David Foster Wallace Alert!

[jporter]

Geof admits:

>I still haven't settled on  my assessment of IJ [3]
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>[3] Although I will comment on a few points, to wit: (a) I've heard it has
>moments of genius; I myself would hedge a bit and say that it has many moments
>of daredevil cleverness, (b) there are several times in IJ where I wonder
>if Mr.
>Wallace is not suffering a bit from the Benvolio Effect and writing just to see
>himself fill up another page, (c) it bugs me that some of his urban
>legends have
>already been covered before in highly visible media (e.g., the dog tied to the
>bumper bit, which was in Nat'l Lampoon's "Family Vacation" or whatever, for
>crying out loud!), (d) more comments availble on request.

How about: 1) There is an odd lack of music in the book. At times it
drones. 2) There is gratuitous violence advancing neither plot nor
enhancing what I can discern as the possible themes. 3) I don't mind being
confused but I expect to be entertained a little more consistently. 4)
There were times when the plot was the only thing which kept me going, but
I'm not sure where I got to. 5) On reflection, it seems like a long novel
written by an associate professor. 6) I would prefer to read a concise
summary of any sequel rather than the book itself. 7) It did seem to
provide insights into addiction. 8) What the fuck happened to Hal?

Jody