David Foster Wallace Recs
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
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!
One time I got soooooooooooo drunk I had double vision, I went to pee and saw two dicks so I tucked one back in and pissed myself. I was wearing beige pants. -Derek, of years gone by.
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?
The best selling book of the 15th century was an erotic book called The Tale of the Two Lovers – it is even still read today. The author of this book was none other than Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini – otherwise known as Pope Pius II.
'A Supposedly Fun Thing That I'll Never Do Again' is a great starting point.
The title piece is fucking hilarious.
You will view. You will follow. You will submit.
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
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.
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.