The David Foster Wallace Reader
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The David Foster Wallace Reader
Narrated by:
Robert Petkoff, David Foster Wallace, Sally Foster Wallace, Sean Pratt, Khristine Hvam, Ben Shenkman, Bobby Cannavale, Paul Garcia
Buy Now for $60.08
Summary
Wallace's explorations of morality, self-consciousness, addiction, sports, love, and the many other subjects that occupied him are represented here in both fiction and nonfiction. Collected for the first time are Wallace's first published story, "The View from Planet Trillaphon as Seen In Relation to the Bad Thing" and a selection of his work as a writing instructor, including reading lists, grammar guides, and general guidelines for his students.
A dozen writers and critics, including Hari Kunzru, Anne Fadiman, and Nam Le, add afterwords to favorite pieces, expanding our appreciation of the unique pleasures of Wallace's writing. The result is an astonishing volume that shows the breadth and range of "one of America's most daring and talented writers" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) whose work was full of humor, insight, and beauty.
Critic Reviews
"A novelist with the industrial-strength intellectual chops to theorize even our resolutely anti-intellectual age....Wallace's ear for dialogue was unmatched in contemporary fiction."—Time
"David Foster Wallace has earned a place as one of America's most daring and talented young writers."—L.A. Times Book Review
"Wallace is an astonishing storyteller whose fiction reminds us why we learned how to read in the first place."—San Francisco Chronicle
"The best of the best."—Vanity Fair
"[An] intriguing collection.... What comes through clearly in the Reader is not just his originality and gorgeous prose but also Wallace's humor."—Dujour
"And now arrives this thumping great book.... A heady reminder of why we got hooked in the first place.... Wallace...had an incredible ear for the quirks and tics of spoken American - and...that is on virtuosic display throughout this Reader."—The Telegraph
"A good gift for his legions of admirers."—Toronto Star
"A worthwhile starting point."—Entertainment Weekly
"The time is right for THE DAVID FOSTER WALLACE READER.... As a reintroduction, or even introduction, to Mr. Wallace...it's a reminder of what a transgressive, digressive delight he could be. For teachers, it's a textbook geared to orthodoxy-free students who can pierce the carapace of Mr. Wallace's reputation and read his work with fresh eyes. And even for those who race through it, it's a jolt of sheer genius - and a horror. There are immense, intricate, leisurely pleasures to be had here, and they should not be glimpsed like the landscape from a speeding train."—New York Times
"Does a fantastic job of surveying Wallace's work."—Jonathan Russell Clark, The Millions
"A reminder of how good Wallace could be, whether he was writing about Kafka or the Illinois State Fair, whether he was making stuff up or trying to see things as they actually are."—Newsweek
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