authors under the influence

[Daniel Julius]

You put it way better than I could, m'man.  I think there's a good deal of
heavy philo nutrients to be enjoyed in there.  And "addiction, family
dysfunction, sibling rivalry" compose just the tip of the ol' iceberg.  Kind
of continuing on what I said above, I feel like Wallace and Pynch lie on the
same Big Idea continuum, Pynchon just deals with grander, that is, wider
topics (politics, history, war) whereas Wallace uses those as a springboard
for characterization and handling more interior topics.  If Pynchon is
unparalleled in illustrating global currents/webs/superstructures, I think
Wallace is pretty damn good at illustrating the effects of
those institutions upon the individual.  And I don't want to sneeze at that.

Also, I shy away from talking about Jest's emotional impact -- at least
while on the internet -- because it's so just undebatable or very personal
or whatever, but that book hit me like a goddamn hammer.  Hal's segments,
yes, but also mostly Mario for me.

--
Dan
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