Thoughts on Every Love Story is a Ghost Story by D.T. Max

I have been trying to get this in for a while but in my defense, my wife and I had our second child just as I was finishing the book. (I took the book to the hospital one day.)

The book is a completely thorough look into the life of David Foster Wallace (DFW). I can remember commenting one night to my wife in bed that it has been as if I have been next to DFW his entire life. Now of course the upshot is that DFW took his life and of course, usually only fans will want to read a bio but this does not mean that the book isn't well written. It is. And one strength is that Max doesn't try to write like Wallace (who could you quip?), instead opting for fewer flourishes and mostly nourishment. Consider DFW's philosophy thesis at Amherst as a prime example.

So given such a well written bio, we can focus on the life of DFW and what a life. Now I studied philosophy and can remember, I believe while studying Spinoza's pantheism, one question reared it's head more than once: Can you have the good without the bad? And with some of these artists like DFW that have an expanse of intellect and ability with profound depth attached; can they produce without the, for lack of a better word, madness? Could they have and create greatness without the suffering?

Now please understand that when it comes to drugs, I consider myself a libertarian, but a libertarian who is fully appreciative of the dangers of addiction. One wonders what DFW would have been like had he not began smoking marijuana at such a young age? Is the research complete on what marijuana does to a brain before it is fully cooked?

In his writing, Max also opened up some doors for me in regard to Infinite Jest. As a reader just getting into postmodernism, Max helped me put into context some of the angles of Infinite Jest.

Some surprises during the book were learning of DFW's philandering and promiscuity and his dedication to teaching though he knew teaching was often a cost to writing. Probably a favorite moment while reading this book was busting into laughter in bed while reading of DFW pulling a student out of class and telling him (paraphrasing here) that was one of the most collective dick suckings I've ever witnessed. But it was clear he went above and beyond for his students and I admire that, especially from someone so gifted.

Be careful, you are what you love, no? Is this the spirit of Infinite Jest and DFW? Is writing to help us battle loneliness? Maybe DFW was always lonely because so few brains processed the way his did and when he put the pen to the paper he was able to be "matched" in some sense.

One last random thing I thought of while reading this book. It is clear that readers have to "earn" Infinite Jest and that while supremely gifted, DFW still "earned" it; what with grades, teaching, and his dedication to writing. So why wasn't he attracted to jazz music? Maybe he carried his loathing of writer types from Amherst just a little too far. Maybe, he could have been "matched" listening to a little Miles and Coltrane?

Maybe?