David Foster Wallace discussion
What to read after Infinite Jest?
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You MUST read everything else by DFW :)
Sara wrote: "Hello everyone! I joined the group because I need the help of fellow DFW fans. I read Infinite Jest a few months ago and loved it. Now I want more!
What do you think I should read next?
Short st...or non-fiction? I was thinking about "A Supposedly Fun Thing..."
It is hard to go wrong, really, but reading "A Supposedly Fun Thing" next would be an excellent choice. I actually prefer DFW's essays to his short stories (don't stone me, folks!).
"Consider the Lobster" is also a terrific collection--I especially loved his essay on the American Heritage Dictionary, and how the fights about it exposed "the seamy underbelly" of US lexicography.
@Riclaz that's what I intend to do! ;)@Claudia Thanks! :) I think I'll definitely go with "A Supposedly..." .
I read Girl with Curious Hair next and I would suggest that if you wanted to read more of his fiction. Broom of the System would also be a good book to read next. Maybe leave Brief Interviews and Pale King till later.
@Joel thanks! Yeah, I'll leave Pale King for later, definitely. I think "Girl with Curious Hair" will be next in line, behind "A Supposedly..." :)
For essays I'd suggest reading "A Supposedly Fun Thing..." then "Both Flesh and Not" then "Consider the Lobster" in that order.But this topic had me thinking - what do you read next if you've read Infinite Jest and everything else (some more than once) by DFW? I connected to Infinite Jest so deeply that everything I've read since then - two years now - is compared either fairly or not to that book. And everything feels trivial comparatively. I can't be the only person who feels like that! What books do by other authors do you read next?
Have you tried Donna Tartt? Particularly "The Secret History"? It's very different from "IJ" (though it also deals with loneliness) but I personally think it's nearly as good. You may also want to read DFW's favorite books, too (if you haven't already).
And if you love footnotes, "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" is perfect.
Eventually, you should read Infinite Jest again. You will glean so much more on a second (or third or fourth or fifth) reading
I'd add Don DeLillo's novels to the list of where to go next. Not exactly the same style (perhaps that should go without saying), but I get some of the same feel (texture? something!) from his work. Especially, so far, White Noise and Underworld.
I think a fantastic (and definitely Wallace influenced) larger novel is Adam Levin's THE INSTRUCTIONS. Levin went to Syracuse and worked with George Saunders too, so it's got all the right influences (and is incredibly well written)!!
Where is a list of DFW favorite books?
Virginia, here it is: http://flavorwire.com/326276/david-fo... Not exactly his favorite books, though.
I read Leonard Michaels' "I Would Have Saved Them If I Could," a collection of short stories that is an excellent introduction to this under-appreciated, now-deceased writer. Let us know what you think!
Either of his non-fiction collections (A Supposedly Fun Thing or Consider the Lobster) are very accessible and worth reading. I've heard that Both Flesh & Not (which is posthumously-published collection of various non-fiction) is a bit patchy, probably for completists.I'd go with either Brief Interviews With Hideous Men or Oblivion for your next shot at his fiction (though the first story in Oblivion is quite long and heavy going). I personally found Girl With Curious Hair quite difficult, though it's got some good stories in it. Broom of the System I guess you could read whenever, but just be aware that it's his first published work and not quite up to his usual standards.
The Pale King I would leave for last - I've not read it yet but I'm basing this purely on the fact that it's an unfinished novel and probably more interesting for DFW die-hard fans.
I'd agree with Pale King as last, mostly to follow his philosophical evolution.
Aside from being considered postmodern authors whose books don't easily give up their meanings, Wallace and Pynchon are very different writers.
I agree with Pynchon as well--I "discovered" Wallace while reading about Pynchon. If you agree with this post , then perhaps Crying of Lot 49 is the first thing to read.
I loved Crying of Lot 49, and I was also a big fan of Bleeding Edge, his newest.
Filipe wrote: "ehhh how come nobody thought of pynchon? Because I don't much like Pynchon. I've read both *Crying of Lot 49* and *Gravity's Rainbow,* and I didn't like either. Well, okay, there's one hilarious scene in *Rainbow* that I loved (description of bizarre and horrible British candy) but that was pretty much it.
Hard to say infinite jest doesn't come from the same place that gravity's rainbow"
Nope, I find it pretty easy to say.
The Disgusting British Candy Drill is the most entertaining bit of Gravity's Rainbow, that's true. The rest of it I didn't much like - I don't like his obsession with slapstick and limericks, and the scatological stuff I also found hard to take.I can see Pynchon's influence on DFW, but I think once you get past the surface similarities, they're actually quite different. DFW is a lot more accessible, and he does at least occasionally make it rather clear what point he's trying to make (especially in the parts of IJ where he writes about depression), while Pynchon is always somewhat obtuse.
Bill wrote: "for post-wallace reads that haven't been suggested, I'd offer a few that are kind of in psychic sympathy if not 'a lot like Wallace,' which I think is a losing proposition for readling pleasure......."I totally agree with Egan and Murakami (haven't read the others, but will check them out). I like your "psychic sympathy" phrase. Perhaps that's what Wallace and Pynchon don't have in common.
Pynchon and DFW will always be compared to one another in the postmodern realm (which Wallace once defined as "after-modern"), but I agree, the similarities are only surface level. The humor of both are very different (only few instances of Pynchon's slap-stickness in IJ), and other than disjointed narratives and metafictional playfulness at times, they are world's apart. More pathos is prevalent in DFW's writing in my opinion that's mostly missing from Pynchon. Wallace attributes his writing more to Delillo and William Gaddis, whose novel JR is another comic behemoth that's well worth a read! I'm currently listening to the audiobook of Infinite Jest, which is brilliantly narrated, from Audible. It's 56 hours long, but it's so well performed that it never drags at any moment in the book. Definitely worth a try for anyone attempting a second read.
Sara wrote: "Hello everyone! I joined the group because I need the help of fellow DFW fans. I read Infinite Jest a few months ago and loved it. Now I want more!
What do you think I should read next?
Short st..."
"Good Old Neon" is my favorite! ----> http://kalamazoo.coop/sites/default/f...
I joined the group because I need the help of fellow DFW fans. I read Infinite Jest a few months ago and loved it. Now I want more!
What do you think I should read next?
Short stories or non-fiction? I was thinking about "A Supposedly Fun Thing..." but I'm not sure.
Thanks in advance :)