David Foster Wallace


David Foster Wallace is the author of one previous novel, The Broom of the System, and a collection of short stories, The Girl with Curious Hair. As a young teenager, he was a nationally-ranked competitive tennis player; now, at 34, he teaches at Illinois State University in Bloomington. Because of his postmodern themes and ornate, satirical style, Wallace has been widely compared to Thomas Pynchon, Don Delillo, John Barth, and Robert Coover; he reminds us at Word of Vladimir Nabokov, sort of.

Infinite Jest is a black comic novel that explores themes of American addiction: to drugs, alcohol, entertainment, technology, etc.

In the chapter we excerpted, a thief, Don Gately, as part of his rehabilitation, begins to attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, and starts to understand it as a way of life that somehow, mysteriously, melts away the addictions of those who strictly follow its program.

But don't worry, it--like the rest of the novel--is never earnest or preachy. If David Wallace and Quentin Tarantino had a "sick sense of humor" contest, Wallace would win.