The popular view of Wallace was of a coolly cerebral writer who feared fiction’s emotional connection. But that’s not what he was afraid of. His stories have it the other way around: they are terrified of the possibility of no emotional connection. This is what his men truly have in common, far more than misogyny: they know the words for everything and the meaning of nothing.
This is spot on. Many men I know, especially if they live alone, are emotionally isolated. They give opinions, but never say how they feel about anything. They struggle to connect, which only isolates them further. It's a lonely road.
