I think almost everyday about DFW saying he couldn't take any of the early praise for Infinite Jest srsly because there's literally no way anyone could have processed it that quickly. We're too trained to think every window will close the second we stop holding it open
i've always found this one of the strangest parts of the media ecosystem, the assumption that a work of art can only be reviewed immediately before or after its release, as if a book should require less attention once its been out for six months or a year or ten
12
61
447
6
12
265
Replies
@blakebutler
harold brodkey felt the same in opposite circumstances, the immediate rejection of 'the runaway soul' by most critics whom, he'd argued, had barely enough time to read it in earnest
0
0
0
@blakebutler
My favorite reviews are the emails I get years after a book came out, from someone who read my book and thought about it, and thought about it, and then emailed me all their thoughts. Sometimes they’re so beautifully unhinged, it’s so great, like this person READ that book
0
0
6
@blakebutler
I also flew into Dallas-Fort Worth and everybody clapped although we hadn't landed.
0
0
0