David Foster Wallace




David Foster Wallace

author profile

born February 21, 1962
gender male
place of birth United States
genre Literature & Fiction, Nonfiction

about this author

David Foster Wallace is the award winning author of several novels, more than a few short stories, and numerous articles, as well as being a college professor. Still in his 40's, David has been called one of America's most important young authors and is often compared to Thomas Pynchon, though he tends to shrug off that association. He published his first novel, The Broom of the System, when he was only 22. He is most widely known, however, for his epic (1000+ page) novel, Infinite Jest, published in 1996 and critically acclaimed by critics and readers alike. Topics covered in Wallace's work are wide ranging, but he seems to have a special interest in American culture, addictions, and excess. Ironically, because of his edgy body of work and...more

books by David Foster Wallace

combine editions
avg rating: 3.92 | 9442 ratings | 23 distinct works
Infinite Jest: A Novel Infinite Jest: A Novel (Paperback)
by David Foster Wallace
avg rating 4.16 — 1948 ratings — published 1997
7 editions
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Consider the Lobster: And Othe... Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays (Hardcover)
by David Foster Wallace
avg rating 4.04 — 960 ratings — published 2005
8 editions
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Brief Interviews with Hideous ... Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (Paperback)
by David Foster Wallace
avg rating 3.66 — 919 ratings — published 2001
14 editions
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The Broom of the System The Broom of the System (Paperback)
by David Foster Wallace
avg rating 3.68 — 729 ratings — published 2004
8 editions
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Oblivion: Stories Oblivion: Stories (Paperback)
by David Foster Wallace
avg rating 3.75 — 586 ratings — published 2005
9 editions
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A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Ne... A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments (Hardcover)
by David Foster Wallace
avg rating 4.15 — 186 ratings — published 1998
6 editions
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The Best American Essays 2007 The Best American Essays 2007 (Paperback)
by David Foster Wallace, Robert Atwan
avg rating 3.75 — 158 ratings — published 2007
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Signifying Rappers: Rap and Ra... Signifying Rappers: Rap and Race in the Urban Present (Paperback)
by Mark Costello, David Foster Wallace
avg rating 3.00 — 41 ratings — published 1997
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Everything and More Everything and More (Paperback)
by David Foster Wallace
avg rating 3.30 — 33 ratings — published 2005
5 editions
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Up Simba! Up Simba! (Gemstar)
by David Foster Wallace
avg rating 4.24 — 17 ratings — published 2000
2 editions
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quotes by David Foster Wallace

4339
""I read," I say. "I study and read. I bet I've read everything you read. Don't think I haven't. I consume libraries. I wear out spines and ROM-drives. I do things like get in a taxi and say, "The library, and step on it." My instincts concerning syntax and mechanics are better than your own, I can tell, with all due respect. But it transcends the mechanics. I'm not a machine. I feel and believe. I have opinions. Some of them are interesting. I could, if you'd let me, talk and talk."
David Foster Wallace
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4339
"If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don't bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on primary day. By all means stay home if you want, but don't bullshit yourself that you're not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard's vote."
David Foster Wallace (Up, Simbal!: 7 Days on the Trail of an Anticandidate)
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4339
"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you."
David Foster Wallace
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