Comments on: Hysterical realism and the postmodern trademark http://schweblog.com/2008/01/07/the-sprawling-contemporary-novel/ the weblog of Jesse Schwebach Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:29:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: johno http://schweblog.com/2008/01/07/the-sprawling-contemporary-novel/comment-page-1/#comment-116 johno Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:47:03 +0000 http://schweblog.com/2008/01/07/the-sprawling-contemporary-novel/#comment-116 Jesse Thanks for the feedback. I'll let you know my own thoughts when I get around to reading it. Jesse

Thanks for the feedback. I’ll let you know my own thoughts when I get around to reading it.

]]> By: Jesse http://schweblog.com/2008/01/07/the-sprawling-contemporary-novel/comment-page-1/#comment-115 Jesse Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:35:24 +0000 http://schweblog.com/2008/01/07/the-sprawling-contemporary-novel/#comment-115 Johno, thanks for the comment! Avoiding the footnotes would be a pretty big mistake. They contain some pretty essential information--missing it would make piecing together the very-fractured narratives very difficult, if not impossible. A history professor that I'm reading the book with keeps commenting that some of the stuff in the footnotes really belongs in the text itself. I would normally agree, but I maintain that there's a stylistic choice being made there to express the essentially disruptive nature of living in contemporary entertainment culture. Keep me updated on what you think of it! Johno, thanks for the comment!

Avoiding the footnotes would be a pretty big mistake. They contain some pretty essential information–missing it would make piecing together the very-fractured narratives very difficult, if not impossible. A history professor that I’m reading the book with keeps commenting that some of the stuff in the footnotes really belongs in the text itself. I would normally agree, but I maintain that there’s a stylistic choice being made there to express the essentially disruptive nature of living in contemporary entertainment culture.

Keep me updated on what you think of it!

]]> By: johno http://schweblog.com/2008/01/07/the-sprawling-contemporary-novel/comment-page-1/#comment-114 johno Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:38:21 +0000 http://schweblog.com/2008/01/07/the-sprawling-contemporary-novel/#comment-114 I'm pleased I stayed subscribed. I hope that you've been well in the interim. A wonderful book 'review'. I am just about to purchase a copy from Amazon. How would the book read if one simply ignored the footnotes? I’m pleased I stayed subscribed. I hope that you’ve been well in the interim.
A wonderful book ‘review’. I am just about to purchase a copy from Amazon.

How would the book read if one simply ignored the footnotes?

]]> By: mattbucher http://schweblog.com/2008/01/07/the-sprawling-contemporary-novel/comment-page-1/#comment-112 mattbucher Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:05:51 +0000 http://schweblog.com/2008/01/07/the-sprawling-contemporary-novel/#comment-112 Great post. You might be interested in a new study of Infinite Jest that was just published called "Elegant Complexity." http://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Complexity-Foster-Wallaces-Infinite/dp/0976146533 The author talks a lot about the way the different plot strands and themes of the novel are interconnected. One theory is Wallace's description of the novel's structure as a Sierpinski Gasket: http://www.kottke.org/07/12/infinite-jest The study also has maps of ETA, family trees, and a chronological list of how the subchapters of the novel unfold. You should check it out. Great post. You might be interested in a new study of Infinite Jest that was just published called “Elegant Complexity.”
http://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Complexity-Foster-Wallaces-Infinite/dp/0976146533
The author talks a lot about the way the different plot strands and themes of the novel are interconnected. One theory is Wallace’s description of the novel’s structure as a Sierpinski Gasket:
http://www.kottke.org/07/12/infinite-jest
The study also has maps of ETA, family trees, and a chronological list of how the subchapters of the novel unfold. You should check it out.

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