Well, duh (1996)
lrb.co.uk
Well, duh (1996)
1–10 of 86 posts
Re: Well, duh (1996)
#2I had a ton of fun reading Infinite Jest, it took me two months of reading daily but after a while I couldn't wait to get home from work to read it (I didn't have a kid yet mind you). There are many things about it that are dissatisfying, frustrating even maddening. But there are so many points of brilliance it makes the whole thing worth it. The ambitiousness, audacity and shortcomings are part of it. I felt similarly about Pale King, DFW's posthumously published unfinished novel. Was it a great book? No. But there is about a 50 page section in the middle that makes the whole damn thing worth it.
Re: Well, duh (1996)
#3Seems the author is oftentimes taking whats meant to be a purposefully sardonic reflection of American culture to be an actual direct attempt at humor by DFW.
A good example of this is his point that the "level of humor" in the book is low because of a reference to "butt products". The joke isn't, "butts, haha", the joke is the satire that yea, that would be true... I mean, have you seen Instagram? Or SuperBowl ads?
Re: Well, duh (1996)
#4This is such an oversimplification of the book but I guess critics have to criticize. I imagine that DFW would probably say the book failed the author of this piece if this was his takeaway.
Re: Well, duh (1996)
#5"Gore Vidal, who’s had his dick sucked more than a few times and been taken to task for it, has written far more persuasively that the novel as an art-form has become a cultural irrelevance, but you don’t hear him whingeing about ‘artistic invalidation’."
It's not too often that I see words like 'tentacular' and 'bathos' in the same article as phrases about metaphorical dick-sucking (see above).
More seriously, I've been getting more into literature and literary critique recently, and am a bit surprised about how personally affronted he seems by the book - is this sort of reaction common in literary criticism?
Re: Well, duh (1996)
#6"Gore Vidal, who’s had his dick sucked more than a few times and been taken to task for it, has written far more persuasively that the novel as an art-form has become a cultural irrelevance, but you don’t hear him whingeing about ‘artistic invalidation’." It's not too often that I see words like 'tentacular' and 'bathos' in the same article as phrases about metaphorical dick-sucking (see above). More seriously, I've…
The problem with any big book is that, at the end, the author has you over a barrel: either you loved it and the author is a genius, or you hated it and you are a sucker. Lots of people claim to love long, ponderous books just to avoid being the sucker or for fear of appearing unsophisticated.
I prefer great authors who were serialized, e.g. dostoevsky. The works are brilliant, but the individual chapters read well, so you rarely feel like you have to just slog through the damned thing.
Re: Well, duh (1996)
#7Well that's just like your opinion man. Infinite Jest is a masterpiece imo.
My favorite book of all time and oddly prescient in many ways.
For instance, I'm aware of at least one startup developing the vid-chat masks Wallace wrote up with a straight face. See also snapchat filters.
Re: Well, duh (1996)
#8I am sympathetic to that review, as I didn't manage to finish the damn book.
Re: Well, duh (1996)
#9The erudite of the LRB might never understand the simple and unexaggerated beauty of Mark Twain nor David Foster Wallace. Perhaps the only thing less appealing than a dissenting opinion is an op-ed to ride the coattails of success and make a name for oneself through dissension. Yeah Shakespeare sucks too, here's my card.
Re: Well, duh (1996)
#10I will agree with the writers sentiment about Infinite Jest. I read about 1/3 before deciding I could not make it the whole way through. I think a good chunk of the reasons for the books popularity is the persona of DFW. His personality, physical looks, melancholic and thoughtful disposition make a him a quintessential writer. He looks the part very well, and produces this obscure monstrosity called Infinite Jest. My impression is that tons of people who read the book are never quite sure if its pure genius or complete non sense. His persona tips them over the edge.