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David Foster Wallace
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Conversations with David Foster Wallace (Literary Conversations Series) Paperback – March 8, 2012

by Stephen J. Burn (Editor)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 51 ratings
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Across two decades of intense creativity, David Foster Wallace (1962-2008) crafted a remarkable body of work that ranged from unclassifiable essays to a book about transfinite mathematics to vertiginous fictions. Whether through essay volumes (A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Consider the Lobster), short story collections (Girl with Curious Hair, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Oblivion), or his novels (Infinite Jest, The Broom of the System), the luminous qualities of Wallace's work recalibrated our measures of modern literary achievement. Conversations with David Foster Wallace gathers twenty-two interviews and profiles that trace the arc of Wallace's career, shedding light on his omnivorous talent.

Jonathan Franzen has argued that, for Wallace, an interview provided a formal enclosure in which the writer “could safely draw on his enormous native store of kindness and wisdom and expertise.” Wallace's interviews create a wormhole in which an author's private theorizing about art spill into the public record. Wallace's best interviews are vital extra-literary documents, in which we catch him thinking aloud about his signature concerns―irony's magnetic hold on contemporary language, the pale last days of postmodernism, the delicate exchange that exists between reader and writer. At the same time, his acute focus moves across MFA programs, his negotiations with religious belief, the role of footnotes in his writing, and his multifaceted conception of his work's architecture. Conversations with David Foster Wallace includes a previously unpublished interview from 2005, and a version of Larry McCaffery's influential Review of Contemporary Fiction interview with Wallace that has been expanded with new material drawn from the original raw transcript.

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  1. Part of series
    Literary Conversations
  2. Print length
    186 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    University Press of Mississippi
  5. Publication date
    March 8, 2012
  6. Dimensions
    5.75 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1617032271
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1617032271
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Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Conversations with the author of A Supposedly Fun Thing I?ll Never Do Again, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, and Infinite Jest

From the Inside Flap

Conversations with the author of A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, and Infinite Jest

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University Press of Mississippi; First Edition (March 8, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 186 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1617032271
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1617032271
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 51 ratings

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David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace

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David Foster Wallace wrote the acclaimed novels Infinite Jest and The Broom of the System and the story collections Oblivion, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, and Girl With Curious Hair. His nonfiction includes the essay collections Consider the Lobster and A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, and the full-length work Everything and More.  He died in 2008.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
51 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book insightful and helpful for understanding Wallace's personality. They describe it as readable and interesting for both fans and newcomers. The interviews are well-received, with one particularly engaging.

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InsightReadabilityInterview quality
8 customers mention "Insight"8 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's insights into Wallace's thinking and personality. They find it helpful in understanding his literary significance and important position in modern fiction. The details throughout offer good thought food.

"...It's just full of beautiful thoughts and incredible insights. Devoted fans of DFW will find much to feed their souls...." Read more

"...But mostly this book is bittersweet. It helps us understand the individual better, but mostly adds to the Cult of Personality surrounding him post-..." Read more

"...His insights and ways of thinking were phenomenal. And what a sense of humor! Several of his lines would be great titles for short stories...." Read more

"...It illuminates the background and personality that underlie the brilliance that characterizes his novels...." Read more

7 customers mention "Readability"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read, suitable for both fans and newcomers. They find it an interesting summary of Wallace's life and genius.

"...Still, it's interesting to read what he had to say about lit theory and reading culture in America...." Read more

"...A great read and a necessity for DFW fans. Well worth the money. What you don't learn from Lipsky you will find here." Read more

"...since they tend to have more to chew over, but the whole thing is worth a read." Read more

"A very interesting summary of Wallace's tragic life and great genius. Touching from a family standpoint...." Read more

3 customers mention "Interview quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the interviews engaging. They mention the McCaffery interview is particularly good.

"Facinating stuff, as is anything involving DFW. The McCaffery interview is particularly engrossing. Good to read after reading the D.T. Max biography." Read more

"Interviews are always good...." Read more

"Nice Compilation of Interviews..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Matt Slaybaugh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic for devoted fans and newcomers alike
    Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I highlighted the heck out of this book. It's just full of beautiful thoughts and incredible insights.

    Devoted fans of DFW will find much to feed their souls. You get to follow the development of his key theories and convictions and watch them wend their way into his work.

    However, I also frequently recommend this to people wondering where to start with DFW's work. If you're looking to understand where he's coming from, you can't do better than this.

    It's pretty much essential.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Steven753
    4.0 out of 5 stars Thought Food
    Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I'm unsure why the hardcover edition is so fantastically expensive; this book must have seen a very narrow printing. Buy the paperback.
    Despite the $ though, this is a nice little addition to the slip stream of Wallace Studies slowly growing since '09. DFW could talk. The conversations in here are lucid, on point, honest, and laden with an urgency rarely found in authorial chats. Plus it's nice to have all of the important interviews and talks bound in a single volume.
    But mostly this book is bittersweet. It helps us understand the individual better, but mostly adds to the Cult of Personality surrounding him post-mortem. I imagine this collection will become another valued citation at the end of theses about Infinite Jest or The Pale King. There seems like a lot of critical stuff on Wallace out there right now that tries to link his personal and interview material to explications of his fiction, as if somehow Wallace was the sole carrier of his works' meaning and import.
    Still, it's interesting to read what he had to say about lit theory and reading culture in America. There are little details throughout that offer up some good thought food (e.g. it's written that Wallace was raised an atheist, which flies in the face of his emphasis on personal religious moorings in IJ and TPK). But in the end it all starts to feel a little like desperation on the reader's side. Another volume to help us understand Him, but if I'm not mistaken we enjoy Wallace because of his fiction and essays, and that's exactly where the focus ought to remain.
    25 people found this helpful
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  • W. Sinclair
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interviews are always good.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I have read nearly almost everything David Foster Wallace has published. If you enjoy DFW, then I suggest you read this collection and the David Lipsky book. David Lipsky shows you DFW the person, but this book shows you his ideas about what fiction is or should be. A great read and a necessity for DFW fans. Well worth the money. What you don't learn from Lipsky you will find here.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • R Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Compilation of Interviews
    Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I had previously read Lipsky's DFW book and thought that gave me plenty of insight into DFW. I was wrong.

    Mr Burn does a wonderful job with this compilation of interviews of DFW. They are in chronological order so you can somewhat see his thoughts evolve.

    Before I bought this book, one night my wife and I played the "who would you invite to dinner?" game. Of course I said DFW. This book made him come alive as if he was talking to me. His insights and ways of thinking were phenomenal. And what a sense of humor! Several of his lines would be great titles for short stories. In fact, I plan on using one of them.

    What his sister said about imagining DFW before the fateful moment will stick with me and my two dogs forever

    For me, there are four people that left this life too soon: John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Freddie Mercury and David Foster Wallace. I miss all of you!
    28 people found this helpful
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  • Jay McLaughlin
    5.0 out of 5 stars It was a treasure to read this
    Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    But the end was so, so sad - among the saddest things I've ever read. I would certainly recommend this to a person unfamiliar with Mr. Wallace - this is a lovely introduction. And I would recommend it still more strongly to Wallace-lovers. Because it's nice to spend time again.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • steve A
    4.0 out of 5 stars Revealing interviews
    Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This collection of interviews answers a lot of questions about the elusive Wallace that certainly occur to readers of Infinite Jest. It illuminates the background and personality that underlie the brilliance that characterizes his novels. It also induces regret that nothing new will come forth from this great talent.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Nuri K
    5.0 out of 5 stars No-nonsense interviews collected
    Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Okay I'm a rabid fan of DFW, having read everything he's ever written, and I'll try my best to stay objective.

    I don't think this book serves the personality cult; Lipsky's book may be judged to be doing that, since the interviews in the latter are way more casual, tongue-in-cheek and at times personal, but in this collection the conversation usually focuses on literature, the literary scene and writing, etc, which gives the reader ample opportunity to catch Wallace's acute observations scattered throughout the text.

    If you're a DFW fan, you won't be disappointed, if you're not (yet), you may wanna begin by reading his non-fiction collections, which latter give him a way better medium to present his thoughts properly and effectively.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • J. Kopeny
    4.0 out of 5 stars Prime DFW chats
    Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    It's always great to amble down hallways of conversations DFW had. I prefer the earlier interviews making up the first half of the book since they tend to have more to chew over, but the whole thing is worth a read.
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Francesca Manfredini
    5.0 out of 5 stars DFW's mind is simply enthralling
    Reviewed in Italy on August 4, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I have a real passion for DFW's writings and for his talk too, his mind is so lucid, to the point, perfect answers to not-so-perfect questions, an infinite honesty and a deep unforgiving moral compass, all this on top of a unique ability to dismantle the fact, the situation at hand, and describe it as everybody would if they only could, and with such perfect yet unassuming language.
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