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jeremygoodjob's review against another edition
3.0
This book is pretty great if it's exactly what you think it is.
pamjsa's review against another edition
4.0
The format makes this book difficult reading, but I loved hearing DFW in his own words.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
a transcript of lipsky's interview with wallace as he completed a book tour for his most wel-known work, [b:Infinite Jest|6759|Infinite Jest|David Foster Wallace|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165604485s/6759.jpg|3271542].
the article was to be published in rolling stone, but the editor changed his mind. and lipsky was sent elsewhere.
but what to do with all of these tapes of conversation?
he held on to them for a respectable amount of time following wallace's suicide and then he published them here.
i suppose if you are like me and you have not read wallace, this is just a conversation about writing, reading, movies, pop culture, and the like. if i had read even one essay of wallace's, the content might be more appealing.
the article was to be published in rolling stone, but the editor changed his mind. and lipsky was sent elsewhere.
but what to do with all of these tapes of conversation?
he held on to them for a respectable amount of time following wallace's suicide and then he published them here.
i suppose if you are like me and you have not read wallace, this is just a conversation about writing, reading, movies, pop culture, and the like. if i had read even one essay of wallace's, the content might be more appealing.
justin_zigenis's review against another edition
5.0
Having seen the movie before reading the book, I had preconceptions about David Lipsky. The first half of the book it was hard to shake the Jessie Eisenberg crassness of his character. I didn’t like him. Fully intent on giving the book 4 stars for getting more DFW and -1 star for anything Lipsky had to say, I have to say that I was delighted at how different the book is from the movie. There’s no tension between the two via hurt feelings and DFW hitting on his gf and visa-versa. Damn the need for Hollywood tension. It’s a good book.
sheltoneezer's review against another edition
4.0
There were more than a few times that I teared up while reading this conversation. A really really really good look into who David Wallace was in his own words.
tsharris's review against another edition
4.0
A bit repetitive at times, but a really fascinating look into who DFW was as a person, the kind of issues that were important to him, his struggles as an American and a human being.
smappygai1's review against another edition
5.0
“If you can think of times in your life that you've treated people with extraordinary decency and love, and pure uninterested concern, just because they were valuable as human beings. The ability to do that with ourselves. To treat ourselves the way we would treat a really good, precious friend. Or a tiny child of ours that we absolutely loved more than life itself. And I think it's probably possible to achieve that. I think part of the job we're here for is to learn how to do it. I know that sounds a little pious."
jenniferwallini's review against another edition
3.0
This was interesting, and ultimately, I'm glad I read it, but it does get a bit repetitive at times and took me longer to get through than I thought it would. Basically, it made me want to read (or re-read) DFW's work more than anything else just to once again hear his unique voice coming from the page. It is also a butbsad hearing him talk about the future as if it's limitless, when the reader knows that's not the case for him. Would definitely recommend reading if you're a fan of DFW, but if you're not already a DFW, this probably won't make you one.
mvancamp's review against another edition
3.0
I really have mixed feelings about this book. DFW's thoughts immediately after publishing Infinte Jest are fascinating. However, I find it odd that Lipsky lists himself as the author (instead of editor or--even--interviewer) when the vast majority of the book is just transcriptions of taped conversations/interviews with DFW, in which DFW does most of the talking.
rachelhelps's review against another edition
4.0
My cuz, Christina sent me this book and I didn't even bother looking up what it was. I figured it was something she knew I'd like.
I'm kind of ashamed to like this book, which is basically a transcription of a Rolling Stone editor's road trip with DFWallace. I'm ashamed because it means I'm one of those fans who likes the author as a celebrity as well as what the author writes.
The best thing about this book was how inspiring it was that DFW had so many ups and downs. How he spent an obscene amount of time watching TV as a teenager. How he took a year off college to just read. Learning that he only started writing at 21 inspired me. I want to try writing things longer than a blog post. I secretly want to write like DFW, only with my own style and awesome.
I didn't like how the interviewer was constantly asking DFW to reflect on his own celebrity. I wish he had asked more about how DFW keeps track of everything in his books, or how he determines which details are going to be the most telling of a situation, and how he got such a great vocabulary. It was a tad on the long side, but it was still constantly refreshing how... unpretentious DFW could be. How he's susceptible to the same pop-culture fads that we are. Kind of like the polar opposite of Nabokov, perhaps.
I'm kind of ashamed to like this book, which is basically a transcription of a Rolling Stone editor's road trip with DFWallace. I'm ashamed because it means I'm one of those fans who likes the author as a celebrity as well as what the author writes.
The best thing about this book was how inspiring it was that DFW had so many ups and downs. How he spent an obscene amount of time watching TV as a teenager. How he took a year off college to just read. Learning that he only started writing at 21 inspired me. I want to try writing things longer than a blog post. I secretly want to write like DFW, only with my own style and awesome.
I didn't like how the interviewer was constantly asking DFW to reflect on his own celebrity. I wish he had asked more about how DFW keeps track of everything in his books, or how he determines which details are going to be the most telling of a situation, and how he got such a great vocabulary. It was a tad on the long side, but it was still constantly refreshing how... unpretentious DFW could be. How he's susceptible to the same pop-culture fads that we are. Kind of like the polar opposite of Nabokov, perhaps.