to paid Substack subscribers.

In this episode, the HEE team discusses Adam’s business venture and the hope of holding on to dreams. We then turn to Cal’s incredible character development and what it means for the Cain and Abel imagery in the story. Is it possible that the Trask family can be redeemed through generational growth?

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

P.S. Are you looking for our seasons on War and Peace or Les Misérables? Previous seasons of HEE are now available to paid Substack subscribers.

CenterForLit’s Substack is a...

In this episode, Ian, Megan, and Emily weigh Steinbeck’s philosophical musings on the Great Question of life against the “enfleshed” experience of his characters. How much control do Lee, Adam, Cal, and Aron have over their lives? What role do the opinions of other people play in their identity? Do we have the power to change ourselves?

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

P.S. Are you looking for our seasons on War and Peace or Les Misérables? Previous seasons of HEE are now available to paid Substack subscribers.

CenterForLit’s Sub...

In this episode we ride the highest highs and the lowest lows. On the one hand, the HEE team triumphs in Adam’s victory over Cathy. On the other, we mourn the loss of Tom and puzzle over Steinbeck’s view of the world.

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

P.S. Are you looking for our seasons on War and Peace or Les Misérables? Previous seasons of HEE are now available to paid Substack subscribers.

CenterForLit’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider be...

After a few weeks of traveling hither and yon, HEE is finally back for the summer!

In this episode, Megan and Emily discuss Lee’s backstory and consider the nature of modern art in light of his concept of “dreadful beauty.” They then look at the Trasks’ disturbing inability to confront the truth of their own dark history.

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

P.S. Are you looking for our seasons on War and Peace or Les Misérables? Previous seasons of HEE are now available to paid Substack subscribers.

Cent...

Did this week’s reading make you cheer or cringe? The HEE team discusses the triumph of Adam over Cathy and the unmasking of her true nature, but we also worry over the future of Cal and Aron. At the risk of sounding like fools to those who have already read the whole novel, we spend time hypothesizing about what the second half of the story holds.

What do you think? Is history doomed to repeat itself or will there be a repetition with a difference?

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Duration: 00:54:07

Today's episode is a big one! In our reading this week we're finally introduced to "timshel." The HEE crew wrestles with the term's significance and the power of naming.

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our Substack so that you never miss a new episode!

Have we finally figured out Cathy's character motivation? This week the HEE team follows our villain where angels fear to tread, comparing and contrasting her to Samuel Hamilton along the way.

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our Substack so that you never miss a new episode!

It's ladies' day at HEE! (Gentlemen listeners can still tune in..) Emily and Megan forge ahead with a conversation that touches on Samuel Hamilton's intuitive insight into Cathy, overcoming first impressions of Liza, and what in the world lies ahead for Adam and his newborn twins.

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our Substack so that you never miss a new episode!

This week Ian, Emily, and Megan discuss Steinbeck's ideas about individualism. He wants to protect the rights of the individual over the collective at all costs, but what do we do about the "rugged individualism" of characters like Cathy? We also laugh about Olive's chapter and explore water imagery in the novel thus far.

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠⁠.

⁠⁠Subscribe to our Substack so that you never miss a new episode!

The conflict of our story comes into a little more focus in today's reading as the Cathy and Trask plotlines converge. We take a final crack at comparing the two brothers and then end our conversation by looking at Steinbeck's introduction to Part II. Believe it or not, we're once again talking about the philosophy of history...

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠⁠.

⁠Subscribe to our Substack so that you never miss a new episode!

Have we found the Eve to our Adam Trask? Before we dive into the terrifying world of Cathy Ames, the HEE team talks about Steinbeck's ideas concerning love and faith and continues to wrap their heads around the complex characterization of Adam and Charles.

To follow our reading schedule, visit ⁠www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠⁠.

Subscribe to our Substack so that you never miss a new episode!

Come discuss The Grapes of Wrath and learn more about CenterForLit's Pelican Society Membership.

This week we're discussing Chapters 4-6 of John Steinbeck's East of Eden. We compare Charles and Adam’s relationship to the Cain and Abel story, wonder about Steinbeck’s use of water imagery, and provide our initial reactions to the Hamilton family. We also reveal the kinds of books we read when we're not reading elephants!

To follow our reading schedule, visit www.centerforlit.com/hee⁠.

Surprise! How to Eat an Elephant is FINALLY back for our season on John Steinbeck's East of Eden.

We kick off our conversation of the first three chapters by discussing the biblical overtones of the novel. We consider themes of genesis as they may come to apply to artistic creation, westward expansion in America, and individual human lives.

To follow our reading schedule, visit www.centerforlit.com/hee.

You thought it'd never happen! (We were getting nervous ourselves...) Ian, Megan, and Emily are finally back to reveal the next large book the podcast will be consuming, one bite at a time!

We also introduce our new host, Charlotte Andrews! (Just kidding...although she makes a rather insistent contribution to this trailer, she will not be joining us for future episodes.)

Find a copy of our edition of the next title and the episode schedule at www.centerforlit.com/hee.

Ian, Emily, and Megan follow Jean Valjean down the twisty-turny corridors of his subconscious and try not to get lost along the way.

Join the Facebook discussion group here!

Follow along with our reading schedule: https://www.centerforlit.com/hee

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

The story of Fantine continues. Meanwhile, we meet both M. Madeleine and Javert: one suspiciously familiar, the other a compelling but unambiguous symbol.

Join the Facebook discussion group here!

Follow along with our reading schedule: https://www.centerforlit.com/hee

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

n this episode, the HEE team walks through Fantine’s tragic backstory and tries to process that firehose of a chapter on “The Year 1817.”

Join the Facebook discussion group here!

Follow along with our reading schedule: https://www.centerforlit.com/hee

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This week we are at last introduced to Jean Valjean! The HEE team members discuss “The Fall” and try to pinpoint the conflict which will carry our protagonist throughout the rest of the novel.

Join the Facebook discussion group here!

Follow along with our reading schedule: https://www.centerforlit.com/hee

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

Our journey begins! Ian, Emily, and Megan discuss “An Upright Man.” They unpack Monseigneur Bienvenu’s character and try to determine why Hugo began his novel from such an indirect angle.

Join the Facebook discussion group here!

Follow along with our reading schedule: https://www.centerforlit.com/hee

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

How to Eat an Elephant is back! Ian, Emily, and Megan kick off their discussion of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables with an introductory overview of the historical context of the novel and author.

Download a timeline of relevant French history.

Purchase the edition we’re reading.

Victor Hugo: A Biography by Graham Robb

Join the Facebook discussion group here!

Follow along with our reading schedule: https://www.centerforlit.com/hee

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acces...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe