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A review by kaylielongley
Oblivion: Stories by David Foster Wallace
5.0
It is a grand experience diving into a David Foster Wallace collection for the first time. It is not simply that his humor is dark, or his writing intrepid, it's his complete acknowledgement of the paradoxes of humanity. He is acutely aware of the lies we tell ourselves to make life worth living, the dreams that simultaneously cause hiding in shame and disclosure, and the bustling distractions that consume our unconscious minds. Each story within Oblivion fits this theme yet is unique enough to hold value and introspection, pages and chapters later.
Wallace's keen intellect is both unabashed and interdisciplinary, and these stories reveal how the psyche processes the mental space, as opposed to the physical space, where traditional authors spend most of their time. Digesting these pieces is purposefully difficult, as Wallace writes seemingly stream of conscious tangents, such as a market analyst's self-pity over never receiving love (or at least, affection or attention) from his coworker as a climber scales a wall while his subjects complete a survey. Or in a later story, a self-proclaimed fraud spends more time revealing his personality than narrating his suicide story, which is just as humbling as it is harrowing. These are not mere plot devices or distractions and instead a sensitive, smart look at humanity and our most intimate selves.
Wallace's keen intellect is both unabashed and interdisciplinary, and these stories reveal how the psyche processes the mental space, as opposed to the physical space, where traditional authors spend most of their time. Digesting these pieces is purposefully difficult, as Wallace writes seemingly stream of conscious tangents, such as a market analyst's self-pity over never receiving love (or at least, affection or attention) from his coworker as a climber scales a wall while his subjects complete a survey. Or in a later story, a self-proclaimed fraud spends more time revealing his personality than narrating his suicide story, which is just as humbling as it is harrowing. These are not mere plot devices or distractions and instead a sensitive, smart look at humanity and our most intimate selves.