David Foster Wallace Recs

6 replies jump to bottom
projcon
projcon's picture
From: Chattanooga
Joined: 11/25/2006
User offline. Last seen 14 weeks 4 days ago.

I'm probably gonna tackle Infinite Jest next year and was thinking a better approach would be to read some of Wallace's short stories and essays first.

What's the best collection? They all rank about the same on Amazon...

__________________________

"I thought I had mono once for an entire year. Turns out I was just really bored."
Wayne Campbell

Mad Daego
AKA the Illustrious Brien Piech
Mad Daego's picture
From: Minneapolis
Joined: 01/23/2003
User offline. Last seen 5 weeks 2 days ago.

Girl With Curious Hair first. Then probably Brief Interviews... as it is a thciker, better introduction to what you're going to find in Infinite Jest.

Do NOT try Infinite Jest first. You'll get in 40 pages, laugh your ass off, and 200 pages later wonder what the fuck you got yourself into. Reading his shorts will give you a better idea of how high your waders need to be before rushing into the swamp. DFW wasn't fucking around, and you'll drown.

__________________________

Three cheers for violence.

tourist_information
yr humble narrator.
tourist_information's picture
From: it's dark without a window. when i can't see the ceiling i worry about gravity.
Joined: 12/16/2008
User offline. Last seen 47 weeks 5 days ago.
Mad Daego wrote:

Do NOT try Infinite Jest first. You'll get in 40 pages, laugh your ass off, and 200 pages later wonder what the fuck you got yourself into.

I wish I'd had this sage warning before attempting Infinite Jest. Deep waters here, teeming with sharks!

__________________________
lofivinyl wrote:
Girlsssssz....the FROSTING MOISTURIZES while the SPRINKLES EXFOLIATE!!!
Tuffy wrote:
I don't maneuver. I find a corner, set-up shop, and order the wow brought to me.
Fano
Fano's picture
Joined: 07/14/2009
User offline. Last seen 5 hours 41 min ago.

What does that mean? What makes a book a hard read? I've never really struggled with a book, but that's probably because I've never really read a difficult book. Is it the word choice? Just the way it's written?

__________________________
big S wrote:
Bitch, craft my nuts on your chin, i'm the craftiest craftsman who ever crafted a craft.
ScarecrowJack
ScarecrowJack's picture
From: London
Joined: 04/03/2008
User offline. Last seen 28 weeks 2 days ago.

'A Supposedly Fun Thing That I'll Never Do Again' is a great starting point.
The title piece is fucking hilarious.

projcon
projcon's picture
From: Chattanooga
Joined: 11/25/2006
User offline. Last seen 14 weeks 4 days ago.
Mad Daego wrote:
DFW wasn't fucking around, and you'll drown.

Yeah I had a feeling. It's a whopper and with the notes, disjointed. I'm all for a challenge but not a blind one.

__________________________

"I thought I had mono once for an entire year. Turns out I was just really bored."
Wayne Campbell

cprv23
cprv23's picture
Joined: 05/05/2007
User offline. Last seen 1 year 21 weeks ago.

Infinite Jest was the first DFW I read and i didn't have much of a problem. It's a commitment, though, it's not the kind of book that you can read for twenty minutes each night before bed. I don't think that it's necessarily that difficult of a book if you put some time into it. I understand that the size is prohibitive, and if you don't have the time, save it until you do. It's the same thing that everyone says about Pynchon --Don't read Graavity's Rainbow first-- I didn't have a problem reading it first either.

All that said, Brief Interviews is fantastic. All of his essays are also good.