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The David Foster Wallace Reader
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, David Foster Wallace, Sally Foster Wallace, Sean Pratt, Kristine Hvam, Ben Shenkman, Bobby Cannavale
- Length: 48 hrs and 44 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Where do you begin with a writer as original and brilliant as David Foster Wallace? Here - with a carefully considered selection of his extraordinary body of work, chosen by a range of great writers, critics, and those who worked with him most closely. This volume presents his most dazzling, funniest, and most heartbreaking work - essays like his famous cruise-ship piece, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," excerpts from his novels The Broom of the System, Infinite Jest, and The Pale King, and legendary stories like "The Depressed Person".
Wallace's explorations of morality, self-consciousness, addiction, sports, love, and the many other subjects that occupied him are represented here in both fiction and nonfiction. Collected for the first time are Wallace's first published story, "The View from Planet Trillaphon as Seen In Relation to the Bad Thing" and a selection of his work as a writing instructor, including reading lists, grammar guides, and general guidelines for his students.
A dozen writers and critics, including Hari Kunzru, Anne Fadiman, and Nam Le, add afterwords to favorite pieces, expanding our appreciation of the unique pleasures of Wallace's writing. The result is an astonishing volume that shows the breadth and range of "one of America's most daring and talented writers" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) whose work was full of humor, insight, and beauty.
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Rafael Sordili
- 2021-01-19
Great Read but lacks Table of Contents
This book is a mishmash of several different pieces written by David Foster Wallace, from excerpts of books and short stories to random thoughts, fleshed out essays and even class syllabi. It's a really great intro to this interesting author.
My only gripe is this: the book has 167 chapters in total ranging from seconds to hours long. However, these chapters are just numbered, they are not named. This makes it quite hard to situate yourself during the listen. This was a really bad choice by the publisher and I wish they would correct it.
So I highly recommend this book, but be aware that you will need to find an external table of contents and prepare yourself to do a lot of counting to figure out where you are while listening to this book.
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- Ethan Klitzke
- 2021-12-04
Impossible to use without Chapter Names
please fix chapter metadata or at least include a pdf attachment with the relationship between name of the essay to chapter
25 people found this helpful
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- sharky
- 2015-10-07
Great for teachers!
What a treasure! I teach David Foster Wallace's nonfiction to my international baccalaureate classes. Students read the essays one by one and then we discuss them in Socratic circles or as a whole group. However, I realized that my students could easily make an audible account and use their "freebie" to purchase this book. Even my most reluctant readers, the ones I thought weren't really interested in Wallace, have been turned on to his wit, his humor, his irony, and--most of all--his brilliant structural acumen. Thank you, DFW, for helping to inspire my young writers.
14 people found this helpful
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- DIANE
- 2016-12-09
It takes a lot for me to be spellbound
I've been listening to books on audible for almost 4 years. Lots of good books; some I didn't like. Some really good ones narrated by the authors. This author was new to me and I've been spellbound at his craft and facility in using the English language to communicate things in an entirely original way. For part of the book I felt that I was experiencing a play because the narrator so got into the plot he used props to enhance his performance. Wow.
12 people found this helpful
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- Michael Friedman
- 2016-02-03
The nonfiction is the best
David Foster Wallace was a brilliant writer. His command of English is as good as it gets and this tome (48 hours and 45 minutes in Audible) is often difficult but in the end rewarding. The fiction is particularly strange and the theme of characters who are deeply psychologically flawed is both ironic and at times tedious. He is a great fan of irony, the ultimate being his struggles with psychiatric issues that plagued and ultimately ended his life. That being said, it is mentioned that at some point Mr. Wallace decided he could no longer write fiction. That is when he really shines. His essays on the Illinois State Fair and taking a seven day luxury cruise are hilarious. His writing on English and literature is superb. His essay on Roger Federer at the end is perhaps the best piece of writing about tennis or any sport. It is unfortunate that the editors decided not to use his other fascinating ruminations on tennis. Yes, this is way too much for an "introduction" to David Foster Wallace, but is a pleasure to hear (or read) a master wordsmith at the top of his game.
11 people found this helpful
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- Todd
- 2015-08-24
Giant book full of great DFW things.
What did you love best about The David Foster Wallace Reader?
It's nearly a compendium on DFW. Many things I read, I was otherwise unaware of.
Which scene was your favorite?
I loved some of the stories I'd never read from books I don't have. Loved revisiting some great scenes from Infinite Jest, and hearing favorite old essays and new.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No. This book is so big, that I actually needed the help of the physical book as well, to finish up.
Any additional comments?
The loving and exhaustive manner employed by the editor, his staff, family, and everyone involved in this huge project lends an additional layer of love to some of the works included in this great collection. In some cases, the editors notes say more about David than the pieces themselves, which naturally stand on their own. This is a work of love and care, as well as a great (and vast) pasture for anyone inclined to browse in the writings of David Foster Wallace.
10 people found this helpful
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- N. R. Gawlak
- 2015-08-24
Like listening to Mozart...or Led Zepplin
David Foster Wallace is a as good a writer as I've ever read, maybe the best. This collection of pieces of his work, some fiction, some not, could work as a sampler for someone who has never read or heard his work. Most of the narrators are good...but Robert Petkoff narrates Mr Wallace's work with a style and tone, that, to these old ears, is like listening to the best music I ever heard. Although I tend to like Mr. Wallace's fiction better than his essays, ("Infinite Jest" is the best novel I have ever read/heard) listening to 40 plus hours of The DFW Reader, seemed like being on one of those carnival rides that you wish would last for hours and is over in seconds. And, you want to right back and do it, again.
10 people found this helpful
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- Michael D Burke
- 2022-07-02
No chapter titles or TOC
As someone else has noted, there are no chapter titles or table of contents. I’m not normally one to complain but this is terribly egregious. Of all books not to have chapter titles! There is 48 hours of audio and hundreds of chapters. I just went from chapter 5 to 6 and had no clue they were both from the same book.
Come on…
9 people found this helpful
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- Jayson
- 2015-05-18
The Decisive Collection
a bit of a slog, but if you make it through you'll understand why DFW is one of the greatest writers of our generation.
8 people found this helpful
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- Armand Jarri
- 2018-07-20
Long, verbose acounts without a story to tell
Much of the book is random assortments of fiction. The book fails to make a coherent thread or deliver an idea- what do you want to say? i feel i want to ask the writer. He is obscessed with words and wordplay. Above all i get the impression he was using writing as a therapy, but not to coney thoughts. Verbosity is the keyword.
7 people found this helpful
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- Andre
- 2015-07-04
A True Gift for any DFW Fan
It's perfect. It's perfect it's perfect. Blend of DFW readings and readings by others with varied footnote styles. Love it love it love it.
6 people found this helpful
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- Andrew
- 2017-10-19
genius . . . but no Table of Contents?!?!
Content is magnificent, but seriously, no Table of Contents for a Reader like this is ridiculous! Other large collections come with a PDF file. How the heck to navigate such a massive collection without either Chapter titles or a table of contents.