A Companion to David Foster Wallace Studies

by M. Boswell (Editor), S. Burn (Editor)

Overview

Criticism of the work of David Foster Wallace has tended to be atomistic, focusing on a single aspect of individual works. A Companion to the Work of David Foster Wa ll ace is designed as a professional study of all of Wallace's creative work. This volume includes both thematic essays and focused examinations of each of his major works of fiction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230338111
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	03/20/2013
Series:	American Literature Readings in the 21st Century
Edition description:	2013
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Kasia Boddy, Cambridge University, UK David H. Evans, Dalhousie University, USA Claire Hayes Brady, Trinity College Dublin, UK Andrew Hoberek, University of Missouri-Columbia, USA Mary Holland, SUNY New Paltz, USA Brian McHale, Ohio State University, USA Roberto Natalini, Università di Roma, Italy Patrick O'Donnell, Michigan State University, USA Paul Quinn, freelance writer

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations vii

Preface Stephen J. Burn Marshall Boswell ix

1 Almost a Novel: The Broom of the System Patrick O'Donnell 1

2 A Fiction of Response: Girl with Curious Hair in Context Kasia Boddy 23

3 David Foster Wallace and the Mathematics of Infinity Roberto Natalini 43

4 "Webs of Nerves Pulsing and Firing": Infinite Jest and the Science of Mind Stephen J. Burnm 59

5 "Location's Location": Placing David Foster Wallace Paul Quinn 87

6 Mediated Immediacy in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men Mary K. Holland 107

7 "…": Language, Gender, and Modes of Power in the Work of David Foster Wallace Clare Hayes-Brady 131

8 "The Constant Monologue Inside Your Head": Oblivion and the Nightmare of Consciousness Marshall Boswell 151

9 "The Chains of Not Choosing": Free Will and Faith in William James and David Foster Wallace David H. Evans 171

10 The Pale King, Or, The White Visitation Brian McHale 191

11 The Novel after David Foster Wallace Andrew Hoberek 211

Works Cited 229

Notes on Contributors 241

Index 245

Editorial Reviews

"A Companion to David Foster Wallace Studies' academic rigour is a welcome contribution to the study of this most influential of contemporary U.S. writers." - 49th Parallel

"A major collection on the work of David Foster Wallace, with essential contributions on his place in American literary history. Boswell and Burn present a stellar line-up of Wallace specialists, some of whom finally tackle issues such as gender and the importance of the Midwest." - Luc Herman, Professor of Literature, University of Antwerp, Belgium

"Incisive and wide-ranging, this volume assembles some of the best critics at work today for a fascinating analysis of David Foster Wallace's writing. Alternating between fresh readings of individual texts and provocative meditations on the subjects that so occupied Wallace himself, these essays testify to Wallace's brilliance and profound influence on contemporary literature. Burn and Boswell have assembled a collection essential for anyone - from the beginning student to the serious scholar - who wants to understand more about Wallace's remarkable literary achievement." - Timothy Melley, Professor of English and Director of the Miami University Humanities Center, USA and author of The Covert Sphere: Secrecy, Fiction, and the National Security State

From the Publisher