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A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments | |||||||
 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Publisher: Little, Brown Catalog: Book Release date: 1997-02-01 Media: Hardcover Number of pages: 368 Ean: 9780316919890 Book Isbn: 0316919896  Tip: compare prices with similar booksAuthor:
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 Written on August 5, 2006 Summary: The title essay alone is worth the price (of course its over 100 pages by itself) David Foster Wallce is a central figure of the contemporary literary scene. As such, he is predictably controversial. His epic novels like Infinite Jest and his metaficitional short stories are loved or hated... or like me both loved and hated. When his fiction hits it is some of the best writing out there. Other times it misses its mark and just descends into a pointless headgame (but is still at least mildly entertaining). I know lots of writers and readers and they will debate endlessly about his fiction. What they won't debate, however, is his Non-fiction. Everyone loves it. I don't know anyone who has read "A Supposedly Fun Thing" and not laughed out loud and loved it. As another reviewer noted, the three strongest essays are the titular one (about his experiences on a cruise ship), the state fair one (much the same as the first in style and humor) and the brillant essay on irony in the TV age. But the other essays (on proffesional tennis, david lynch, "the death of the author" argument and other things) are well worth reading, even if they aren't quite as utterly brillant as the first three, and especially worth reading for anyone interested in their subject matter. So if you like humorous journalism at all, do yourself a favor and buy this. Written on July 21, 2006 Summary: Even the footnotes * are a riot The wit just doesn't quit in Chapters 3 (the Illinois State Fair) and 7 (a seven-night cruise aboard the m.v. Zenith, which the author renames the Nadir). Don't think I've ever seen travel or destination writing that so perfectly captured the idiocy of luxury travel, the streaked-glass humidity in Miami, the quirks of one's dining companions at a cruise ship table, the sullen expressions on the vendors in Cozumel, the snarkiness of carnies at a state fair, the exultant spirit of the Prairie State Cloggers busting moves to Aretha, and pretty much every other detail that captures Wallace's eye. Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 went right over my head, but if you are into tennis, post-modernism or mathematics, you might do fine. Here Wallace thinks about various topics as opposed to experiencing them. And even if you only like chapters 3 and 7, that's a good 200 pages of wild reading. The author has a little habit of inserting footnotes* that make his story fold in on itself. * that run across multiple pages and sometimes there are footnotes ** to the footnotes ** which can be confusing ***. *** but the guy's writing is so incredibly fun. He won't say "an all-male audience listened to the ship's captain," Instead it's, "Of the 40 or so Naderites at this lecture, the total number of women is: 0." Note to self: steal some of this writer's technique. Yes, Wallace is a writer's writer, puckish and observant, who engaging lets his silences (like the pauses in jazz, or empty spaces in a Japanese rock garden) speak volumes. Once you get in the Wallace groove, he gets funnier and funnier. See for example the delicious understatement in passage about the dessert competitions at the state fair on page 111 ... followed by some pained hints about hospitals, and transverse colon rupture. It's like reading the winners of the Bulwer Lytton contest, you smile a little, and then it just gets punchier and punchier. Written on September 11, 2005 Summary: Hysterical If this book only contained the essay about the "Nadir," it would be worth the price. I laughed so hard I could barely breathe, and the next day my body ached. The rest is great as well, especially the essay about the Illinois State Fair. But there is lots more. I give this book as gifts. Just don't read it in public. Written on August 4, 2005 Summary: All I can say is, don't read it in public... That is, unless you're someone who doesn't embarrass easily, or doesn't mind people staring at you and wondering why you're laughing so hard. Seriously, this is one of only two books that has made me laugh so uncontrollably hard that I had to keep putting it down because I couldn't physically control myself (the other being "Me Talk Pretty One Day"). The last essay, which was the main culprit (and from which this book gets its title), is all about DFW's error-filled romp aboard a Carribean cruise. Just as good, if not quite as funny, are the essays in which he describes a trip to the Illinois state fair, and one in which he describes being on the set of David Lynch's "Lost Highway". Highly, highly recommended. Written on February 27, 2005 Summary: Three Great Essays (Others are just a bonus) Almost like a bad habit, I keep returning to David Foster Wallace's works, searching for anything new he has written. Known primarily for his work "Infinite Jest," Wallace has proven himself one of today's great cultural journalists. I am so taken with "A Supposedly Fun Thing . . ." that I have purchased and, subsequently given away, two copies of this book to friends, hoping that they share my enthusiasm for Wallace's trenchant observations. Before I had ever really heard of Wallace or his work, I read "Shipping Out," the original version of "A Supposedly Fun Thing . . ." (the title essay) in Harper's Magazine. I immediatelythought it was one of the funniest essays I had ever read and prompted me to seek out everything else he had written. Although "Infinite Jest," "Girl With Curious Hair," and "Oblivion" are entertaining and extremely well written, I still believe that Wallace's strengths are truly revealed in his journalistic enterprises, most of them collected in "A Supposedly Fun Thing . . ." Along with the title essay, Wallace's essay on the Illinois State Fair, as well as one on David Lynch stand out from the rest of the collection. Both reveal a fascination and self-conciousness (almost uncomfortable) about each subject, laced with heavy doses of humorous observation. These three essays provide enough justification for buying this book, even though Wallace's other essays are also well-written and observant. They are just not quite up to the standard set by the others and drift into precious "navel-gazing" too often. Readers of this volume should definitely check out "Tense Present: Democracy, English and the Wars over Usage," previously published in Harper's, as well as his infamous "Consider the Lobster" in Gourmet Magazine to see him at the peak of his talents. People who already enjoy David Foster Wallace will no doubt enjoy this book as well, but I belive that it speaks volumes that the people to whom I've given "A Supposedly Fun Thing . . ." have passed it on to someone else. |
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| Wondering how the book "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments" relates to similar books? Find out at a glance here: |
| Price comparison |
 A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays... |
 Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays |
 Infinite Jest |
 Brief Interviews with Hideous Men |
 Girl With Curious Hair |
 The Broom of the System |
| Our price | - | $10.19 | $12.23 | $10.19 | $10.17 | $10.88 |
| List price | $23.95 | $14.99 | $17.99 | $14.99 | $14.95 | $16.00 |
| Lowest used price | $14.34 | $7.25 | $9.25 | $6.00 | $7.14 | $9.89 |
| Lowest new price | - | $7.99 | $9.48 | $7.53 | $7.98 | $9.49 |
| Collectible price | $289.99 | - | - | - | - | $85.00 |
| Catalog | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book |
| Release date | 1997-02-01 | 2007-07-02 | 2006-11-13 | 2000-04-01 | 1996-03 | 2004-05-25 |
| Media | Hardcover | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback |
| Number of pages | 368 | 352 | 1104 | 336 | 373 | 480 |
| Ean | 9780316919890 | 9780316013321 | 9780316066525 | 9780316925198 | 9780393313963 | 9780142002421 |
| Book Isbn | 0316919896 | 0316013323 | 0316066524 | 0316925195 | 0393313964 | 0142002429 |
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