Episode
TMR 30.8: "The Fatherland or Death!" [I the Supreme]
- Podcast
- Two Month Review
- Published
- Apr 24, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3993
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
On the final episode of this season of the Two Month Review, librarian, book reviewer, passionate reader, and Open Letter intern, Joseph Alcala joins Chad, Brian, and Kaija to talk about the last chunk of Augusto Roa Bastos’s I the Supreme. They discuss what did and didn’t keep them interested in the book, how it compares to other dictator novels, who the audience for this book might be, and just how fire the ending is. This week’s music is “A House on Fire” by TRAAMS. Next season’s title is The Life and Adventures of Trobadora Beatrice as Chronicled by Her Minstrel Laura: A Novel in Thirteen Books and Seven Intermezzos by Irmtraud Morgner, translated from the German by Jeanette Clausen, and the reading schedule will be available next week. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple , Spotify , YouTube , or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review , Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis , and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large. Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast ( Apple , Spotify ) for all things Dalkey Archive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com