David Foster Wallace's balancing books: fictions of value

324 Pages·2019·2.53 MB·English

by  Severs, Jeffrey;Wallace, David Foster

D A V I D
F O S T E R
W A L L A C E ’ S
B A L A N C I N G
B O O K S
F I C T I O N S
O F V A L U E
J E F F R E Y
S E V E R S
D A V I D
F O S T E R
W A L L A C E ’ S
B A L A N C I N G
B O O K S

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D A V I D
F O S T E R
W A L L A C E ’ S
B A L A N C I N G
B O O K S
F I C T I O N S
O F V A L U E
JEFFREY
SEVERS
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW YORK
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Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2017 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Severs, Jeff rey, 1974– author.
Title: David Foster Wallace’s balancing books : fi ctions of value / Jeff rey Severs.
Description: New York : Columbia University Press, 2017. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: lccn 2016019208 (print) | lccn 2016030061 (ebook) |
isbn 9780231179447 (cloth : alk. paper) | isbn 9780231543118 (e-book)
Subjects: lcsh: Wallace, David Foster—Criticism and interpretation.
Classifi cation: lcc ps3573.a425635 z864 2017 (print) | lcc ps3573.a425635 (ebook) | ddc
813/.54—dc23
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016019208

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design: Archie Ferguson
Cover image: © Gary Hannabarger
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C O N T E N T S
Note on the Texts vii
Acknowledgments ix
INTRODUCTION: A LIVING TRANSACTION:
VALUE, GROUND, AND BALANCING BOOKS 1
1. COME TO WORK: CAPITALIST FANTASIES AND THE QUEST FOR
BALANCE IN THE BROOM OF THE SYSTEM 33
2. NEW DEALS: (THE) DEPRESSION AND DEVALUATION
IN THE EARLY STORIES 62
3. DEI GRATIA : WORK ETHIC, GRACE,
AND GIVING IN INFINITE JEST 88
4. OTHER MATH: HUMAN COSTS, FRACTIONAL SELVES,
AND NEOLIBERAL CRISIS IN
BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN 135
5. HIS CAPITAL FLUSH: DESPAIRING OVER WORK
AND VALUE IN OBLIVION 167
6. E PLURIBUS UNUM : RITUAL, CURRENCY, AND THE EMBODIED
VALUES OF T HE PALE KING 198
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VI CONTENTS
CONCLUSION: IN LINE FOR THE CASH REGISTER
WITH WALLACE 244
Notes 253
Bibliography 287
Index 301
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N O T E O N T H E T E X T S
T
HE FOLLOWING texts by David Foster Wallace are cited parentheti-
cally with abbreviations. Full bibliographic information is in the bibli-
ography.
NOVELS AND SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
The Broom of the System B
Girl with Curious Hair GCH
Infi nite Jest IJ
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men BI
Oblivion O
The Pale King PK
ESSAY COLLECTIONS, NONFICTION, AND INTERVIEWS
A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again SFT
Both Flesh and Not BF
Conversations with David Foster Wallace, ed. Stephen J. Burn CW
Consider the Lobster CL
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VIII NOTE ON THE TEXTS
David Foster Wallace: The Last Interview LI
Everything and More: A Compact History of Infi nity EM
This Is Water: Some Thoughts,
Delivered on a Signifi cant Occasion,
About Living a Compassionate Life TW
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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
T
HANK YOU to the University of British Columbia for grant and
leave support and to my colleagues in the English Department, espe-
cially Ira Nadel. Thanks to the library staff at the Harry Ransom Center
at the University of Texas–Austin; to the editorial staff at Columbia Uni-
versity Press, especially Philip Leventhal, and the anonymous reviewers of
my manuscript; to my research assistants, Angus Reid, Madeline Gorman,
and especially Jeff Noh and Jae Sharpe, who were both indispensable to the
book’s completion; to the students in my seminars, who spurred many in-
sights herein; to Eric Bennett, Brian Bremen, Ralph Clare, Siân Echard,
Matt Gartner, Jeff Hoff man, Chris Leise, Linda Meng, Geordie Miller, Tra-
vis Miles, Jason Puskar, Matt Rubery, Adam Seluzicki, Charles Seluzicki,
and Jeff Waite, who each helped with conversation and support at crucial
moments; to Steve Moore, who gave me and my archival research a Texas
home; and to the staff and management of Vancouver’s City Square Shop-
ping Centre Food Court, where many of these pages were written.
Above all, I thank my mom and dad, my sisters, and my entire family
for loving me and educating me. And thanks beyond thanks to Christina
Seluzicki, for showing me what value and gifts can be.
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