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Being a bad friend to David Foster Wallace

the-tls.co.uk

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Re: Being a bad friend to David Foster Wallace

#31

Post by thatcat »

rrdharan wrote: post #21
everybodyknows wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not abashed myself to admit giving up on Jest around the 1/3 point, and Eden at 1/4. Hemingway's strengths are high rhetoric, and European politics of the 30's. Wallace: deep journalism in essay form.

I gave up on it at around the 1/3 point for 10+ years. Trying to read the paperback was a frustrating exercise when I was too OCD to ever skip a footnote. I went back to it on my Kindle and finally finished it a few years ago and am very glad I did, I really enjoyed it.

That experience is purposeful, it creates a break between the narrative and meta-narrative voices. I didn't think it was too awful with 2 bookmarks - kinda reminded me of doing math hw, some of the one word ones like Sic., etc. did get tiresome though.

Re: Being a bad friend to David Foster Wallace

#32

Post by dang »

vaer-k wrote: post #27
dang wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't respond with another swipe. That just makes this place worse. Your comment would be fine without the last sentence.

I commented to complain about his swipe; you commented to complain about mine. I'm not sure where we're going here.

I'm a moderator here; sorry that wasn't clear. It's true that moderation comments are off topic, but we don't know a better way to manage this site.

In case you're not aware, the site guidelines underlying HN moderation are at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. It's good to review them periodically.

Re: Being a bad friend to David Foster Wallace

#33

Post by FooHentai »

6stringmerc wrote: post #26

Wallace's writing never resonated with me, which is strange based on my longtime interest in Hunter S. Thompson. In many ways there are parallels in their respective fame / accolades / audiences and yet, to me, Wallace seemed inexcusably contrived compared to Thompson's seeming dismissal of convention was out of necessity (at least initially - it did become an act of sorts later). I did find one part of this article…

May you live in interesting times

May you find what you are looking for

May you come to the attention of somebody important

AKA the three curses.

Re: Being a bad friend to David Foster Wallace

#34

Post by leetcrew »

everybodyknows wrote: post #19
sharkweek wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my favorite DFW observations was about how on his press tour following the release of Infinite Jest, he was doing readings two or so weeks after it had released. People were coming up to him and praising him, wanting a piece of him. He commented to.... Maybe David Lipsky I think? that it would have been nearly impossible for these fans to have read the book in its entirety, and that it made him super self-cons…

Not abashed myself to admit giving up on Jest around the 1/3 point, and Eden at 1/4. Hemingway's strengths are high rhetoric, and European politics of the 30's. Wallace: deep journalism in essay form.

i read all of east of eden, but i didn't find it to be as great as advertised. maybe i would have appreciated it more if i had been raised christian (or jewish).

Re: Being a bad friend to David Foster Wallace

#35

Post by acct1771 »

mwwilson wrote: post #29
vaer-k wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I commented to complain about his swipe; you commented to complain about mine. I'm not sure where we're going here.

dang is one of the mods. This comment is the equivalent of telling the cop who pulled you over for speeding that if you were speeding then he must have been too when he pulled you over.

Technically true. They do worse than that, in some cases.

Re: Being a bad friend to David Foster Wallace

#36

Post by vaer-k »

mwwilson wrote: post #29
vaer-k wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I commented to complain about his swipe; you commented to complain about mine. I'm not sure where we're going here.

dang is one of the mods. This comment is the equivalent of telling the cop who pulled you over for speeding that if you were speeding then he must have been too when he pulled you over.

Not so. It would be the equivalent of a cop pulling you over in an unmarked vehicle and without identifying himself as a police officer.

Re: Being a bad friend to David Foster Wallace

#37

Post by vaer-k »

dang wrote: post #32
vaer-k wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I commented to complain about his swipe; you commented to complain about mine. I'm not sure where we're going here.

I'm a moderator here; sorry that wasn't clear. It's true that moderation comments are off topic, but we don't know a better way to manage this site. In case you're not aware, the site guidelines underlying HN moderation are at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html . It's good to review them periodically.

You should identify yourself if you're going to act in the role of a moderator. I think my comment still stands tho: why do you choose to moderate my comment with a swipe but not the original parent comment?
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