Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself - David Lipsky

As one who reads liner notes (or at least did when they existed) and listens to DVD commentary tracks, I looked forward to this book for any insight it might have had on Infinite Jest, a behind the scenes look on how anyone could have written that book - the mechanics involved, the thought process, the dedication. There was a little of that in this book, but it was mostly about DFW at a particular point in his life - the newly crowned King of American Fiction, this particular moment in his life made all the much sadder by the perspective of 15 years and a suicide later.
 DFW never wrote anything as major as Infinite Jest again (though, really, no one has) and there seems to be some recognition on his part that he never will in this story, as he spends a few days with Lipsky, a novelist turned Rolling Stone contributor. In the end, this book just makes me want to read Infinite Jest again.

Right as Rain - George Pelecanos

Visits some familiar places: the crack house, the neighbourhood run by the drug kingpin, the whorehouse, the P.I. office, complete with gun in the desk drawer, removed when things get serious. Builds to a smooth climax, but when I saw where it was going within the first 50 pages I was hoping for a twist, something to make it stand out from the rest, but it never came.

Border Songs - Jim Lynch

Moves smoothly over drug smuggling, post 9/11 paranoia, Canadian/US relations and the dying family farm with a deft touch, centered on the main character, a 6'8, 240 pound nature child who involuntarily imitates bird calls and joined the Border Patrol because no one else was hiring. The girl he loves is in deep with marijuana smugglers and won't return his calls, while his father struggles with his wife losing her memory and his dairy farm losing the will the survive. A good mix of character and story, and defies expectations with the direction of some plot strands.

Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Joan Didion

At this point a textbook on how to write non-fiction about the current mood. Title piece was the best, as was California Dreaming. Later half had a filler feel - mostly short pieces about small subjects.


"I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind's door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends." 

The Philosophy of David F Wallace

What The Broom of The System has to do with Wittgenstein. Apparently, everything.

Philosophical Sweep - Slate

All the philosophy courses I took in uni all went in chronological order, and all went over, so Wittgenstein was always shoved to the final two weeks before exams, so it was usually rushed. I have the suspicion that most of my professors didn't quite understand what he was all about anyway, so just assigned him for reading and threw the arbitrary question on the exam.

In other DFW news, I'm thinking of re-reading Infinite Jest this year. I almost re-read it two summers ago, as part of the Infinite Summer project, but decided to read 15 other books instead. The first time I read it was in my 3rd year of university, during winter exams. (Yeah, I was that kind of guy when I was 22) I attempted a re-read in 2000, but gave up about half-way, unable to concentrate on it.  It's been sitting on bookshelf ever since, taunting me.  I've dipped into it now and again (especially after DFW's suicide) and now I'm considering a full re-read.

Modern Novels - Too Long?

Interesting post on the length of modern novels, and whether they should be that long or not.

"Literary novels appear to have universalised their length to at least 300 pages. It is a rare publishing event when a respected author produces something dinkier. Ian McEwan did it in 2007 with On Chesil Beach, his story of a disastrous wedding night; in 2010 Bret Easton Ellis gave us Imperial Bedrooms, his first novel in five years, which concluded in 250 pages and was all the more arresting for it."

It all depends on the work. I did think that Freedom was too long, but I wanted more about the son and his wife with the half-formed personality.  Imperial Bedrooms was more of a novella than a full novel, but I didn't want to continue any longer than it did.

The Independent

When You Are Engulfed In Flames

Sedaris has changed over the years - his earlier books were darker and angrier, and though he may have mellowed with age, his humour has remained sharp.

The title piece, about moving to Japan to help quit smoking, is worth the price of admission. He has some good observations about Japan and he's clearly enamoured of the place, and it's easy to see why, with Sedaris' love of the weird and wonderful.  

I laughed my way through That's Amore, about a rude neighbour Sedaris had in New York, and some of the other pieces seem a bit thin, but there are a few good laughs. He has mastered the ability to find the funny in situations, such as when the town child molester tries to befriend him, but this is not as consistent as Me Talk Pretty One Day which is the standard bearer for the funny essay collection book.