David Foster Wallace dead at 46

[Dr. Drib]

If you love postmodern literature, as I do, then you recognize the name David Foster Wallace.

His most important work was a huge novel, a smorgasbord of language and satire called Infinite Just. It is witty, funny, difficult, full of life.

He committed suicide Sept. 12, but I am only now learning about it. (In Peru, it's hard to keep up with the literature of my country.) Apparently (according to the news reports), he suffered from depression.

I was so taken by his work that I almost taught Infinite Jest at Miami University. My plan was to make this the only book they would read. However, upon careful consideration, I'm glad I didn't teach it to those first-year students, as this is a difficult and LONG novel, one not well-suited to the attention span of the average 18/19 year old student.

I remember the first time I hefted the tome that is Infinite Jest and then started to read it. I immediately fell in love with the language. For me, it was a book that arrived at the right time in my life, as did Johnny Got His Gun (Dalton Trumbo), Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 (Steven Millhauser), Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) Executioner's Song (Norman Mailer), and The Rosy Crucifixion Trilogy (Henry Miller).

I am saddened by the death of David Foster Wallace and will miss the genius evident in his best work.


Don

[montsnmags]

I caught this on the io9 blog a few day's a go. I can't remember if they were referring to his suicide, or referring to the size of the novel, Infinite Jest, or perhaps both in the same blogpost, but both bits of information piqued my curiosity, and put the novel on my radar. I suspect I was mostly drawn to the suicide, as I concede that there is a probably unhealthy...I don't want to say "attraction"...perhaps "interest", in those of a literary bent who commit to suicide. It is deeply saddening, deeply disturbing, and deeply fear-inducing to me, to know that the "black dog" can drive such thoughts before it.

Dr. Drib, if you've time...why should I read Infinite Jest? (note, it is not likely you'll have to be too elaborate or convincing, as I'm halfway there).

Cheers,
Marc

[hidari]

Inifinte Jest IS WAY TOO LONG> IT does have interesting parts.. but it gets bogged down in several areas. YES Wallace was interesting... but a bit a Legend in his own lunchtime. Yes, he killed himself.. there are many a good writer out there.

C. M. Coetze for example....................

Originally Posted by montsnmags

I caught this on the io9 blog a few day's a go. I can't remember if they were referring to his suicide, or referring to the size of the novel, Infinite Jest, or perhaps both in the same blogpost, but both bits of information piqued my curiosity, and put the novel on my radar. I suspect I was mostly drawn to the suicide, as I concede that there is a probably unhealthy...I don't want to say "attraction"...perhaps "interest", in those of a literary bent who commit to suicide. It is deeply saddening, deeply disturbing, and deeply fear-inducing to me, to know that the "black dog" can drive such thoughts before it.

Dr. Drib, if you've time...why should I read Infinite Jest? (note, it is not likely you'll have to be too elaborate or convincing, as I'm halfway there).

Cheers,
Marc

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by hidari

Inifinte Jest IS WAY TOO LONG> IT does have interesting parts.. but it gets bogged down in several areas.

Thank-you, hidari. I appreciate and have noted your opinion, and its somewhat contrariness to Dr. Drib's. Obviously I need to go looking for more opinions, to see whether it's my kind of book.

YES Wallace was interesting... but a bit a Legend in his own lunchtime. Yes, he killed himself. Yet,,, I find it weak on his part...he had far from a difficult life.

Plus. there are many a good writer out there.

C. M. Coetze for example....................

I am unfamiliar with C.M. Coetze.

I know a J.M Coetzee (well, being Australian, I would ), and, though I have not as yet read any of his books, he is most assuredly on the list. One of the strongest recommendations I received was in reading Raimond Gaita's The Philosopher's Dog (which reminds me, I need to read the latter's Romulus, My Father).

Cheers,
Marc

[RWood]

Yes, it is long. On a value per page count it is very high. The writing is high quality without putting the reader down. There is no attempt to show-off his power with words. He tells a story that draws you in and you go willingly. When I first picked up the book I gave it fifty pages to prove itself. All too quickly I had only that remaining. There's a copy on the shelf a few books down from Kesey.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by hidari

Inifinte Jest IS WAY TOO LONG> IT does have interesting parts.. but it gets bogged down in several areas. YES Wallace was interesting... but a bit a Legend in his own lunchtime. Yes, he killed himself. Yet,,, I find it weak on his part...he had far from a difficult life. Plus. there are many a good writer out there.

C. M. Coetze for example....................

Depression is a disease, it has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not one has had a "difficult life" or not. It has more to do with brain chemistry than weakness. Your saying that you found his suicide "weak on his part" is like saying that someone's dying from cancer is "weak." It's is an ill informed opinion at best.

I am very sorry that Mr. Wallace had an illness that ultimately caused his death. I have known many people over the years who have suffered from clinical depression and it is a hideous and hard to treat disease. I would not term any of them (even the ones who took suicide as their route out of the pain) as "weak."

I hope that you opinion of his literary work is somewhat less ignorant than your opinion of his life and death.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by hidari

Inifinte Jest IS WAY TOO LONG> IT does have interesting parts.. but it gets bogged down in several areas. YES Wallace was interesting... but a bit a Legend in his own lunchtime. Yes, he killed himself. Yet,,, I find it weak on his part...he had far from a difficult life. Plus. there are many a good writer out there.

C. M. Coetze for example....................

Oh my, Hidari, I can only assume you have never suffered a severe bout of depression. It has nothing to do with the difficulty of your life. If it did, there would be no survivors of Auschwitz, torture, or any other horrendous life.

Its hard to explain, but have you seen those ads on tv for depression meds where the announcer says "if you notice an increased feeling of depression, or thoughts of suicide, please call you doctor immediately" Well, when you are in a deep depression, you can't call anyone. Its like you are frozen in a deep dark hole.
And some meds make it worse! I"m lucky,. mine have never been really bad like clinically depressed people, and I've only had a few bouts, but I've tasted enough of depression to know the 'attraction' (for lack of a better word) of suicide. As Ricky says, the worst kind is a brain chemical imbalance. You have no control, and you cannot 'talk yourself out of it'
Please do not think I am taking you to task. I simply want to point out the error of your thinking.

[hidari]

Twas not aware of his Disease. I stand corrected.

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Depression is a disease, it has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not one has had a "difficult life" or not. It has more to do with brain chemistry than weakness. Your saying that you found his suicide "weak on his part" is like saying that someone's dying from cancer is "weak." It's is an ill informed opinion at best.

I am very sorry that Mr. Wallace had an illness that ultimately caused his death. I have known many people over the years who have suffered from clinical depression and it is a hideous and hard to treat disease. I would not term any of them (even the ones who took suicide as their route out of the pain) as "weak."

I hope that you opinion of his literary work is somewhat less ignorant than your opinion of his life and death.

[hidari]

Ok. Thank you for the explanation. I was not aware of his Condition to that extent. I edited out. Hopefully that will make everybody happy.

your idiot,

hidari

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Oh my, Hidari, I can only assume you have never suffered a severe bout of depression. It has nothing to do with the difficulty of your life. If it did, there would be no survivors of Auschwitz, torture, or any other horrendous life.

Its hard to explain, but have you seen those ads on tv for depression meds where the announcer says "if you notice an increased feeling of depression, or thoughts of suicide, please call you doctor immediately" Well, when you are in a deep depression, you can't call anyone. Its like you are frozen in a deep dark hole.
And some meds make it worse! I"m lucky,. mine have never been really bad like clinically depressed people, and I've only had a few bouts, but I've tasted enough of depression to know the 'attraction' (for lack of a better word) of suicide. As Ricky says, the worst kind is a brain chemical imbalance. You have no control, and you cannot 'talk yourself out of it'
Please do not think I am taking you to task. I simply want to point out the error of your thinking.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by hidari

Ok. Thank you for the explanation. I was not aware of his Condition to that extent. I edited out. Hopefully that will make everybody happy.

your idiot,

hidari

Stop. You are not an idiot. Just not familiar with what some people have to endure.

Hopefully, you will never, ever have to understand just how horrible depression can be.

When I was young I never understood why some people would do this either.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by hidari

Twas not aware of his Disease. I stand corrected.

Originally Posted by hidari

Ok. Thank you for the explanation. I was not aware of his Condition to that extent. I edited out. Hopefully that will make everybody happy.

your idiot,

hidari

Being ignorant of something doesn't make you an idiot. An idiot wouldn't have the sense to do what you did, which was to own up to what you didn't know, learn something from it, and move on. Keep on doing that, and eventually you will be old and wise (unlike me ... who has only managed the "old" part).

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Being ignorant of something doesn't make you an idiot. An idiot wouldn't have the sense to do what you did, which was to own up to what you didn't know, learn something from it, and move on. Keep on doing that, and eventually you will be old and wise (unlike me ... who has only managed the "old" part).

Well said, Ricky.....well, except the last sentence. I didn't mean to imply you weren't wise and certainly not old............

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by hidari

Ok. Thank you for the explanation. I was not aware of his Condition to that extent. I edited out. Hopefully that will make everybody happy.

your idiot,

hidari

Hidari, I would only ever consider someone an "idiot" who stubbornly retains an actively ignorant opinion in the face of overwhelming evidence otherwise (and even then I'd be loathe to assign such a negative ad hominem label...well, to anyone other than Will Ferrell. ). Your opinion was neither actively ignorant (in that you were willing to look at further information), and nor were you stubborn about retaining it.

I frequently have significant respect for people who hold a strong position on something, and then show willingness to change or even reverse that opinion based on new evidence, and to do so before a public forum, such as you have above. The gods know I find it hard to change my own opinion sometimes.

So, I don't think you're an idiot, and you should stop thinking so too. However, I think we can all agree that Will Ferrell is (anyone who disagrees...well, I'll be over in the corner with my fingers in my ears going "LALALALALALALALALALA..." ).

Cheers,
Marc

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Hidari, I would only ever consider someone an "idiot" who stubbornly retains an actively ignorant opinion in the face of overwhelming evidence otherwise (and even then I'd be loathe to assign such a negative ad hominem label...well, to anyone other than Will Ferrell. ). Your opinion was neither actively ignorant (in that you were willing to look at further information), and nor were you stubborn about retaining it.

I frequently have significant respect for people who hold a strong position on something, and then show willingness to change or even reverse that opinion based on new evidence, and to do so before a public forum, such as you have above. The gods know I find it hard to change my own opinion sometimes.

So, I don't think you're an idiot, and you should stop thinking so too. However, I think we can all agree that Will Ferrell is (anyone who disagrees...well, I'll be over in the corner with my fingers in my ears going "LALALALALALALALALALA..." ).

Cheers,
Marc

just curious here........why is Will Ferrall and idiot? what did he say now?

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by RWood

Yes, it is long. On a value per page count it is very high. The writing is high quality without putting the reader down. There is no attempt to show-off his power with words. He tells a story that draws you in and you go willingly. When I first picked up the book I gave it fifty pages to prove itself. All too quickly I had only that remaining. There's a copy on the shelf a few books down from Kesey.

Moving right along, and back to topicality, thanks for the above, Good Professor Wood. You know, I've only ever read one Kesey book, and it wasn't even One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (it was Demon Box, and I was in my late teens when I read it, and for me they were times where comprehension was more visceral than intellectual, so I'm not sure how much I retain from reading it).

I might have to give Infinite Jest a go - though, come to think about it, I don't even know what it's about (I'll just go Google now ).

Cheers,
Marc