For Lovers Of Sylvia Plath, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

          
                                  Girls, after reading this collection of short stories by the late David Foster Wallace, I am convinced he may very well be the male counterpart to Sylvia Plath.  Both were the greatest literary minds of their time, and both were deeply troubled souls, who took the irrevocable path to suicide to ease them out of their miseries.  With Plath, her writing was what she was, as much of a lyrical treat as an insight into her trouble mind.  As reported awhile back, I was blown away by "The Broom Of The System," and while I found it buoyant and stimulating, the same cannot be said of this book.  Oh, it is stimulating all right, darlings--the best story is one depicting a group of elementary schoolers being held hostage by a psychotic
teacher.  But some of the stories reveal much about the inner workings of Wallace's troubled mind, and touch upon suicide.  As rich a reading experience as this was, I was glad to come to the end, because sometimes, too much is too much. And, having read a Wallace novel first, I am convinced he paints better on a larger canvass, which is the problem with lots of novelists who turn out short story collections.

                                 Am I telling you to avoid "Oblivion?"  Of course not, especially if you want something highly literary and challenging.  But if your emotional grasp on things is not at its best, I would shie away from it.  Otherwise you opt for masochism--like reading "The Bell Jar" with a bottle of Scotch and a razor blade on your bedside table!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    Only cold cream, darlings, I keep telling you, only cold cream on those night tables!!!!!!!!