a friend of mine recently turned my attention to this DFW new yorker story. i normally don't read the fiction in the new yorker (yes, i realize the new yorker began as a primarily literary magazine and at one point it even featured TWO short stories. i don't care), but i gave this one a shot.for the record, i really enjoyed a supposedly fun thing i will never do again. i tried infinite jest numerous times, but gave up, blaming DFW for being a navel gazing self-indulgent blowhard, instead of realizing that perhaps i don't have an attention span, period.
in any case, this story just seemed hollow and false to me. perhaps his widely publicized bio as a brilliant young white straight male of privilege (macarthur genius grant, blahblahblah) leads me to believe that he is parodying these two young naifs to some degree. i don't know. admittedly, i have a tendency to read too much into an author's upbringing (case in point: flannery o'connor). nonetheless, and perhaps at the risk of raising cold4the(da?)streets's ire, i am going to stand my ground.
or maybe i'm still harboring resentment because his publicity photo led me to believe he was hot.
btw bob mankoff, your cartoon caption contest website is down and the deadline is today.
4 comments:
if you're going to have the gall to post about dfw, at least have the decency to fastidiously footnote every claim you make.
dude, if the blog permitted footnotes i would have.
were you implying that i like david foster wallace? i hate him so much, he makes me (almost) want to shave.
At first I thought the article was at least respectable because it is so far from his usual style, so ok, he's trying something new. But upon reflection I thought the problem with the story was that it was so un-subtle and almost cliche, which is also my problem with his books. So I suppose he is not that evolved afterall. Also, I watched two movies recently that deal with unplanned pregnancy in a much more perceptive and even entertaining way-- Quincinera and Sherrybaby. I recommend both. Now I'm just waiting for official commentary on "Man Gone Down," from you devoted Brooklyn-ites...
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