Something to Do with Paying Attention
- Downloads：2600
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-21 08:51:49
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：David Foster Wallace
- ISBN：1946022276
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
David Foster Wallace’s last finished work—“the most unusual conversion experience in confessional narrative” （Judith Shulevitz， Slate）
When David Foster Wallace died in 2008， he left behind a vast unfinished novel—some 1，100 pages of loose chapters， sketches， notes， and fragments—published in 2011 as The Pale King。
But the unfinished King did contain a finished novella that Wallace had already considered publishing as a stand-alone volume。 It is the story of a young man， a self-described “wastoid，” adrift in the suburban Midwest of the 1970s， whose life is changed forever by an encounter with advanced tax law。 It is， as Sarah McNally writes in her preface， “not just a complete story， but the best complete example we have of Wallace’s late style， where calm and poise replace the pyrotechnics of Infinite Jest and other early works。”
When David Foster Wallace died in 2008， he left behind a vast unfinished novel—some 1，100 pages of loose chapters， sketches， notes， and fragments—published in 2011 as The Pale King。
But the unfinished King did contain a finished novella that Wallace had already considered publishing as a stand-alone volume。 It is the story of a young man， a self-described “wastoid，” adrift in the suburban Midwest of the 1970s， whose life is changed forever by an encounter with advanced tax law。 It is， as Sarah McNally writes in her preface， “not just a complete story， but the best complete example we have of Wallace’s late style， where calm and poise replace the pyrotechnics of Infinite Jest and other early works。”
Reviews
Sarah
，
I'm amazed any writer could make me so immersed in 136 pages of the ramblings or a self-described "wastoid"， but this novella was so well done and true to life。 Sometimes funny and other times masked heartbreak， this short account went through all sorts of topics。 Originally meant to be published as a standalone novella， this work ended up being published as a chapter that served as the foundation for DFW's incomplete work， The Pale King。 I haven't yet tackled that tome， but I'm looking forward I'm amazed any writer could make me so immersed in 136 pages of the ramblings or a self-described "wastoid"， but this novella was so well done and true to life。 Sometimes funny and other times masked heartbreak， this short account went through all sorts of topics。 Originally meant to be published as a standalone novella， this work ended up being published as a chapter that served as the foundation for DFW's incomplete work， The Pale King。 I haven't yet tackled that tome， but I'm looking forward to it more than ever now。 。。。more
Caroline Norton
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4。5
Tim Hailey
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A great Christmas gift from my nephew's girlfriend。 It's a slim book that could be read in one night。。。。something I'll get to at the end。 The book is a coming of age story， but not the adolescent-first romance kind。 "Something to Do" covers that transition from meandering young adulthood to having a direction。The narrator addresses his pointless years of drifting among colleges， using diet pills to find focus for a mind that lies somewhere on the spectrum。 We know this because the narrator count A great Christmas gift from my nephew's girlfriend。 It's a slim book that could be read in one night。。。。something I'll get to at the end。 The book is a coming of age story， but not the adolescent-first romance kind。 "Something to Do" covers that transition from meandering young adulthood to having a direction。The narrator addresses his pointless years of drifting among colleges， using diet pills to find focus for a mind that lies somewhere on the spectrum。 We know this because the narrator counts words—his and others—and gives us precise numbers on occasion。 They probably didn't have a "spectrum" in the '70s， so he's free to wander through life prescribing his own remedies—none of which involve sex or romance。A soap opera epiphany and the dramatic death of his father lay the groundwork for our antihero to be swept away by an evangelist and father figure。 He finds both when his occupied brain sends him to the wrong classroom and he encounters a substitute instructor/father who may or may not be a Jesuit。 But he is sharply dressed， carries himself well， and has the rapt attention of his students。The possible Jesuit delivers a direct and rousing speech on the heroism of accounting， but he could also be talking about writing—or even reading。 It's hard to imagine accounting and creative endeavors having nuts and bolts similarities， but there it is。 He tells his class that "True heroism is you， alone， in a designated workspace。 True heroism is minutes， hours， weeks， year upon year of the quiet， precise， judicious exercise of probity and care—with no one there to see or cheer。"Our narrator then answers an ad recruiting for the IRS， and he intrepidly completes。。。in one night。。。the tasks set to weed out the un-task oriented。 The recruiters response makes us， the readers， feel that we have similarly completed a task that the author himself wasn't sure would be completed。 It is， after all， a whole book about a young man whose dull， dramatic arc ends with a career at the IRS。 As to the actual completeness of this posthumously published work， I'll leave that up to the DFW aficionados。 The edition itself is lovely， with a perfect cover photo wrapped around a classy， pleasingly banal paperback with nice typography。Thanks Miki！ 。。。more
Luke Bennett
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Definitely prose that had bite but takes a second to get used to。 I rounded up to 4 stars。
Peter Knox
，
Fascinating backstory on this piece。。。 it's a novella that DFW intended to publish before he passed， but ended up being included as the foundation of what would become The Pale King。 So it's not 'new' or 'unpublished' but it is a fascinating and fantastic standalone read， ideally if you can carve out the consecutive hours to do it all in one sitting。 It's a wonderful sample of the type of fiction writing DFW was doing at the end of his career/life。 To read compared to even a decade before， you c Fascinating backstory on this piece。。。 it's a novella that DFW intended to publish before he passed， but ended up being included as the foundation of what would become The Pale King。 So it's not 'new' or 'unpublished' but it is a fascinating and fantastic standalone read， ideally if you can carve out the consecutive hours to do it all in one sitting。 It's a wonderful sample of the type of fiction writing DFW was doing at the end of his career/life。 To read compared to even a decade before， you can sense the maturity and the evolution of his style。 But what carries through is the laser-focused introspection and self-actualization that is his signature beat。 He writes what he thinks more clearly than anyone else can articulate outloud and to read it is to experience it as a universal commonality that makes us all feel less alone。The effect is。。。 "wait， other people feel this way too？"。 And it's powerful the way he does it。 To take a simple character and fill in the backstory from his genetics to his circumstances to his mundane job is the funnel focus of his attention at the detail level of emotion。 I would absolutely steer people to read this before they tackle The Pale King or even Oblivion。。。 because it's not for everyone but it's absolutely for me。 Many thanks to McNally Jackson for this standalone publication。 。。。more
Mort Marple
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