76: Isola - Allegra Goodman

From Writers Who Read by Gary Alan McBride

March 22, 2026 · 48 min · Season 3 · Episode 5

About this episode

The episode features a discussion on the novel 'Isola' by Allegra Goodman, focusing on literary analysis and writing techniques.

Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry, and Gary McBride talk about Isola by Allegra Goodman, which is Writers Who Read book number 76. Discussion slides for this novel and all novels discussed are available at WritersWhoRead.com . You can learn more about Literary Forensics here , and find the book at bookstores everywhere . In every episode we analyze and discuss one novel that has been published within the past 18-24 months. We do this because we are writers who read with intent–we read to study content and form and to uncover techniques that we can apply to our own writing. We read like writers, turning our favorite authors into our writing teachers. We do this through Literary Forensics , a set of tools that allow us to look beyond the surface of plot points, down into the tapestry of themes, contexts, and symbols that hold the very intentions of the author. We uncover why they wrote this novel and how they did it. If you'd like to join our LIVE! meetings in person, find upcoming novel titles and event registration information here and be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter . Writers Who Read has been meeting in Boulder, Colorado, since 2018, and we are affiliated with the…

People in this episode

Host: Gary McBride

Guests: Whitney Pinion, Mira Landry

Topics covered

literary analysis
novel discussion
writing techniques
Allegra Goodman
Isola
Literary Forensics

Keywords

Isola
Allegra Goodman
literary analysis
Writers Who Read
writing techniques
novel discussion
Literary Forensics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Writers Who Read, Boulder Writers Alliance

Books & works: Isola

Places: Boulder, Colorado