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David Foster Wallace Takes His Last Bite
Bibliophiles around the globe are mourning the untimely death of author David Foster Wallace, who hanged himself Friday.
Most know Wallace from his best-selling books, including the influential Infinite Jest, but he was a pretty darned good food writer, too, producing some remarkably lusty prose when writing about comestibles. In memoriam, here’s the text of his “Consider the Lobster” from Gourmet, a meandering, hilariously footnoted 2004 meditation on the crustacean.
May there be lobsters in heaven for you, David Foster Wallace.
Posted by | Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 5:16pm | 3 comments
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Well, or not, given the conclusion of the Gourmet article.
Apparently sales of Infinite Jest have skyrocketed in the past few days. I only hope it's not a matter of mere voyeurism, as reading that novel is a real commitment, albeit one that reaps monumental rewards. Sven Birkerts' 1996 review put it beautifully: "The novel is confusing, yes, and maddening in myriad ways. It is also resourceful, hilarious, intelligent, and unique. Those who stay with it will find the whole world lit up as though by black light...Think Pynchon. Think Beckett. Think Gaddis. Think."
More links re Consider the Lobster specifically, including the Gourmet firestorm it set off, here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/557229
I remember reading "Consider the Lobster" back when I had a subscription to Gourmet. I thought it was brilliant, even though I disagreed with a lot of it. I told myself after reading the article that I should find more work by Wallace, but never got around to it. I'll attempt to read "Infinite Jest", but at 1,079 pages it seems daunting (it took me three evenings to finish "Consider the Lobster").
Consider the Lobster made me renew my subscription for Gourmet when I was undecided about whether I should.
Great writer, great tragedy... it's always the good ones who leave us first.