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Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Posted by Melody on Friday, Nov 17, 2017

I have always loved the title of David Foster Wallace's book of short stories that was published in 1999. It just clicks. You know instantly these stories will twist your stomach into knots.

The pile-up of news about sexual harassment, misconduct, and assault has brought this book back to my mind again. One only has to read the title to understand this nearly 20-year-old book contains commentary on today's cultural climate. What is old is new again, as the saying goes.

I haven't opened this book up in 10 years. I picked it up today and one of the first stories that caught my attention was about someone having a memory of their father taunting and bullying them with his genitals. That short story is called "Signifying Nothing." David Foster Wallace is a master of irony. He somehow manages to make this title truthful while belying the psychological rage the narrator expresses over the father's response to being confronted about the incident.

John Krasinski directed a film adaptation of the book that came out in 2009. We don't have that in the ICPL collection anymore, but it's available through Interlibrary Loan. I recommend the film version for those who can't make it through Wallace's post-modern rambling and non-linear style.

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Melody's picture

I've been at the library for more than 10 years now, and I still find joy when choosing the best books for our readers. My current reading journey is taking me book by book through different genres. I'm challenging myself to find books that are enough outside my wheelhouse that I'd pass them by on first glance. The genre I'm looking forward to... more

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    mdworak's picture

    I picked up this audiobook because I was really attracted to the premise, a clairvoyant mother predicting her daughter will never come in first for anything. I love is when my protagonist is a loser! Just Kidding. Really, tho, so many plots in romantic universes start with a lead who is down on their luck. The novelty of this novel is the lead is perpetually unlucky, but in true romance form, she persists! The double-edged sword of audiobooks is that the narrator's performance can be so realistic and dramatic that the character reads as melodramatic. So it is with this book's male lead, a rich kid with a chip on his shoulder the size of his CEO father. Still, wealthy heirs have feelings, too! I'm about an hour away from completing this book, so fingers crossed he gets a therapist and grows up a little. -Melody
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