Infinite Jest

[Bort]

And it strikes me I've definitely seen that argyle sweater-vest before....

I'm in this book?

Oh, you're not content to glom onto Huey's glory? Now it's DFW's turn?[/Shoutbox]

[R-V]

The discussion of civics, corporations, advertising and whatnot in Chapter 19 of the Pale King is outstanding. Maybe I'm a Wallace dongchugger but the book is surprisingly coherent for something that was unfinished. It's amazing how many tones/writing styles he jumps between in the different chapters and that he manages to pull it off.

[Slaky]

The discussion of civics, corporations, advertising and whatnot in Chapter 19 of the Pale King is outstanding. Maybe I'm a Wallace dongchugger but the book is surprisingly coherent for something that was unfinished. It's amazing how many tones/writing styles he jumps between in the different chapters and that he manages to pull it off.

Jesus, you're far. I'm just starting out but there are already some seriously memorable excerpts. The piece about asking someone what's wrong is great, as well as the conversation about what these drones think about while masturbating. When one guy asks the other guy what he pictures when it's just him alone with his thoughts I though - what about the goddamn Internet? Then I remember this is 1982.

[R-V]

So I finished Pale King. I enjoyed the hell out of it in spite of the fact that there was basically no discernible plot and a couple chapters at the end that I could not follow...at all. The guy was just an amazingly insightful and funny writer and I'd probably read a 1,200 page book about paint drying if he'd had the chance to write it. There are two very long chapters (one where a guy tells the story of his relationship with his dad and how he came to join the IRS, and another where a woman talks about meeting her husband) that are basically monologues by these characters, that I thought were just as engaging as the unbelievable Eschaton chapter in Infinite Jest.

I was satisfied when I finished the book that, although there was no plot, it didn't really feel like an unfinished work. Then I read the Notes and Asides with all of Wallace's notes about what he thought the book was about and additional plot points/character points that he intended to add and I became a very sad panda. It appears from the notes that there was at least going to be some semblance of a plot...he just hung himself before developing it further. The guy had so many great ideas that we'll never have the chance to read.

One note, at the risk of sounding like the "I was at the game with Slezak, so I have a better understanding than those of you who merely watched on TV" guy, as a pathetic accountant, I understood and was amused by DFW's use of technical IRS/tax terms, but I could understand that for anyone who's not a loser like me that stuff could be tedious to wade through. That's only one element of the book though.

Anyway all is not lost, the only other books of his I've read are Infinite Jest and Consider the Lobster so it's quite possible I'll be making more posts with a dead man's dong in my mouth as I work through (and celebrate, natch) his entire catalog.

[Oleg]

One note, at the risk of sounding like the "I was at the game with Slezak, so I have a better understanding than those of you who merely watched on TV" guy, as a pathetic accountant, I understood and was amused by DFW's use of technical IRS/tax terms, but I could understand that for anyone who's not a loser like me that stuff could be tedious to wade through. That's only one element of the book though.

I know what you mean.  I think the use of Russian by Burgess, and my ease of understanding it, made Clockwork Orange much more enjoyable to me than to some of my friends who had to work through those Russian words.

I'm actually glad to hear there no plot in Pale King.  I think I may actually now enjoy it more now.  I keep thinking I'm a Pank when I read it because I can't figure out the plot.

Thanks.

[Wheezer]

Oh, great, look what shows up mere steps from the alley. Maybe I'll save it for my looming trip to a locked ward.

[Wheezer]

A really long, really interesting read about Wallace.

http://www.theawl.com/2011/04/inside-david-foster-wallaces-private-self-help-library/

Lest it be overlooked,

"[Sally Foster Wallace's] book is full of snakes and gorillas, monsters, Superman, Cinderella, disasters of every description, ketchup on ice cream, kissing and parachutes and romance. It reveals a dizzying, intoxicating and dangerous world."

[Edit.--Oh, sweet Jesus, transactionalism rears its head. This shit has been popping up all over the place for me for over a week.]

[Edit 2.--I will call attention to this odd little volume while I'm at it.]

[Edit 3.--"the individual suddenly discovers that he has acquired a mannerism, a gesture, a turn of speech, an inflection in his voice that is not 'his' but belongs to someone else. Often it is a mannerism that he consciously particularly dislikes.
"Dave with girlfriend's accent (The Divided Self)"

Curiously, R.D. Laing died while playing tennis.]

[Edit 4.--"And C. looked at me with pity and sadness, as if from a great distance, and said, 'Oh, honey. You don't care. You don't care; that's the whole point.'" No, it's not, honey.]

[Wheezer]

TPD. IJ has totally petered out for me by page 66.

[R-V]

Ken Tremendous directs an Eschaton music video.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/arts/music/michael-schur-directs-decemberists-video.html?_r=2&hpw

[R-V]

DPD. Any of you chuckleheads read The Corrections? The first Franzen I've read, enjoyed it nearly as much as Wallace's stuff. Alfred Lambert was a hilariously miserable cocksucker.

[Slaky]

DPD. Any of you chuckleheads read The Corrections? The first Franzen I've read, enjoyed it nearly as much as Wallace's stuff. Alfred Lambert was a hilariously miserable cocksucker.

I read it awhile back and liked it because it was depressing as hell.

[R-V]

DPD. Any of you chuckleheads read The Corrections? The first Franzen I've read, enjoyed it nearly as much as Wallace's stuff. Alfred Lambert was a hilariously miserable cocksucker.

I read it awhile back and liked it because it was depressing as hell.

Boourns.

Despite having the selling points of a stellar cast and a bestselling novel, HBO is not moving forward with "The Corrections."

Pay cabler has decided the pilot, which was shot in February, won't become a series. Based on the Jonathan Franzen book, HBO's version of "The Corrections" was adapted and directed by Noah Baumbach, who was exec producing with Franzen and Scott Rudin.

"The Corrections" revolves around the troubles of a Midwestern couple and their three adult children as they trace their lives from the mid-20th century to "one last Christmas" together near the turn of the millennium.

The parents were played by Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest while Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal were cast as the couple's adult children.

[Slaky]

DPD. Any of you chuckleheads read The Corrections? The first Franzen I've read, enjoyed it nearly as much as Wallace's stuff. Alfred Lambert was a hilariously miserable cocksucker.

I read it awhile back and liked it because it was depressing as hell.

Boourns.

Despite having the selling points of a stellar cast and a bestselling novel, HBO is not moving forward with "The Corrections."

Pay cabler has decided the pilot, which was shot in February, won't become a series. Based on the Jonathan Franzen book, HBO's version of "The Corrections" was adapted and directed by Noah Baumbach, who was exec producing with Franzen and Scott Rudin.

"The Corrections" revolves around the troubles of a Midwestern couple and their three adult children as they trace their lives from the mid-20th century to "one last Christmas" together near the turn of the millennium.

The parents were played by Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest while Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal were cast as the couple's adult children.

Good, I fucking hate Chris Cooper.

[PenPho]

DPD. Any of you chuckleheads read The Corrections? The first Franzen I've read, enjoyed it nearly as much as Wallace's stuff. Alfred Lambert was a hilariously miserable cocksucker.

I read it awhile back and liked it because it was depressing as hell.

Boourns.

Despite having the selling points of a stellar cast and a bestselling novel, HBO is not moving forward with "The Corrections."

Pay cabler has decided the pilot, which was shot in February, won't become a series. Based on the Jonathan Franzen book, HBO's version of "The Corrections" was adapted and directed by Noah Baumbach, who was exec producing with Franzen and Scott Rudin.

"The Corrections" revolves around the troubles of a Midwestern couple and their three adult children as they trace their lives from the mid-20th century to "one last Christmas" together near the turn of the millennium.

The parents were played by Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest while Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal were cast as the couple's adult children.

Good, I fucking hate Chris Cooper.

I think my favorite part of the internet is when people I don't know in real life hate random things I assumed were unhateable for reasons I totally don't understand.

[CT III]

DPD. Any of you chuckleheads read The Corrections? The first Franzen I've read, enjoyed it nearly as much as Wallace's stuff. Alfred Lambert was a hilariously miserable cocksucker.

I read it awhile back and liked it because it was depressing as hell.

Boourns.

Despite having the selling points of a stellar cast and a bestselling novel, HBO is not moving forward with "The Corrections."

Pay cabler has decided the pilot, which was shot in February, won't become a series. Based on the Jonathan Franzen book, HBO's version of "The Corrections" was adapted and directed by Noah Baumbach, who was exec producing with Franzen and Scott Rudin.

"The Corrections" revolves around the troubles of a Midwestern couple and their three adult children as they trace their lives from the mid-20th century to "one last Christmas" together near the turn of the millennium.

The parents were played by Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest while Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal were cast as the couple's adult children.

Good, I fucking hate Chris Cooper.

I think my favorite part of the internet is when people I don't know in real life hate random things I assumed were unhateable for reasons I totally don't understand.

I gotta be honest, I barely made it through The Corrections and I don't know why the blue fuck anyone would want to see it translated into another medium.