Some really sad news. Critically acclaimed author David Foster Wallace died Friday at his home in California from an apparent suicide. He was 46. Such a waste.
Wallace was best known for his epic tome Infinite Jest, a smart and original novel set in a futuristic America lost in the grip of addiction. This novel established Wallace as a truly original, postmodern writer of the 1990's. Mr. Wallace told Laura Miller of Salon.com that the book was an effort to describe America as it approached the millennium.
Girl With Curious Hair, a hilarious book of short stories, is one of my personal favorites, particulary the LBJ and Jeopardy stories. These stories use real life characters in a fictional setting, producing a hauntingly playful effect.
Wallace, who has written several essays for Harper's and other prominent publications, was also a gifted nonfiction writer. Some of his subjects have included John McCain and tennis star Roger Federer.
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments, his best-known nonfiction work, is a collection of pieces with subject matters ranging from carnivals to cruises to tennis.
Mr. Wallace will be sorely missed.
No comments:
Post a Comment