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A review by almartin
Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace by D.T. Max
4.0
Totally straightforward, extensively researched, workmanlike (in the best sense of the term) biography of Wallace. Max's project appears to be a factual/chronological recap of things that happened in DFW's life. If you already have a dog in the DFW legacy/interpretation fight it will apparently provide plenty of fodder for outrage! of the warmed-for-too-long variety, but there's a lot here for semi-professional DFW appreciators (of which I identify) previously familiar with only the broad outlines of Wallace's life.
Max's authorial voice is unobtrusive; excerpts from Wallace's own letters are abundant. He seems to have envisioned his role mainly as an adept curator - no grand theories/musings about the source of David's personality/voice are extended, and Wallace's words are often allowed to simply speak for themselves. This approach seems wise for an author a step removed from Wallace's immediate network - an understated retelling is probably the only safe approach for a first survey of DFW's maximalist life/body of work.
The thrust and structure of the biography comes from DFW's writing. Wallace's outlook and depression is a constant companion, but, at least in this telling, manifests itself mainly through the prism of DFW's struggles with the creative process. Untangling the inner life of a writer sometimes famously tripped up by self-reference is no easy feat, but Max's retelling comes across as fair-minded, if ultimately sympathetic. DFW's brilliant mind is apparent throughout; his uncommon dedication to his students shines through; his conflicted, but often entirely callous treatment of women in his orbit is duly recorded.
Ultimately, I walked away from Every Love Story is a Ghost Story with a profound sense of sadness. Reading Max's biography over the course of a few days brought Wallace's presence into the background hum of everyday life; the world is a sadder place without him.
Max's authorial voice is unobtrusive; excerpts from Wallace's own letters are abundant. He seems to have envisioned his role mainly as an adept curator - no grand theories/musings about the source of David's personality/voice are extended, and Wallace's words are often allowed to simply speak for themselves. This approach seems wise for an author a step removed from Wallace's immediate network - an understated retelling is probably the only safe approach for a first survey of DFW's maximalist life/body of work.
The thrust and structure of the biography comes from DFW's writing. Wallace's outlook and depression is a constant companion, but, at least in this telling, manifests itself mainly through the prism of DFW's struggles with the creative process. Untangling the inner life of a writer sometimes famously tripped up by self-reference is no easy feat, but Max's retelling comes across as fair-minded, if ultimately sympathetic. DFW's brilliant mind is apparent throughout; his uncommon dedication to his students shines through; his conflicted, but often entirely callous treatment of women in his orbit is duly recorded.
Ultimately, I walked away from Every Love Story is a Ghost Story with a profound sense of sadness. Reading Max's biography over the course of a few days brought Wallace's presence into the background hum of everyday life; the world is a sadder place without him.