The Geographies of David Foster Wallace's Novels

Explores the relationship between geography and David Foster Wallace's novelsDeploys an innovative methodology combining aspects of cultural geography and literary criticism, extending recent work in literary geographiesPresents expansive and detailed readings of each of Wallace's novels, drawing new connections between these texts and their historical contextMakes extensive original use of archival sources to elucidate the spatial aspects of Wallace's literary practiceThe Geographies of David Foster Wallace's Novels takes a fresh look at David Foster Wallace's novels through the lens of historical geography. It explores the connections between Wallace's literary practice and the reshaping of American geographical space that resulted from the transition between Fordist and post-Fordist forms of capitalism, presenting critical readings of the novels together with analysis of manuscripts and notebooks from Wallace's archive. Deploying an innovative methodology that combines aspects of cultural geography and literary criticism, each novel is historically situated through a spatial keyword, expanding our understanding of the connections between social context and formal innovation in Wallace's work.