Infinite Summer

Apologies if it is a duplicate, but I was rather touched by this article, which was the first time I understood the circumstances behind DFW's death. It was this article that inspired me to start re-reading IJ, then to do a Twitter search, and then find I.S. online

It is a fairly length article (ie/ best cut and paste the text from a single page view - but worth the read!)
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009 ... a_fact_max

It is a general overview of Wallace's life and the struggles of writing fiction again. But on re-reading it, there are some extracts from certain characters at different points of the novel. So yes, some spoiler potential.

Also worth reading are the questions to the author of this article. Quite touching some them.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/a ... r-max.html.

R

Thanks for the link to the questions to the author of The New Yorker article. Another good article about DFW is in Rolling Stone:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/ ... er_wallace

Thanks for posting, I look forward to reading it.

The Rolling Stone one damn near made me cry. Anyone who has suffered from depression will relate like nobody's business. I feel kind of guilty reading this stuff though, he seemed like a very private person who was embarrassed by his personal problems. Reading about them after his death seems a bit voyeuristic.

Thanks for the link. The New Yorker is inaccurate in saying that DFW never wrote about his own depression, though. What he did write was in a student publication from Amherst so it's easy to miss, but bluestocking posted to it.

Thanks for re-posting of the the_planet_trillaphon. Not an easy article to source, I'm sure.

Whilst I.J. isn't explicitly about depression either, there are some strong under-currents in the novel which point to 'sadness', the process of mourning, and the sense of isolation some of the characters feel. The novel provides a sort of mind map how different people (all of whom are quite vulnerable) deal with these very human issues. The author deals with his characters in such a positive and affectionate way.

Last year, I knew so little about DFW when he passed away (certainly nothing about his battle with depression) that I found it extremely difficult to reconcile the I.J. characters with the tragic real life events. Perhaps a greater DFW fan would have had some inkling - but the New Yorker article at least joined some of the dots. 'Infinite Summer' has allowed me to finally grieve the passing of DWF - and piece together the many elements of his life and work.