David Foster Wallace's first story collection includes "Little Expressionless Animals," about a woman on the game show Jeopardy, "Lyndon," a fictional account of President Johnson's closeted aide, and "Here and There," along with the title story about a rich girl, a punk party and a boy with strange hair. The stories play with postmodern form, metafiction and the pull of television, with references and jokes that interrupt themselves. Wallace uses long sentences and strange narrators to look at loneliness and media saturation.
It suits readers who like experimental short fiction and are curious about Wallace before Infinite Jest. It is witty and sometimes difficult.
Deep, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1988
- Language
- EN
