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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just couldn’t keep reading it. I never abandon books but it was just weird and I hated the writing style. Life is too short to read bad books!
Another funny and interesting novel by David Foster Wallace. Written when he was 24, so some of the writing or ideas or concepts seem a bit old if you’ve read his other stuff, yet it is still very good, very interesting, and very funny.
There’s a decent amount to unpack in this book, from the implications of Reverend Sykes’ bad theological television church, to Mr. Bombardini’s consummation of everything philosophy, or Rick Vigorous’ need to ‘have’. There’s quite a lot of interesting things going on, and they for the most part all play out and relate. I think this is well worth a read.
There’s a decent amount to unpack in this book, from the implications of Reverend Sykes’ bad theological television church, to Mr. Bombardini’s consummation of everything philosophy, or Rick Vigorous’ need to ‘have’. There’s quite a lot of interesting things going on, and they for the most part all play out and relate. I think this is well worth a read.
Not a single footnote, but still full to the brim of DFW's trademark meticulous verbosity, head-fucking philosophical insight, adept characterization (not to mention naming... seriously, 'Judith Prietht'?), and semantic self-awareness. As another reviewer of this novel's pointed out, it's certainly no Infinite Jest, but it definitely serves as a thoroughly enjoyable indication of the 1,079-page masterpiece to come 9 years down the line.
My one qualm was that a few of the characters seemed less 'grounded' (that is to say, more quirky than human in their disposition) than I would have liked, but the rich prose, meta-meta-meta approach to story and story-telling, as well as the often-hilarious, usually-poignant, and always-self-aware ellipses-ridden dialogue more than makes up for it.
With that said, that's four* down, and seven^ to go!
- - - -
*Infinite Jest, This is Water, Consider the Lobster, The Broom of the System
^Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Girl with Curious Hair, Signifying Rappers: Rap and Race In the Urban Present, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity, Oblivion, and finally... The Pale King
My one qualm was that a few of the characters seemed less 'grounded' (that is to say, more quirky than human in their disposition) than I would have liked, but the rich prose, meta-meta-meta approach to story and story-telling, as well as the often-hilarious, usually-poignant, and always-self-aware ellipses-ridden dialogue more than makes up for it.
With that said, that's four* down, and seven^ to go!
- - - -
*Infinite Jest, This is Water, Consider the Lobster, The Broom of the System
^Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Girl with Curious Hair, Signifying Rappers: Rap and Race In the Urban Present, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity, Oblivion, and finally... The Pale King
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
On a second read, I could see this being a 5-star book, but on the first go-around, there's just a hell of a lot going on. We have about 3 dozen of characters each with their own stories, quirks, and ideas, and DFW certainly does a hell of a job giving them depth despite the theme of wondering if one is just a linguistic construct.
Broom of the System is funny--from a trash-talking parrot to little jokes and puns, I found myself really struck by the novel's humor. I didn't laugh at out, but I definitely laughed quietly to myself. The other thing is that a lot of the novel's threads are and remain somewhat ambiguous. It's metafiction in its essence...it's a story about stories.
There's a lot going on, and it's a very intricate read, taking me nearly two weeks. Rewarding, to be sure, and DFW certainly pays a lot of attention to philosophical thought and philosophical implications, but I feel like my second reading, when I'm aware of who is who and who is intertwined with who, will allow me to appreciate Broom of the System much more. I'd recommend it, but know that it may not a) be everyone's cup of tea and b) may require a second reading to full appreciate.
Broom of the System is funny--from a trash-talking parrot to little jokes and puns, I found myself really struck by the novel's humor. I didn't laugh at out, but I definitely laughed quietly to myself. The other thing is that a lot of the novel's threads are and remain somewhat ambiguous. It's metafiction in its essence...it's a story about stories.
There's a lot going on, and it's a very intricate read, taking me nearly two weeks. Rewarding, to be sure, and DFW certainly pays a lot of attention to philosophical thought and philosophical implications, but I feel like my second reading, when I'm aware of who is who and who is intertwined with who, will allow me to appreciate Broom of the System much more. I'd recommend it, but know that it may not a) be everyone's cup of tea and b) may require a second reading to full appreciate.
Incredible that Infinite Jest would come out only 9 years later.
Was actually a really fun read. Understandably, a lot of the criticism revolves around the lack of narrative discipline, which-agreed-was a little egregious at times paired with the on-the-nose Wittgenstein stuff. But I enjoyed it a lot.