Episode 8 – Jerusalem: Vernall’s Inquest (Part 1)

Intro – A sense of foreboding descends as we fret about the chance of an unsatisfying ending. Also, Dis book gets tough to read! Themes over plot. Joyce gets talked about, but not for last time.

Chapter 1:  Clouds Unfold (skip to 7:44) – Might Mike finally speaks to us, but all that we hear is an argument about Free Will vs Determinism.

Chapter 2:  A Cold and Frosty Morning (skip to 25:40) – Alma is finally the focus of a chapter, but all that we hear is an argument about Free Will vs Determinism.

Chapter 3: Round the Bend (skip to 47:24) – Loutal Joysea prenombulems round she ass y lums, ilbratses er concorpsescents… doubly sew, haunts Lucia nuts of materkynds tanks due all so womensole, a elast comborts into farces your two gramble calvon Freezed bills vagses Dieter man is him.

Chapter 4: Burning Gold (skip to 1:14:15) – Roman Thompson is like if Oliver Twist grew up to be Buenaventura Durruti, but without a Civil War to fight. Also, We learn the history of the British Pound. There is probably some Free Will vs Determinism in there somewhere.

Welcome to The Hashish and Superiority Book Club, a podcast where we hope to tackle the large and weighty tomes of great (or not so great) fiction we find pertinent to the modern world – heretofore to be referred to as Hell World. Each season of the podcast will tackle either one large work or one author, dissecting what makes them lasting and important to the modern hellscape.

We are Kickers of Elves (kickersofelves.com@kickerspodcasts), a group of podcasting thirtysomething sad bastards consisting of Wade Bowen (@bogmad), James Nolen (@jamesnolen), and Hugh Crawford(@hughbotcrawford).

For Season 1, we have decided to read the entire 600,000 word, 1300pg doorstop by Alan Moore namedJerusalem (2016).

Music Used:

“Theme Song” by James and Paget Brewster reading a passage by James Joyce

“Also Sprach Zarathustra” by Deodato (and Strauss, I guess)

“Reward” by The Teardrop Explodes

“Stay Awhile” by Dusty Springfield

“3 AM Eternal” by KLF (+1M quid they will later burn)

“New Age” by The Velvet Underground

Publisher Blurb:

Begging comparisons to Tolstoy and Joyce, this “magnificent, sprawling cosmic epic” (Guardian) by Alan Moore—the genre-defying, “groundbreaking, hairy genius of our generation” (NPR)—takes its place among the most notable works of contemporary English literature. In decaying Northampton, eternity loiters between housing projects. Among saints, kings, prostitutes, and derelicts, a timeline unravels: second-century fiends wait in urine-scented stairwells, delinquent specters undermine a century with tunnels, and in upstairs parlors, laborers with golden blood reduce fate to a snooker tournament. Through the labyrinthine streets and pages of Jerusalem tread ghosts singing hymns of wealth and poverty. They celebrate the English language, challenge mortality post-Einstein, and insist upon their slum as Blake’s eternal holy city in “Moore’s apotheosis, a fourth-dimensional symphony” (Entertainment Weekly). This “brilliant . . . monumentally ambitious” tale from the gutter is “a massive literary achievement for our time—and maybe for all times simultaneously” (Washington Post).

Some links to purchase the book:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BX7S1M2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1(We hate these robber barons, especially Jeff Bezos. Don’t use Amazon if you can help it, but we are huge hypocrites for James and Hugh both recommend reading the book on Kindle.)

Powell’s https://www.powells.com/book/-9781631494727

If you like this podcast, we hope you check out our other ongoing podcasts covering every single episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (The Rules of Acquisition) and our highly critical struggle session with Star Trek: Discovery (A Discovery Home Companion).

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