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/lit/ - Literature

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1812363 No.1812363 [Reply] [Original]

DFW seems to be a quite popular fellow on this board. Needless to say, from the youtube interviews I've seen of him, I gather that had a unique and beautiful mind.
So, where do you recommend I'd start?
I should also mention that none if his books have been translated into my native language, how will reading them in english affect the reading experience, depending on which piece I chose to start with?

>> No.1812366

>>1812363

He look like Bam Margera in that pic

>> No.1812378
File: 71 KB, 401x229, DavidFosterWallace.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1812378

bump

>> No.1812396

>>1812363

He is a heavy read, even to English native speakers. His vocabulary is full of unusual -- sometimes even made up -- words, his grammar is... creative, and to top all this, the content itself is often opaque. It's not Pynchon, by any means. DFW has heart. Just know that if you're finding what you're reading very difficult, there's nothing wrong with your language proficience, it's DFW. Grit your teeth together, don't fret about reading it with a search engine by your side.

When that is said, I would not jump straight into Infinite Jest. It's long, and if you're not used to DFW, you might lose faith in him long before you finish. With that I suggest to start with one of his short story or essay collections. Namely "Oblivion" or "Girl with Curious Hair", or "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" or "Consider the Lobster". "Brief Interviews with Ugly Men" probably works too.

Good luck~!

>> No.1812407

I would highly recommend you read him in English regardless. His take on the language is fascinating. It will be difficult though.

>> No.1812417

>>1812396

Alright, thanks a lot.
What about his first novel: The Broom of the System, how does it compare to his later works?

>> No.1812430

>>1812417

He was not satisfied with it himself, and despite it not being as long as Infinite Jest, it's still pretty long, especially considering it's Wallace. You could try, but you might lose faith, and rhus miss up on a great writer. Many DFW fans don't even really like it that much.

You could try though~!

>> No.1812445

Speaking of DFW, wasn't there a book-reading club devoted to read Infinite Jest over the summer?
Does it have a forum of its own or something?

>> No.1812481

>>1812445
http://infinitesummer.org/

>> No.1812482

>>1812481

http://litinfinitejest.org/forums/

>> No.1812519

It's hard. I've read it in English and sometimes I gotta read two or three times to understand.
But one book of him have been translated into Portuguese and so will his non-fiction essays and Infinite Jest and The Pale King.
Oh, yeah. I'm happy.

>> No.1812528

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men is a really good place to start. It gets you used to his style, but the stories are short enough to keep your attention if you're new to his stuff.

>> No.1812533

IJ is his best by a large margin, but it can be daunting even to a native speaker. BotS is essentially a screwball comedy. It's worth reading for any Wallace fan, certain characters sort of make appearances in both. The tone of some scenes are nearly identical. IJ is a very serious and dark novel. I'd actually recommend the Pale King for somebody looking to get introduced to DFW. It's the most accessible and most mature work he did and at points has some of his best writing.

>> No.1813367

bump

>> No.1813385

Did you register on the Infinite Jest forums?

>> No.1813409

i don't get why he wears the bandana

>> No.1813413

>>1813409
2deep4u

>> No.1813885

Infinite Jest is awful. DFW can't think, he can't write.

>> No.1814364
File: 33 KB, 598x448, 1263129916938.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1814364

>>1813885

>> No.1814378

>>1813885
I agree. He has no discernible talent.

>> No.1814384

He always wore a bandana because he sweated a lot.

>> No.1814391
File: 22 KB, 501x335, 1270554416566.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1814391

>>1814384

Awesome, I didn't know that

>> No.1814622

DFW is a hack. Don't give me this, "he's Pynchon but with a heart" bullshit. You're gonna make a career out of being a sentimental Pynchon? That's sad. He reads like a try-hard grad student. And if you read any of his interviews he basically has 0 self-esteem and thinks his books suck.

>> No.1814637

>>1814622
>And if you read any of his interviews he basically has 0 self-esteem and thinks his books suck.

I genuinely don't understand why you think that should matter.

>> No.1814639

>>1814622
2/10, I only raged a little because I just finished Broom of the System (which, by the way, OP, I thoroughly enjoyed)

>> No.1814658

>>1814637
Because anxiety of influence, which ended up killing him. Only kids on /lit/ think he's good and Dave Eggers and Franzen.
>>1814622
He hated Broom of the System.

>> No.1814665

>>1814658
>>1814658
I know a huge amount of people who think those writers are exceptional (and I'd agree). I actually met Eggers recently. Incredibly inspiring and intelligent man.

>> No.1814666

http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2004/08/consider_the_lobster

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html

>> No.1814668

>>1814666
Too bad he's only good when writing short essays and not sprawling Pynchon rip-offs.

>> No.1814669

>>1814658
>anxiety of influence

9/10

>> No.1814673

>>1814658

>Because anxiety of influence, which ended up killing him.

Jesus christ, what wrong with you people that you want to use his death as some kind of argument for your dislike of his work? Fucking asshole.

>> No.1814674

>>1814673
I read Infinite Jest. It sucked. I tried to do some further reading about the man and all I got was "I suck really bad I'm gonna kill myself baww."

I hated it even more.

>> No.1814676

>>1814668
>short essays
>"Authority and American Usage" is 65 pages

Also, why is this a too bad? He's a very, very good essayist. What's the matter, you don't like having to think about real things?

>> No.1814677

>>1814674
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder

>> No.1814680

>>1814676
It's too bad that he's an awful fiction writer because I felt like he had potential in the pseudo-intellectual fiction genre.