David Foster Wallace

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David Foster Wallace Criticism

David Foster Wallace occupies a central place in contemporary American literature, known for his innovative narrative techniques and incisive critiques of culture. His debut novel, The Broom of the System (1986), introduced readers to his complex narrative style, described by Kirkus Reviews as bearing an immature and derivative style reminiscent of earlier metafictionists. Despite this, Wallace quickly distinguished himself from the minimalist fiction trend of the 1980s, establishing his reputation with the short story collection Girl with Curious Hair (1989). This collection, as explored in At Play in the Funhouse of Fiction, marked his departure from writers like John Barth and Thomas Pynchon.

Contents

  • Principal Works
  • Wallace, David Foster (Contemporary Literary Criticism)
    • The Broom of the System
    • At Play in the Funhouse of Fiction
    • Love Is a Federal Highway
    • 'Maximalist' Short Fiction from a Talented Young Writer
    • David Foster Wallace
    • An Interview with David Foster Wallace
    • Terminal Entertainment
    • Mad Maximalism
    • The Year of the Whopper
    • A review of Infinite Jest
    • A review of Infinite Jest
    • The Prodigious Fiction of Richard Powers, William Vollmann, and David Foster Wallace
    • Verbal Pyrotechnics
    • The Road to Babbittville
    • A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
  • Wallace, David Foster (Short Story Criticism)
    • Reading the Riding the Post-Scientific Wave: The Shorter Fiction of David Foster Wallace
    • The Hidden Earpiece
    • Fast-Forward Fiction
    • The Incredible Shrinking Jest: Wallace Makes More with Less
    • A Baffling Man
    • Wallace's Prose Experiment Pays Off Handsomely
    • New Tricks for Contemporary Fiction
    • The Non-Silence of the Un-Lamblike
    • Review of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
    • Closing Time in the Fun-House
    • They'll Do Anything to Get You into Bed
    • The Panic of Influence
    • The Good, The Bad. …
  • Further Reading