Understanding David Foster Wallace (Understanding Contemporary American Literature) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Matthew Joseph Bruccoli (Editor) "Born February 21, 1962, two years after the publication of John Barth's The Sot-Weed Factor, David Foster Wallace came into the world at more or..." (more)
Key Phrases: expressionless animals, finite jest, postmodern metafiction, Curious Hair, John Barth, Brief Interviews (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A valuable introduction to Wallace and his first four books. Boswell provides enlightening interpretations of much of the fiction, especially in his use of Wittgenstein in reading The Broom of the System and Lacan and Kierkegaard in reading Infinite Jest.”—Review of Contemporary Fiction --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

In Understanding David Foster Wallace, Marshall Boswell examines the four major works of fiction Wallace has published thus far: the novels The Broom of the System and Infinite Jest and the story collections Girl with Curious Hair and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. In his readings of these works, Boswell affirms that Wallace, though still young, compels our attention not only for the singular excellence of his work but, perhaps more important, for his groundbreaking effort to chart a fruitful and affirmative new direction for the literary novel at a time of bleak prospects.

In addition to providing self-contained readings of each text, Boswell places Wallace within a trajectory of literary innovation that begins with James Joyce and continues through Wallace's most important postmodern forebears, John Barth and Thomas Pynchon. Although Wallace is sometimes labeled a postmodern writer, Boswell argues that he should be regarded as the nervous leader of some still unnamed--and perhaps unnameable--third wave of modernism. Boswell contends that in charting an innovative course for literary practice, Wallace does not seek merely to overturn postmodernism, nor simply to return to modernism. Instead he moves resolutely forward as his writing hoists the baggage of modernism and postmodernism heavily, but respectfully, on its back.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570035172
• ISBN-13: 978-1570035173
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,096,262 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Price, January 4, 2004

By	Steven Moore (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Though priced for flush university libraries rather than for skint individuals, this is an intelligent critique of DFW's work to date. Following an introduction, there are separate chapters on each of the 4 fiction books (the essays are discussed only in passing), illuminating the philosophical and aesthetic concerns of each book in a clear style with minimal academic jargon. Even longtime Wallace fans will find the book enlightening, and first-time readers couldn't hope for a better introduction to one of the most important American writers of our time. Highly recommended.