Every Love Story is a Ghost Story

Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace by D.T. Max
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I don't appreciate the novels of DFWallace. Maybe I'm too old, simple, or female. His work was/is cutting edge, complex, and -- to my mind -- testosterone-laden.  But I did enjoy the story of his life, even though everyone knows it ends with his suicide. That horrific fact haunts each page. Wallace was part of a team of rivals who mixed up fiction when it needed new life.  He was so intelligent that it literally hurt. His brain was always trying to best itself. He was self-centered and needy and addictive. He was mentally ill. It took him forever to grow up, but he finally did. I like that the book shows his dedication to 12-step groups, how he depended on them for stability and found meaning there. This despite his sophistication. This book also shows how hard he worked to produce a novel, describing how sometimes, especially at the beginning, pages would just flow, while other times he would  wrench each word, only to then trash wads of writing in the quest for his best work. It told his hard work teaching college students creative writing, reminding me of the three-layer response to student work, the comments for each in a different color of ink: first impression, style, proof reading. Worst and pervasively, the book shows the depth of destruction that mental illness can bring you down to, no matter how dedicated you may be to your own recovery, no matter how brilliant, hardworking, or even how in love you may be.

It made me want to write.


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