Ark Audio

In the 7th edition of the Ark Audio Book Club we talk about Michel Houellebecq's 2015 novel 'Submission'. The novel is set in the year 2022 in France, and the political tension is escalating. We become acquainted with 40-something Francoise who is professor of 19th century literature at the Sorbonne university and moves through life with a total indifference, that is portrayed quite well within the simple prose of the novel. We have to say that we just didn’t like the book that much and that it in no way merits the title ‘’most important book of the year 2015’’. It could be compared it to the tale of the emperors new clothes by H.C. Andersen. This month's book club are Macon Holt, Nina Bang, Louise Sommer and is hosted by Giovanna Alesandro. This episode was produced by Macon Holt and Giovanna Alesandro.

In the 6th episode of the ark audio book club we are talking about French philosopher Georges Bataille’s novel 'Story of the Eye’, which was originally published in 1928 but wasn’t translated into English, until 51 years later, in 1979. To quote from the paris review; "Story of the Eye, is a dirty book by an unhappy Frenchman. It chronicles the amatory hijinks of a nameless but extremely open-minded narrator, his girlfriend Simone, an English voyeur named Sir Edmund, and Marcelle, a suicidal, mentally ill sixteen-year old. A staggering amount of mirthless sex is had by all, much of it in front of Simone's middle-aged mother, who is not amused. Fornication is indulged in alongside of, on top of, and eventually with corpses; various oblong and/or spherical objects are inserted into sundry cavities; a priest is seduced, corrupted and finally murdered at the moment of orgasm, after which one his eyeballs is recycled in a manner I blush to recount. Then things proceed to get a bit risqué." Its basically horrifyi

In this bonus Podcast, in anticipation of the upcoming audio book club on Georges Bataille's 'Story of the Eye', we present the audio essay 'Erectile Eyes' by the founder of SORT SNAK, philosopher Jon Auring Grimm. Jon has been working with the experimental theatre group LOGEN, who will be touring Denmark with a new piece inspire by SotE from May. The Bataille readings are preformed by Stine Zink Kassgaard.

In the 5th edition of the ark audio book club we are examining "I Love Dick" by Chris Kraus, originally published by Semiotext(e) in 1997, reprinted in 2015 by Tuskar Rock Press in Great Britain. This new edition of the book looks like a toxic spill, with it’s acid green cover and pink letters, it looks like a light read you might enjoy while lying by the pool in Tenerife, but FOR REALS, it’s not a light read, its an explosion and arguably the best book I’ll have read in 2016. We'd also like to thank Telka Peløva from the shop who introduced it to us all. The people you’ll hear in this episode are Macon Holt Minerva Pietila and special guest Emma Holten. Hosted by Giovanna Alesandro. Ark Audio Book Club is produced by Ark Books a non-profit, volunteer run, international book shop on Møllegade, right in the heart of Copenhagen's buzzing literary district.

On this fourth Ark Audio Book Club we discuss Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin. The book is a portrayal of Berlin in the interwar period. From 1930 to 1933 Christopher Isherwood, the narrator who holds the writer's own name, meets a variety of different people and through them portrays this troubling time in Berlin history. The book is divided into six sections, the first and last are diary entries. The rest are dedicated to specific characters. One of them is Sally Bowles, the character who ended up as the main character in the very successful musical Cabaret which certainly helped put Isherwood on the literary map. The novel is like a still picture of the social and political commotions characterizing Berlin during these years. The narrators position in life and in the novel might be the most interesting aspect in the novel, but maybe not. Hosted by Henriette Engelberg and featuring Giovanna Alesandro, Magnus Friis Maya Zachariassen. Produced by Macon Holt and Giovanna Alesandro.

In this third episode we talk about Erlend Loe’s 2005 Bestseller Doppler. The book is a social satire on contemporary Norway right before the financial crisis of 2008. It’s really entertaining and funny and, we would love to hear your opinion on it, in the mean time you can listen to ours here. Featuring Alexander Buk-Swienty, Nereya Otieno, Macon Holt and hosted by Giovanna Alesandro. Produced by Macon Holt and Giovanna Alesandro.

In the second edition of ark audio book club, we will be discussing Miranda July’s novel The First Bad Man. Its funny, its dark and its troubling. This book is at least in part about inner and outer conversations, about languages and about the things we can’t say out loud. To the protagonist, Cheryl, everything is of extreme importance and that, obviously, complicates everything. recognize it? This month on the panel are some of our volunteers in the shop; Minerva Pietila Toke Wichman Nereya Otieno. Hosted by Giovanna Alesandro and produced by Macon Holt.

In this episode we are discussing Ben Lerners debut novel ‘’Leaving the Atocha Station’’ from 2011. We are trying new ways of sharing the literature and those experiences, this is just one of the ways we’ll be exploring. This episode features Macon Holt, Alexander Buk-Swienty, Magnus Friis and Giovanna Alesandro Ark audio book club is made by Giovanna Alesandro, Macon Holt and Alexander Buk-Swienty