tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post2289375529873627370..comments2024-03-27T05:13:25.241-05:00Comments on The New Dork Review of Books: That David Foster Wallace PostGreg Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-18839827991048032572009-12-21T18:51:10.356-06:002009-12-21T18:51:10.356-06:00You took the words out of my mouth. I'm a huge...You took the words out of my mouth. I'm a huge DFW fan, and in the year and change since his suicide I've been reading the stuff of his that I hadn't read before, and rereading what I had. This week I'm tackling Infinite Jest again, with the help of Stephen Burns's reader's guide. It's very helpful.<br /><br />BTW, in the opening scene of IJ, the character nearest to a DFW stand-in is described as having no control over his facial expressions. Elsewhere (I can't remember where, darn it), DFW describes a person with an involuntary "scrunched-up grimace." When I watched a DFW interview on Charlie Rose (available on-line), David twice made that exact expression, a "scrunched-up grimace."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-65372763337167847292009-12-17T17:35:05.437-06:002009-12-17T17:35:05.437-06:00@Raul - Thank you, very well said. You're abso...@Raul - Thank you, very well said. You're absolute correct - IJ IS DFW, in more ways than we could ever know, probably.Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-17482752974806077052009-12-17T16:30:04.266-06:002009-12-17T16:30:04.266-06:00Great review/article/post. For those who haven...Great review/article/post. For those who haven't read IJ, I strongly urge you to do so as soon as possible. While his essays are amazing and his stories, though uneven, contain plenty of moments of brilliance, Infinite Jest _is_ Wallace. I first read it when I was 19 and it was like making a new best friend; the way his mind worked was just in perfect concert with mine. I have read it two more times since and I pick it up at least once a month to browse its endless treasure trove of insight and sadness, humor and verbiage. It is, in my opinion, THE best American novel of the last 25 years at least and one of the best of the last century.Raul Clementhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09596462074851002061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-54430671443253707302009-12-15T19:06:45.962-06:002009-12-15T19:06:45.962-06:00@Marie - Thanks for the heads up on that Franzen p...@Marie - Thanks for the heads up on that Franzen piece. I hadn't seen it yet. Franzen plays a big role in the RS profile piece too - the two were pretty tight, evidently.<br /><br />@Jen - Thanks for the Birkets piece - I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.<br /><br />"In Wallace’s case, especially, I was moved by his urgency, his vision of the existential stress of contemporary life, his recognition of the predatory corporate ethos against which the private self was so utterly vulnerable, in the face of which he was so disposable. Also by his fiercely dark comedy, the filter of his terrible ironies, his flashes of inspired absurdity, salient whether in the stories or the grand world-system that was Infinite Jest or in essays like “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.”"<br /><br />That is effing brilliant, and there's no way I could've even approached saying it better myself.Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-4062740813494809412009-12-15T16:20:09.446-06:002009-12-15T16:20:09.446-06:00DFW is fantastic. I just read All That and I can&...DFW is fantastic. I just read All That and I can't wait to read more of his work after graduation. I have yet to read Infinite Jest, and I think you've finally convinced me to do so... perhaps on my next reading oasis???<br />(Sven Birkerts also wrote a touching and personal piece about DFW in the last issue of AGNI. He's my current mentor, check it out: http://www.bu.edu/agni/essays/print/2009/69-birkerts.html )Jen Knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14429398922307420260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-3223167713458282322009-12-15T14:31:24.307-06:002009-12-15T14:31:24.307-06:00I read THE BROOM OF THE SYSTEM several years ago a...I read THE BROOM OF THE SYSTEM several years ago and enjoyed it. I should probably become better acquainted with his work. This year's BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING included an essay by Jonathan Franzen about DFW, basically an appreciation. You might enjoy it if you haven't seen it already.Marie Cloutierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14938166831865436287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-81727915572872750072009-12-15T08:29:49.083-06:002009-12-15T08:29:49.083-06:00@mummazappa - so glad you enjoyed This is Water. P...@mummazappa - so glad you enjoyed This is Water. Powerful stuff, eh?! Yes, Consider The Lobster is 100x more manageable than Infinite Jest, but if you ever want a challenge, IJ's your book!Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-88215736380296439492009-12-15T05:04:12.072-06:002009-12-15T05:04:12.072-06:00i just finished reading the commencement address. ...i just finished reading the commencement address. wow. i'm feeling so sad about his suicide. it seems like those who see the water always suffer the most, and sometimes it's just unbearable. still, i'd rather know what i'm swimming in than not. i've had infinite jest swirling around my TBR list, but knowing the effort required to read it have put off actually committing to reading it. i've put consider the lobster on the list which seems a tad more manageable, and hopefully will get to read it soon. thanks for another brilliant post!Danielle Zappavignahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493099952285137131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-33189087226239822982009-12-14T21:48:56.007-06:002009-12-14T21:48:56.007-06:00@Bookshelf - Ah, I'm sort of jealous of you - ...@Bookshelf - Ah, I'm sort of jealous of you - you're in that area of anticipation before experience that wonderful book for the first time! :)Greg Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122230426442946518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-62285681719905665702009-12-14T21:44:27.294-06:002009-12-14T21:44:27.294-06:00Don't hate me, but I've got a copy of Cons...Don't hate me, but I've got a copy of <i>Consider the Lobster</i> I grabbed a couple of years ago on my shelf waiting patiently to be read. Thanks for reminding me that I need to get on that...A Bookshelf Monstrosityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14674115889348650429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-55719094653049323272009-12-14T19:07:12.184-06:002009-12-14T19:07:12.184-06:00Good review. I had not heard of this author before...Good review. I had not heard of this author before.Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01135328206108100271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5060047013304842896.post-43761810987036165902009-12-14T14:37:35.460-06:002009-12-14T14:37:35.460-06:00I've never read anything from him, in fact hav...I've never read anything from him, in fact have never even HEARD of him until your post! I'm going to check him out right now!<br />:0)Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703297010445873719noreply@blogger.com