I am, of course, talking about David Foster Wallace's posthumous novel, The Pale King, coming out in April. Who else would I be talking about, right?
The Empirical Approach to Learning
2 days ago
Thursday, March 03, 2011
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6 comments:
I've been thinking a lot about this.
I think I just can't read it.
Not just because it's inherently sad. But Infinite Jest-- as well as his short story collections, for that matter-- was so much more than the sum of its parts. Its overall structure, the way the pieces fit together, especially at the end, was part of its magic. But it was a strange quirky magic, and the effect, again especially towards the end, was unexpected (and perhaps, for a while, even unwelcome).
I guess I'm just saying that what's published as The Pale King will just feel like a bunch of short brilliant set-pieces. If Wallace had lived to stitch them all together, it probably would have been heartbreaking and urgent. As it is, it's just going to feel a little too glass-half-empty to enjoy. For a long time. :(
On a completely different note - Larry, are you planning on reviewing the last two novels from the witcher series? I read the whole cycle in original, I also read your reviews of them with interest (as many of your other posts here) and I would gladly read how you find these novels.
Jason,
I feel much the same way when I heard Nabokov's The Original of Laura was being released. It'll be something that will be bittersweet to read, but something I want to do, just to see how he was creating this story when he took his life,
Aplegat,
I do plan on reviewing them, but since I got caught in a bunch of work in December, I'll probably wait until the summertime before I re-read and review the final volumes (and at least one volume of the Hussite trilogy; I have hopes that the second volume will be released in Spanish translation this year).
I can say that I really liked them, as I chose the final volume (well, the second half of it in Spanish translation) as a top "heroic fantasy" for 2010 in a list I did for Locus Online.
I agree with Jason, but still I'd read every word he's written in whatever context. For those who are interested...
http://flavorwire.com/153696/the-first-real-david-foster-wallace-documentary
Anyway I'll buy it. After Crippled God i'm sure ill be in the mood for some DFW
Mike, I'm much the same way, even down to planning on reading Erikson's book this weekend, if my copy arrives in time.
Thanks for the documentary link, Mike. I hated the voice that read the actual DWF works, but a lot of the interviews are fantastic.
If nothing else, the documentary warmed me up to Pale King. It sounds more fleshed out than I had thought. I guess if I can listen to Bach's unfinished final fugue from The Art of the Fugue, maybe I can read this too. :)
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