Oblivion: Stories

I love DFW. This is the first collection of short stories of his I've read, it was as delightful as I'd hoped. As with his longer-form fiction, the stories are almost over-the-top satiric while remaining fiercely relatable. DFW demands your constant, unhurried attention through his prolix explorations of the inner lives of these characters (which are really just substitutions for the author himself, and in that way are quite like his essays); and if you aren't paying attention, be prepared to be confused by the delightful, absurd end-of-narrative turns & plot-twists: rewards for making it through the dense prose.

My favorite is easily Good Old Neon, because I think that's the truest insight we'll ever get into the exact nature of DFW's depression, and ultimately why he took his own life... knowing that adds an intensity that feels so painfully and captivatingly real.

Though the last story about the poop sculptures was pretty great, too.