Gosh.

Regarding the comments to this post and the other about DFW and IJ: I don't think it's a big mystery or even something that you can intellectualize ... you either like (well, love - there's no middle ground) "Infinite Jest" or you don't. The midwestern vibe, characters, and language speak to your being (as they did to me), or they don't. Myself, I've never laughed so hard over a novel. I found Irving's "Owen Meany" more touching, but IJ comes in with a close second.

It's a genre novel, even. Though I couldn't really name the genre that "Catcher in the Rye" or "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "A Prayer for Owen Meany" - along with IJ - belong to. "Americana Love and Angst" perhaps? (It certainly wouldn't be the genre of literary fiction, a true ghetto, imvho.)

Those novels all fit into the "Hero's Journey" rubric, too; except that the ending for the hero isn't as grand as being presented with a medal from the princess for saving the planet. It's more like "goes nuts", "scarred for life", "killed while saving children", and "goes nuts*", respectively.

*"Infinite Jest" does have an ending that's given away by the title. When you read the last page, it leads right back to the very first where Hal is going insane during an admittance interview. The first three chapters or so are the end of the book.

DFW's favorite books, listed here (scroll past my drivel to the bottom), are pedestrian and kind of sweet. From that list I would guess two things: 1) he apparently loved a good plot or at least a good story, and 2) he was religious to some extent, because while non-believers can enjoy "The Screwtape Letters," I would posit that only believers (even those with large doubts about it) would put it at the very top of their top ten.

I think the quote above about Kurt Cobain really nails it. He'd have found the end of that rope even if he'd ended up handing out Venti's with room for cream at Starbucks. And that really sucks any way you look at it.

Posted by: yahmdallah on March 6, 2009 1:06 AM

Gil - Fun. FWIW, I once spoke to a guy who'd been Nirvana's manager, or biz guy or something (I forget). He was laughing about the press that Cobain had received, all the pieces about how Cobain had never wanted to be a star, it was all about the music, man. This guy (who'd worked with Cobain closely for some years) said it was all bullshit, Cobain desperately wanted to be a star.

JV -- Your idea that genre fiction=the jocks and lit-fict=the dramafags would be a wee bit more accurate if, on that particular campus, the dramafags also happened to run the college administration, set the curriculum, and had the power to isolate the jocks in a ghetto.

Peter -- Hmm, let's see ... The New York Times? The Atlantic? Time? The New York Review? Until recently, the LA Times Book Review? Vanity Fair? The creative writing industry? The literature departments at universities? The prize-giving establishment? The foundations?

Yahmdallah -- Fun ramblings, tks.

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on March 6, 2009 2:04 AM

Michael,

Thanks for the compliments and the links.

PatrickH:

Great posts on DFW and Infinite Jest, JA. Seems to me you've been absent for a while--too long a while--and it's good to see you back.

Thanks, man! Re Sagan, I think he was trying to be too cute by using that word. I do think his general point stands.

anon:

What a surprise...A liberal has DFW, a guy who was expert in chronicling his mental masturbation, as his favorite writer. He'd better hurry and find someone new and stay ahead of the SWPL curve!

I know, right? Next thing you'll hear I prefer Starbucks to Dunkin Donuts and that I wear birkenstocks! Liberals have funny preferences, amirite??

Posted by: JewishAtheist on March 6, 2009 8:46 AM

Your idea that genre fiction=the jocks and lit-fict=the dramafags would be a wee bit more accurate if, on that particular campus, the dramafags also happened to run the college administration, set the curriculum, and had the power to isolate the jocks in a ghetto.

what an bizarre and unrealistic comment.

Posted by: MQ on March 7, 2009 1:33 PM

I know! In my fantasy I completely forgot to include this element: The dramafags have trust funds or cushy tenured positions and talk only to each other, while the jocks create and sell products that everyday people enjoy and are willing to pay money for.

Apologies for the oversight.

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on March 7, 2009 1:43 PM

MB:

Which begs the question, if they're crying all the way to the bank and are the real creative engines of our society, then why do they need such a ferocious defense of their aesthetic tastes?

By their very nature they could give two shits out of a rat's ass about the intellectual accolades accumulated by the self-proclaimed thinkers of our society.

In fact, I would venture that what irks you is just the self-importance of certain aspects of Literary Fiction, but that's hardly unique to the genre. God knows I've read enough science fiction to know how much the authors and critics of that world can think of their stature regardless of the reality.

I mean what would satisfy you? That people who like Literary Fiction enjoy books outside Literary Fiction?

Looking at the life histories of current Literary authors, they seem to be voracious readers who seem quite willing to read and comment on anything. I mean look at the utter minutia The Believer publishes. They'd probably publish an article by Franzen about merits and demerits of the various children's cereal mascots if they haven't already (makes notes for future submission). Even high Lit criticism has backed off the whole elitism angle since the early 90s, "the world is flat" now, isn't it? You can have your Roland Barthes and Roland the Gunslinger at the same time if you so wish (I'll take the gunslinger and leave Barthes, by the way).

Is it the prizes?

So far as I can tell, all the genres have their own prizes awarded to the masters and newcomers alike, determined by the industry insiders. Sure they may not be as much of a pot o' gold as the Litfic prizes, nor get in the New York Times, but who cares? If they're really good, they can write without becoming an academic ward of the state, more than any LitFic person who isn't already loaded can say.

What's the whole point?

Posted by: Spike Gomes on March 7, 2009 6:42 PM






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