Of course, I had to scan over the chapter for “Good Old Neon,” maybe my favorite Wallace story and arguably his best piece of writing. In the stories that make up Oblivion, David Foster Wallace joins the rawest, most naked humanity with the infinite involutions of self-consciousness - a. Squishy,” this weekend, and Carlisle’s perceptive analysis made me want to reread the story. I read the introduction and first chapter, covering “Mr. Jason Kottke called Elegant Complexity the reference book for Infinite Jest and now Nature’s Nightmare is the primary reference work for Oblivion.

The book includes nine charts that illustrate narrative devices Wallace employs throughout the stories. Every passage of each story is analyzed in terms of 1) interrelation of narrative form and content, 2) relation of story to the theme of oblivion, 3) recurring thematic motifs in Wallace’s work, and 4) assessment of content in relation to Infinite Jest and The Pale King. Squishy,” “The Soul is Not a Smithy,” “Incarnations of Burned Children,” “Another Pioneer,” “Good Old Neon,” “Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature,” “Oblivion,” and “The Suffering Channel.” Carlisle’s methodical approach walks readers through Wallace’s thematic interests and situates Oblivion in the broader arc of Wallace’s career. In general, Marshall Boswell claimed that this was Wallace's 'bleakest' work of fiction. 27 Analysis edit Criticism of this collection has involved attempts to discuss the collection as a whole, in relation to other work by Wallace, and as individual stories. Blurb from publisher Slideshow Media Group:Ĭarlisle gives an in-depth narrative analysis of each story: “Mr. Oblivion is one of the books that was selected. (You might recall Carlisle as the author of Elegant Complexity, a study of Infinite Jest). I was psyched when Greg Carlisle’s Nature’s Nightmare: Analyzing David Foster Walalce’s Oblivion showed up in the mail.

Oblivion david foster wallace review