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/lit/ - Literature

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6103996 No.6103996 [Reply] [Original]

I heard you guys like Dave Wallace's stuff. What's your favorite of his?

>> No.6104002

The one where he struggles to say anything meaningful.

>> No.6104008

All of his stuff ranges from repugnant to stupid.

His essays are particularly bad.

>> No.6104063

I disagree. Some essays from Consider the lobster are great, as most of the pieces from Brief interviews with hideous men. Infinite Jest was almost unbearable, tho. Read 30 pages, then quit.

>> No.6104090

>>6104063
>Some essays from Consider the lobster are great

Name one. I'll tell you precisely why it's not.

>> No.6104118

>>6104090
Big red son. It was funny, and seriously, that's all it needed. Then, American Usage was interesting even for a non-Native English speaker. Tell me.

>> No.6104163
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6104163

MY FAVOURITE "WORK" BY DAVID FOSTER WALLACE IS "OBLIVION", MY LEAST FAVOURITE "WORK" BY HIM IS "A SUPPOSEDLY INTERESTING BOOK I WILL NEVER READ AGAIN".

>> No.6104169

>>6104118
>Big red son. It was funny, and seriously, that's all it needed.

A white, suburbanite dork twittering because he saw some pussies isn't funny, son. It's sad.

>American Usage was interesting even for a non-Native English speaker

That's about all it would be interesting to, a non-native speaker. It's not new material for anyone in the USA and scarcely needed to be written.

Tell me, have you read other essays? Because it seems like DFW is your first and only experience with the form.

>> No.6104171

>>6103996
Gravitys Shrugged is quite good
really captures the post modern dilemma of suicide

>> No.6104172

>>6104163
None of his work is supposedly interesting.

>> No.6104193

>>6104169
I've read most of Borges' essays in Spanish, my language, some of Orwell, and I guess that's it. Of course I prefer Borges over him, for example, but if you measure everything against Borges, you're not going to enjoy anything, son. His essays are like something written by a somewhat intelligent and pretentious kid, and hence have this ability to be innocently funny, and, yes, sometimes a bit insightful. Why does it matter that he's white and/or suburban? Are you one of those people who are so immersed in Tumblr that everything to them is about gender/class politics?
I'll give you an example: in Big red son there's a footnote in which he explains some of the "terminology" that is used in the porn industry and then proposes as an exercise to construct a sentence using all of them. Excuse me, the juxtaposition of a children's grammar manual and porn jargon is some valid humor. Son.

>> No.6104227

>>6104063
Yeah I remember getting to the point where Hal's marijuana habits were described and wondering if it was actually going to be terrible but I'm on like page 160 now and I really like it. I laughed pretty hard at the joke with the tranny stealing a womans robot heart-purse, and his in-book essay about video phones wasn't too awful far off the mark of the reality of modern communication, just we've simplified it even more than he forsaw with the text message. Time to eat and reas some more.

Also I don't understand people who say this book was influenced by Delillo but not Pynchon, he has 7 page paragraphs, occaisionally parenthesized funny names, shit and masturbation discussion, long-form jokes... I dunno.

>> No.6104236

>>6103996
Big Joke's a good one

>> No.6104300
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6104300

The Pale King.

>> No.6104302

>>6104193
Not taht guy but I can't believe you know spanish and waste your time with DFW...kinda like having access to a world class meal but buying KFC instead

>> No.6104303

>>6104300
>Current age printed on book

Why

>> No.6104307

>>6104302
i was thinking this too

>> No.6104329

I for one appreciate the dank memes he left us after he hemmingway'd

>> No.6104336

>>6104302
I decided to use this semester to read /lit/'s recommendations. I've read V., Brief interviews, Crying of Lot 49 and I just started Mason & Dixon. I have some Vargas Llosa, a Spanish translation of Gargantua et Pantagruel and Don Quijote coming up. I'm very excited to start those, even though I'm enjoying M&D a lot more than any of the ones I just mentioned.

>> No.6104347
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6104347

>>6104193
>Son
REKCT

>> No.6104408

>>6104303
He and his publishers spent a very long time crafting his public image into the young and brilliant literary prodigy

>> No.6104427

>>6104408
It's cute that you guys all autistically hate him now and everything but for real he's a decent writer. I really like his selection of words, for like every sentence. It's too bad he didn't finish another pomo doorstopper before literally kicking the bucket, soon I'll have to resort to McElroy.

>> No.6104444

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXvAd7COpJY

>> No.6104453
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6104453

>>6104444
Those were supposed to mine.

>> No.6104458

>>6104427
>he's a degcent writer BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE IT

Try again. This time, give us a reason we'd actually care about and consider.

>I really like it :3
has nothing to do with us.

>> No.6104465

>>6104193
>Are you one of those people who are so immersed in Tumblr that everything to them is about gender/class politics?
are you a retard or did you forget he is basically a tumblrtard himself. look at his second published book dumbass

>> No.6104472

>>6104458
>Objectively prove to me why my subjective opinion about an accomplished literary author is wrong
Okay well you keep being a bitter dumb faggot, DFW will keep selling more books from beyond the grave, and I'll keep enjoying huge post modern books with jokes and muh prose. I do sincerely hope you at least (rightfully) dirext some scorn at Vonnegut, that faggot hack.

>> No.6104487

>>6104472
Vonnegut's trash, but even he will sell more books longer into the future than DFW.

The fact that you can't even try to come up with reasons why someone should read DFW is telling.

Your tastes will change and in 5 years you'll pick up DFW again and go "the fuck was I thinking".

>> No.6104508

>>6104487
>The fact that you won't waste your time placating my obvious autism is whatever I'm not even looking down to quote it accurately

Lol. I like the patronizing thing you're doing where you don't realize that you're either A. too old to be using 4chan and feeling better than anybody or B. Some early 20's contrarian who believes your opinions are facts. I work with a 42 year old lit major who loves DFW. Are you the dumbass who was sperging out about his essays and "name one"?
>I hate him SO MUCH that I've read EVERYTHING he's ever read! Prove to me you like him now anon!

Top kek

>> No.6104522

>>6104508
>I work with a 42 year old lit major who loves DFW.

I work with a 42 year old who wears a diaper. And? You just say dumb things that don't matter. It's weird.

>> No.6104529

>>6104522
No you don't. You specifically attempted to condescend and imply you're much more mature and older people would find DFW silly and now you're mad that you realize the planet may be a bit larger than your hot and specifically inflammatory opinions on an asian epic meme thing.

>> No.6104531
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6104531

>>6104529
>>6104522
Relax guys

>> No.6104533

>>6104529
I'm not sure where you got the impression that I revere or even respect old people. Among the misguided idiots that populate the world, most of them are old (baby boomers in particular).

I'm saying you especially will revisit this crap in 5-10 years and see I was right all along.

>> No.6104537

>>6104522
>>6104529
>>6104533
stop fighting guys

wardine be cry

>> No.6104541

>>6104169
nice hot opinions man.

I happened to find every essay in that collection ranging from very-entertaining to genius. I thought you said you would *prove* why they weren't good, not just list some shitty warrant-less opinions.

>> No.6104543

>>6104533
You just say dumb things that don't matter. It's wierd. I'm sorry you're so butthurt over people liking stuff, but you should divert it to something more healthy. You could shit on genre fiction, for instance. They'll keep replying like me but they break immediately so you won't have to keep reformulating your attack.

>> No.6104552

>>6104541
>I happened to find every essay in that collection ranging from very-entertaining to genius.

Speaking of shitty warrant-less opinions. Snicker.

>>6104543
See you in 5 years, babe.

>> No.6104558

This thread proves Americans don't have the attention span to appreciate DFW. Infinite Jest is best read in the 2010s outside America.

>> No.6104560

>>6104552
I don't know who you believe you're impressing by implying you're actually older than "us" and still using this website and being a useless dickhead shitting on everything. You haven't even said anything, really, except >liking DFW. I wouldn't be surprised if your sole experience with him is 4chan and google. Enjoy dying alone man, I'm gonna go read.

>> No.6104562

>>6103996
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Literally laugh-out-loud hilarious on a regular basis

>> No.6104563
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6104563

>>6104552
well I didn't preface my opinions with a statement like
>Name one. I'll tell you precisely why it's not.
which seems to be the difference between me and you. I'm not enough of a narcissistic splerglord to pretend like my opinions are objective fact.

>> No.6104566

>>6104558
It's not even 2 on the east coast and this is a website for maladjusted people. There are plenty of Americans awake, I am one and like DFW.

>> No.6104567

>>6104560
I'm not older, just more mentally advanced. There's a huge difference.

Later, babes.

>> No.6104575

>>6104567
I'm embarrassed for you.

>inb4 hurr durr I was just pretending to be stupid

>> No.6104576

>>6104567
I'm not even a part of this, but you reek of douche. It... hurts to read.

>> No.6104592

>>6104575
>>6104576
The lion will always have hyenas snapping at his heels.

I don't care about people the opinions of people dumb enough to think DFW is good.

>> No.6104594
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6104594

>>6104592
>damage control using meaningless aphorisms
k bruh. I'll notice you next time you act like a fucking idiot on /lit/. bye

>> No.6104600

>>6104594
>damage control
>I'll notice you next time

Haha, who cares.

>> No.6104601

>>6104592
>dumb enough to think DFW is good.

I haven't voiced an opinion either way about him. I'm just personally attacking you for being such an insufferable cunt.

>> No.6104607

how much do you guys want to bet that the guy ineptly shitting all over DFW in this thread is the same guy calling Faulkner a "southern Bukowski" in the thread about how much he hates Faulkner

>> No.6104608

>>6104592
Did David shit on your keyboard or something? Or are you mad that he can write about he likes and get published while you can't?

>> No.6104610

>>6104592
I feel like this guy is writing his own brief interview with a hideous man, quite funny to read this holier-than-thou sperglord

>> No.6104753

okay so let's try to actually discuss something about one of his books rights quick before we go back to memes and fighting.

In IJ, when the essays Hal writes all have these like paragraph long tongue-in-cheek titles, is this a reference to Jonathan Swift, or is this some archaic formality I'm mostly unfamiliar with?

>> No.6104778
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6104778

>>6104753
>being confused by dfw

it's like you gotta be new to reading to be impressed by him

>> No.6104849

>>6104778
I don't read essays man and I already presumed it was probably more than Swift just tell me what it's called. I presume Swift was at least also lampooning the practice, as DFWs titles far more resemble

>An Argument to Prove that the Abolishing of Christianity in England May, as Things Now Stand Today, be Attended with Some Inconveniences, and Perhaps not Produce Those Many Good Effects Proposed Thereby

Than what you've posted

>> No.6104861

>>6104592
>>6104592

> babe
> weird "business motivation" metaphor
> appeal to age??

damn.

>> No.6105589

I like his interviews. The ones you can watch all his weird mannerisms and how he always says something simple but is constantly terrified the journalist won't understand it. It's kinda watching that obsessed Bjork's fan. It's relaxing to know there are strange people you can watch from afar. Even after they're dead.

His books don't appeal to me at all though.

>> No.6105777

>>6104558
American here. IJ is incredible.

>> No.6106134

>>6104063
>reads 30 pages of 1100 page book
>holy shit so bad.
Good job establishing an ethos.

>> No.6106295

>>6104063
>finishes 2% of the book
>thinks he has the right to accurately critique infinite jest
Fucking kek

>> No.6108462

>>6103996
I thought A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again was pretty good. Only thing by him I've read though.