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riorda15's review against another edition
5.0
Very similar to Wallaces other work. I didn't finish it because of that.
marzipan951's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
meghaha's review against another edition
4.0
Oh man. I can’t. DFW was too clever for my little hermetic brain. Vulnerability and pain; little veerings away from plot to peer intently and expose the sadness, helplessness, of regular characters, people. Clever. Kind of obsessively written, but so controlled—you can tell he stared at these things for hours and hours, and passages that appear to be messes are purposeful, controlled fusillades of linguistic mastery. He could do anything. Things that should have been utterly tasteless (TSC) were so well written that they were hilarious and beautiful and touching. He really could do anything, and often all at once. Virtuosic. It’s scary. It really is. Loved "Good Old Neon" (fraudulence and paradoxes and self-destructive, spiral thinking touched a nerve), the plastic surgery one, "Incarnations of Burned Children." He writes at exactly the right wave-length for me.
pdxk8's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Some of the short stories and novellas were incredible, but most were a slog. My least favorite DFW so far.
quenchgum's review against another edition
5.0
This was brilliant, even if bizarre and difficult to read and traditionally unsatisfying. It’s also hilarious.
I don’t think these “short” stories (averaging ~50 pgs a pop) are as successful as his “short”-form nonfiction (Consider the Lobster; A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again) or his long-form fiction (Infinite Jest). But all of his other stuff has blown me away, and maybe only (”only” ) half of these stories shook me and changed things. So, you know, maybe it’s all just an unfair comparison.
4.5/5
“The truth is you already know what it's like. You already know the difference between the size and speed of everything that flashes through you and the tiny inadequate bit of it all you can ever let anyone know. As though inside you is this enormous room full of what seems like everything in the whole universe at one time or another and yet the only parts that get out have to somehow squeeze out through one of those tiny keyholes you see under the knob in older doors. As if we are all trying to see each other through these tiny keyholes.
But it does have a knob, the door can open. But not in the way you think...The truth is you've already heard this. That this is what it's like. That it's what makes room for the universes inside you, all the endless inbent fractals of connection and symphonies of different voices, the infinities you can never show another soul. And you think it makes you a fraud, the tiny fraction anyone else ever sees? Of course you're a fraud, of course what people see is never you. And of course you know this, and of course you try to manage what part they see if you know it's only a part. Who wouldn't? It's called free will, Sherlock. But at the same time it's why it feels so good to break down and cry in front of others, or to laugh, or speak in tongues, or chant in Bengali--it's not English anymore, it's not getting squeezed through any hole.
So cry all you want, I won't tell anybody”
I don’t think these “short” stories (averaging ~50 pgs a pop) are as successful as his “short”-form nonfiction (Consider the Lobster; A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again) or his long-form fiction (Infinite Jest). But all of his other stuff has blown me away, and maybe only (”only” ) half of these stories shook me and changed things. So, you know, maybe it’s all just an unfair comparison.
4.5/5
“The truth is you already know what it's like. You already know the difference between the size and speed of everything that flashes through you and the tiny inadequate bit of it all you can ever let anyone know. As though inside you is this enormous room full of what seems like everything in the whole universe at one time or another and yet the only parts that get out have to somehow squeeze out through one of those tiny keyholes you see under the knob in older doors. As if we are all trying to see each other through these tiny keyholes.
But it does have a knob, the door can open. But not in the way you think...The truth is you've already heard this. That this is what it's like. That it's what makes room for the universes inside you, all the endless inbent fractals of connection and symphonies of different voices, the infinities you can never show another soul. And you think it makes you a fraud, the tiny fraction anyone else ever sees? Of course you're a fraud, of course what people see is never you. And of course you know this, and of course you try to manage what part they see if you know it's only a part. Who wouldn't? It's called free will, Sherlock. But at the same time it's why it feels so good to break down and cry in front of others, or to laugh, or speak in tongues, or chant in Bengali--it's not English anymore, it's not getting squeezed through any hole.
So cry all you want, I won't tell anybody”
thelateauthor's review against another edition
5.0
‘Good Old Neon’ is sublime and might be one of Wallace’s finest creations. I immensely enjoyed reading ‘The Soul Is Not A Smithy’ as well. ‘Oblivion’ is a good one too as is ‘Mister Squishy’ and ‘The Suffering Channel’. The other three stories that make up this collection are definitely worth reading but not on the same level as the ones mentioned above.
Scattering details and an ultimate maximalism is present in all these stories ~ as well as a look on life, death, society ~ everything’s absurd, or is everything just really serious? The eight works presented here are extremely funny, or profoundly sad ~ this ambivalence has taken the center place in Wallace’s last short stories.
Scattering details and an ultimate maximalism is present in all these stories ~ as well as a look on life, death, society ~ everything’s absurd, or is everything just really serious? The eight works presented here are extremely funny, or profoundly sad ~ this ambivalence has taken the center place in Wallace’s last short stories.
celiapowell's review against another edition
OK, I just cannot read this guy's writing. Too dense, too opaque, sentences that go on for an entire page - I just can't do it.
aidonz's review against another edition
3.0
These stories are really uniquely sad. Down to the grammer, DFW comes off as really distant and impersonal. That's not to say it is an inherently bad thing, because I think it naturally follows with the main theme of the collection: We are never truly able to understand, or convey our true experience to, others. These stories follow characters that are so fleshed out that they seem strange or unreal, allowing each one to convey a certain sense of dread within Modern (particularly American) life. "Mister Squishy" follows a focus group researcher that is the epitome of sadness because of how his excellent understanding of human behavior and market trends doesn't equate to a good understanding of other people outside of his job. "Good Old Neon" explores our insular daily experience and how tragic it can feel. It's interesting because while I found each story to be excellently written and very rewarding, the style DFW uses for these ultimately is a bit tedious. He gives us EVERYTHING in the characters department, but doesn't give enough in actually storytelling. This is memorable in its own way and shows DFW's talent for a character study, but made the collection less enjoyable than I expected.
slanderous_mambo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
naoki's review against another edition
5.0
Genius. I can't even comprehend how good Wallace is. It's of great comfort to know a writer like this existed, with a brain that worked the way his did.