DAVID FOSTER WALLACE — THE BROOM OF THE SYSTEM

Image: author photo

Look, DFW has a lofty reputation, and when he gets compared to other authors it’s usually really famous ones like Pynchon or Vonnegut, but this reminded me of Terry Southern. Just cause sometimes it seemed equal parts smart and horny. There are beauties and hotties, more female than male. Coupling occurs.

It’s easy to appreciate this novel as a Madcap Metafictional Romp, and more difficult to do same as a Novel of Philosophical Depth and Scope. I think anyone trying too hard to do the latter will be disappointed. 

I laughed my ass off during some passages. Not the clever ones. Not the ones where a character talks hyper-articulately or makes a bunch of jokes about Wittgenstein. The dumb-funny passages — those got me. Funny is funny.