The Millennial Mariner: Recent Episodes
Jace Einfeldt
Just a millennial musing about books, TV, movies, music, and pop culture all while trying to navigate this sea called the 21st century.
A reading of Tommy Orange's story "Freyr" originally published in the Winter 2018-2019 issue of Zoetrope: All-Story.
Jace continues reading Mrs. Dalloway. In this section we see a lot go down with Septimus and Rezia. They are able to bond and laugh over Rezia having to make a ridiculously small hat for a woman with a large head, and SPOILER in an unexpected series of quick events Septimus throws himself from a window after hearing Sir William Bradshaw coming up the stairs to where they're at. We also witness minor events leading up to Clarissa Dalloway's party.
[Content Warning: Suicide]
Jace continues reading Mrs. Dalloway. Septimus and Rezia deal with a psychiatrist. Richard Dalloway goes to lunch with Hugh Whitbread and Lady Bruton. We end with Richard giving Clarissa roses, but he doesn't tell he that he loves her even though he told himself he would. She realizes that their relationship is a lot more hollow than she initially thought.
A St. Patrick's Day episode featuring James Joyce's story "Araby" from his collection Dubliners(1914). The discussion is brief and covers Joyce's use of epiphany in his short fiction.
Music: "Ordinary People" by Working for a Nuclear Free City
Jace continues reading Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. In this section we read more about Septimus Warren Smith's trauma, his life before the war, and Rezia's relationship with Septimus. We also get snippets of Peter Walsh throughout. The discussion focuses more on how Woolf uses interior monologue, stream of consciousness, and head hopping to bring out the themes of loneliness, isolation, and trauma in the lives of all the main characters. Mrs. Dalloway's plot line is just barely beginning to come in contact with Septimus's plot line, and in the next episode or two, we'll see a convergence of the two characters and their narratives.
Intro and outro music: "Ordinary People" by Working for a Nuclear Free City.
If any of you are interested in any of Virginia Woolf's other works, here are links to To the Lighthouse, Orlando, The Waves, The Voyage Out, Flush: A Biography, The Years, and Between the Acts.
Jace continues reading Mrs. Dalloway. In this reading, Peter Walsh returns to London after being in India and visits Clarissa, both reminisce on old times (in their own minds of course), and we get a scene of Peter chasing after a woman who is neither his wife nor the woman he is divorcing his wife to marry. The discussion covers how stream of consciousness hides the characters' actual feelings and also allows us as readers to understand their character and motivations on a deeper, more personal level.
Jace reads part of Mrs. Dallowayby Virginia Woolf in this episode and discusses Woolf's use of stream of consciousness as a narrative mode. This is part one of a longer series where Jace will be reading Mrs. Dalloway in its entirety.
Intro and outro music: "Ordinary People" by Working for a Nuclear Free Society.
Jace read's Tobias Wolff's "Bullet in the Brain" and discusses Wolff's use of negation and memories in characterizing the main character and how Wolff uses brevity to deepen and broaden reader's understanding of the character of Anders.
Find the story in the New Yorker, and you can find his collection The Night in Question at Penguin Random House.
In the first episode of this biweekly series, Jace reads Will Mackin's short story "Crossing the River No Name" and discusses the absurd nature of war, the layered framing within the story, and different techniques Mackin employs to construct a compelling piece of short fiction.
Find this story in the New Yorker, and consider buying his collection Bring Out the Dogfrom his website.
Jace takes a dive into the way that death and mortality are dealt with Stranger Things. Spoilers for Stranger Things and Breaking Bad.
This is the trailer for the Millennial Mariner Podcast. Just a millennial's musings on books, movies, tv, music, and pop culture. If you're interested, climb on board! New episodes every Friday.