Arqtiq: A Study of the Marvels at the North Pole
Anna Adolph
Read by Chuck Williamson
Described by author Liza Daly as a "strange masterpiece of outsider art," Arqtiq is a bizarre, borderline hallucinatory work of feminist utopian fiction. Equal parts sci-fi adventure, philosophical tract, and pro-Symmesian pamphlet, Anna Adolph’s strange, self-published novella centers its narrative around an aviator (also named Anna) who, along with a ragtag group of family and friends, charts an expedition to the North Pole in a retro-futuristic airship of her own invention. There, Anna and her crew travel into the hollow earth, encounter a race of telepathic giants, and uncover secrets about God and the universe.
Written in a style that teeters somewhere between modernist abstraction and amateurish enthusiasm, Arqtiq almost defies comprehension. It is a maddening and oftentimes incoherent tale that nonetheless fascinates with its unhinged imagination. It is perhaps one of the most exuberantly surreal and dreamlike works of utopian fiction from this era. - Summary by ChuckW (4 hr 2 min)
Chapters
Chapter 1 | 16:59 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
Chapter 2 | 11:28 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
Chapter 3 | 18:04 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
Chapter 4 | 32:55 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
Chapter 5 | 9:29 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
Chapter 6 | 15:17 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
Chapter 7 | 6:01 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
Chapter 8 | 47:56 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
Chapter 9, Part 1 | 39:34 | Read by Chuck Williamson |
Chapter 9, Part 2 | 44:20 | Read by Chuck Williamson |