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Episode 33 – Prize

Sep 22, 2023 | Season 3

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The Cat gets cosy in the cubby house with special guest, author of All The Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns, Castle Full of Blackbirds, and more – so much more! – Angela Slatter. While Joseph reads another bogus biography and Aaron holds in a sneeze, Kaaron is delighted by a biscuit tin. Angela revisits the traumatising books of childhood. Solipsism is discussed, as is Nabokov’s dream Russia, and the USA of his imagination. Places of the imagination with no real-world existence. The idealisation of a place that becomes more real than the place itself. A toothless man is the telling detail. Not to mention, all the reasons why children should – nay, must! – be traumatised with dark tales. Aaron and Angela resurrect the ghost of Myrtle. Joseph makes a misguided commitment. Kaaron loses a ham bone.

Note: The story Joseph is thinking of is in fact The Happy Prince, which is a fairy tale written by Oscar Wilde – not Hans Christian Andersen at all.

Grimaces and grimoires referenced in this episode include:

  • Lila Azam Zanganeh’s The Enchanter
  • Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita
  • Angela Slatter’s Flight
  • Struwwelpeter
  • Encarta ’95
An owl with a sad human face on a book shelf with Norwegian fairy tales