Andrew's review
The Broom of the System
by David Foster Wallace
Andrew's review
The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace
Andrew's review
bookshelves:
american-fiction,
english-language-fiction
This is a hard nut to crack. I decided long ago I needed to read old David Foster Wallace, and I wasn't feeling committed to the 1100 page chore of "Infinite Jest." As far as I can tell, he draws on three American literary traditions: the first is the American hysterical realist tradition that it helped to found (see DeLillo, Franzen), the second being the batshit tradition beloved by smart 18 year olds (see Vonnegut, Robbins), and the third being Thomas Pynchon, who is his own wonderful, babbling creature. Pay special attention to this last one. Throughout, Wallace robs the Pynchon playbook, from grandiose governmental schemes to novel last names to abstruse nostalgia for the present. And for the first 100 pages or so, it succeeds. But then, Lenore Beadsman's misadventures in the both real and metaphorical deserts surrounding Cleveland cease to be amusing and start to become painfully dull and predictable. Wallace is clearly a talented voice, but he needs to get his s...more
