September 15, 2008

David Foster Wallace, dead at 46. The guy who wrote the doorstop Infinite Jest.
posted by Capt. Renault 15 years ago
  • I can't say much for Infinite Jest, considering that I never read that behemoth. Nonetheless, another great loss... Capt, you've had a thing for writers taking guns to themselves lately, no? *gently pulls the Nerf gun away*
  • Wow. I never read Infinite Jest, but reading the obits I found out he wrote A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (the title essay, not the whole collection), which I absolutely loved. It was hilarious.
  • Read bits and snatches of his work, just enough to be able to say that it's a loss to the world as well as to those who loved him. .
  • . mrs roryk recommends Infinite Jest very very highly.
  • this news really hit me hard yesterday. I started re-reading IJ. it's really really fantastic. mrs roryk is right. sigh :(
  • Suppose I'll have a crack at Infinte Jest. I read Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, and recall laughing on many occasions at how this author had managed to physically distract my attention while reading his own book (i.e., all of the footnotes!). Not only that, but it forever changed the way that I perceive public restrooms.
  • I know I read something by him, but I can't for the life of me recall what it was, now. I'm pretty sure it was a collection of stories. But that's beside the point, I suppose. Always sad to hear that a creative person, esp. one whose work has enjoyed a certain level of success, is still so desperately unhappy as to take these extreme measures. Though of course there is a school of thought that sees a correlation between the two. .
  • Infinite Jest... I have never been so sad to finish a book I hated so much. I struggled through the first SEVERAL HUNDRED pages, and breezed through the last SEVERAL HUNDRED pages. And "Girl With the Curious Hair" proved to me that he could write short form as well. Truly will be missed. .