Wallace Effect: David Foster Wallace and the Contemporary Literary Imagination

The Wallace Effect examines David Foster Wallace's contested space in 21st-century American fiction, challenging the aura of literary competition that he summoned in his work. It explores novels by Wallace's literary patriarchs and contemporaries that introduce innovations on traditional metafiction and four novels published after his ascendency that attempt to demythologize his persona and literary preeminence.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 184 pages
\n Publication date: 24 January 2019
\n Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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The Wallace Effect delves into the contentious realm of David Foster Wallace's literary prominence in the twenty-first century. In this insightful exploration, pioneering Wallace scholar Marshall Boswell sheds light on "The Wallace Effect," a captivating aura of literary competition that permeated Wallace's fiction and non-fiction, shaping the ongoing reception of his work among his contemporaries.

Wallace, known for his forthright nature, boldly confronted his artistic predecessors, striving to establish himself as the preeminent literary figure of the post-postmodern era. Boswell takes a two-pronged approach to challenge this portrayal. Firstly, he delves into novels by Wallace's literary forebears and contemporaries, unveiling innovative approaches to traditional metafiction that Wallace later claimed as his own. Secondly, he examines four novels published after Wallace's ascendancy, aimed at demystifying his persona and diminishing his literary dominance. Through this re-contextualization, The Wallace Effect unveils the broad scope and the boundaries of Wallace's enduring legacy.

\n Weight: 264g\n
Dimension: 202 x 141 x 14 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781501344909\n \n