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A review by h2oetry
Quack This Way by David Foster Wallace
5.0
Bryan A. Garner’s [b:Garner's Modern American Usage|18936455|Garner's Modern American Usage|Bryan Garner|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1385331031s/18936455.jpg|26944188] was reviewed in Harper’s by David Foster Wallace and an unlikely bond was formed, which led to things like DFW meeting an oppositely-political Justice Scalia of the Supreme Court as well as this book. The book is a transcription of more than an hour’s worth of video taken by BAG. He interviews DFW about language, grammar, usage, proper subjectivity of words, et cetera.
It’s a wonderful glimpse into the minds of two precocious SNOOTS. There’s plenty of good advice for writers and readers alike in the pages. I took a glacial pace through this, and the depth within the brevity is one reason. Another reason is I see myself reading this a few times per year.
To get a sense of the content, here is video from one portion of the conversation, where BAG asks DFW about genteelisms such as “prior to:”
It’s a wonderful glimpse into the minds of two precocious SNOOTS. There’s plenty of good advice for writers and readers alike in the pages. I took a glacial pace through this, and the depth within the brevity is one reason. Another reason is I see myself reading this a few times per year.
To get a sense of the content, here is video from one portion of the conversation, where BAG asks DFW about genteelisms such as “prior to:”