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/lit/ - Literature

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10108527 No.10108527 [Reply] [Original]

Wanna pick this up. I've been listening to his interviews and he seems like a good dude. But is this book worth it?

>> No.10108531

>>10108527
Start with something more accessible, like BIWHM

>> No.10108550

Start with Consider the Lobster and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

>> No.10108569

A better intro to DFW would be A Supposedly Fun Thing

>> No.10108578

>>10108527
Worth it in the sense of money or the investment of your time?

It's interesting enough to be worth both.

>> No.10108594

Yeah it is really good, I think. If you like DFW as a person then you will probably like his writing. IJ needs no primer.

>> No.10108605

>>10108527
>OP can't pick up a book
Lel do u even lift?

>> No.10108713

DFW is not a good writer. It's just a meme.

the only people who truly enjoy him are autismos who are also destined for suicide.

>> No.10108723

>>10108527
If you haven't read anything from the likes of Pynchon or DeLillo, then yes. I loved it, but now in retrospective it's obvious that's kind of shit. It still holds an special place in my heart, though.

>> No.10108735

He's a much better talker (in terms of content vs. delivery) than he is a writer. The book is meh at best; it only really speaks to a select group. Read his essays/shorter work first, and then commit to IJ if you can actually stand his writing style.

>> No.10108880

Some of his best work is in that book and it's beautiful. There's also a lot of autistic droning that's incredibly frustrating to get through. If you can visualize what he's saying you'll get a lot out of it.

>> No.10108889

>>10108723
>in retrospective
get outta here u goose

>> No.10109081

>>10108527
Do you give up reading easily? No. Do you like reading a gigantic book and falling in love with its characters and zany worldbuilding? Then, yes.

>> No.10109368

desu I enjoyed a lot of parts up to page ~400 but it felt like there was some unnecessary babble (however I haven't finished it yet, on page 780/980 so that may turn out to be a lie), but after page 500, it REALLY gets going and it gets pretty great, I'm enjoyed the second half 5x more than the first.

>>10108594
I agree, it needs no primer, although some classic modernism would be nice. Just watch some of his interviews and you are set,

>> No.10109382

I think the whole book is really great, but the ending is a hell of a payoff. Gately's Bottom seems almost as good as Molly's Soliloquy to me.

>> No.10110724

The book's worth it, especially if you enjoy DFW as a person. You can pretty much just pick it up and dive in too since I don't think there is any need to read his other work before going to IJ. IJ was my first real postmodern novel and looking back I think it was a great intro to longer and more experimental fiction.

>> No.10110729

>>10108713
This, but unironically.

>> No.10110744

>>10108735
Agree with anon here. Tbh, the 'best' dfw experience comes from the essays and interviews. His fiction is formally innovative but in the end empty and unredeeming. Just listen/read his observations and critiques on society, and you'll have gotten the most out of Dave.
Listen to http://www.dfwaudioproject.org/

>> No.10110782

The guy was the GOAT expressing himself orally but in writen word not so much aside from a few sparks. Read his shorter stuff first before and then decide.