The David Foster Wallace Reader

By: David Foster Wallace

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, David Foster Wallace, Sally Foster Wallace, Sean Pratt, Khristine Hvam, Ben Shenkman, Bobby Cannavale, Paul Garcia

Where do you begin with a writer as original and brilliant as David Foster Wallace? Here -- with a carefully considered selection of his extraordinary body of work, chosen by a range of great writers, critics, and those who worked with him most closely. This volume presents his most dazzling, funniest, and most heartbreaking work -- essays like his famous cruise-ship piece, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," excerpts from his novels The Broom of the System, Infinite Jest, and The Pale King, and legendary stories like "The Depressed Person."

Wallace's explorations of morality, self-consciousness, addiction, sports, love, and the many other subjects that occupied him are represented here in both fiction and nonfiction. Collected for the first time are Wallace's first published story, "The View from Planet Trillaphon as Seen In Relation to the Bad Thing" and a selection of his work as a writing instructor, including reading lists, grammar guides, and general guidelines for his students.

A dozen writers and critics, including Hari Kunzru, Anne Fadiman, and Nam Le, add afterwords to favorite pieces, expanding our appreciation of the unique pleasures of Wallace's writing. The result is an astonishing volume that shows the breadth and range of "one of America's most daring and talented writers" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) whose work was full of humor, insight, and beauty.

Critic reviews

"The Best Mind of His Generation"—A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"A prose magician, Mr. Wallace was capable of writing...about subjects from tennis to politics to lobsters, from the horrors of drug withdrawal to the small terrors of life aboard a luxury cruise ship, with humor and fervor and verve."—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"One of the most influential writers of his generation."—Timothy Williams, The New York Times

"David Foster Wallace has earned a place as one of America's most daring and talented young writers."—Scott Morris, L.A. Times Book Review

"Wallace is an astonishing storyteller whose fiction reminds us why we learned how to read in the first place."—Andrew Ervin, San Francisco Chronicle

Great for teachers!

What a treasure! I teach David Foster Wallace's nonfiction to my international baccalaureate classes. Students read the essays one by one and then we discuss them in Socratic circles or as a whole group. However, I realized that my students could easily make an audible account and use their "freebie" to purchase this book. Even my most reluctant readers, the ones I thought weren't really interested in Wallace, have been turned on to his wit, his humor, his irony, and--most of all--his brilliant structural acumen. Thank you, DFW, for helping to inspire my young writers.

Wonderful and amazing

The odd squawks and pedantic piffle about no TOC or no titles are well ignored as they have nothing to do with the brilliance of this collection. Just listen and let the DFW prose roll over and through you. Stunning. Enjoy.

Just Wiw!

A Writing tour de force that left me amazed. What a talent! A great sampling from a superb writer

A True Gift for any DFW Fan

It's perfect. It's perfect it's perfect. Blend of DFW readings and readings by others with varied footnote styles. Love it love it love it.

We Need Chapter Titles

The chapters being simply numbered 1-167 makes the audiobook excruciatingly difficult to navigate. Please help. Otherwise, this is an essential read. Thank you.