David Foster Wallace: The Depressed Person

[SFG75]

Harpers article.

 

[Peder]

Hey Scott,
Thanks for the David Foster Wallace story, but I think it is going to take a different story to engage my interest in him as an author. He is highly esteemed by many, no doubt, and I know my comments here are running against the usual grain. However, his narrative style in The Depressed Person seems to me to be extremely clinical and, as a result, overly specific in trying to guide my thoughts and reactions to be exactly as DFW wishes them to be. The characters, in consequence, have the feel of cardboard, with no freedom or intrinsically interesting personalities of their own, and the plot seems highly contrived. Or perhaps it is the clinical case study of a deeply victimized person in a depressed-person's hospital ward. Somehow the combination of these characters, plot and style just wasn't enough to get me to finish the story.

But thanks for giving me the opportunity to see this one particular example of his style.

And my apologies in advance to any for whom this seems to be an unusually obtuse review. No offense intended.

 

[Libra]

I have been trying to read this the past three nights.Hopefully tonight.

 

[Libra]

I finally finished it.Depressing to say the least bit I did feel the Depressed Person's pain come through.I also found it a bit non engaging or clinical as mentioned above.

The parents sometimes don't know the damage that is done by their comments and actions,and how it can have an affect on their children which is sad.

It's very easy to say "get over it".It's alot of work to understand and leave things in the past and go forward.

Thought provoking read.

 

[Peder]

The story did, however, cause me to go back and have another look at Infinite Jest, whose opening chapter I enjoyed immensely some time ago. And, then, the re-skim of the following 1000 or so dense pages again convinced me that it will take patience to follow him through to the end. But, someday, hopefully it may happen.

 

[SFG75]

I knew the author committed suicide, before happening across this article, I never read anything that he wrote. I like Max Barry and Chuck Palahniuk, and he is very much like them in regards to writing about the most uplifting of circumstances. Are the characters one dimensional or narrow?, I don't know. When I read this article, I'm reminded of The Invisible Man and other works like that. Those characters aren't very well developed either, perhaps that is due to the shortness of the work. Maybe the setting and larger point of the piece is to be considered to be more important than individual nuances.

Perhaps it is just me, but I even found the piece a bit humorous. The requirement of a mediator to be an orthodontist bill?:lol: The experential childhood trauma group?:lol: I don't know if he was mocking our therapeutic culture or not, but if he was, he did a good job of it.

 

[Libra]

I knew the author committed suicide, before happening across this article, I never read anything that he wrote. I like Max Barry and Chuck Palahniuk, and he is very much like them in regards to writing about the most uplifting of circumstances. Are the characters one dimensional or narrow?, I don't know. When I read this article, I'm reminded of The Invisible Man and other works like that. Those characters aren't very well developed either, perhaps that is due to the shortness of the work. Maybe the setting and larger point of the piece is to be considered to be more important than individual nuances.

Perhaps it is just me, but I even found the piece a bit humorous. The requirement of a mediator to be an orthodontist bill?:lol: The experential childhood trauma group?:lol: I don't know if he was mocking our therapeutic culture or not, but if he was, he did a good job of it.

That's what happens when there are messy separations and divorces,they try to get revenge and through the kids are one way.

I didn't find it funny at all,imo I think it hits the worst parts of The Depressed One's pain but in a lighthearted way if you know what I mean.