Consider The Lobster-行业好书-社会科学-太极之巅书单号

书刊介绍

内容简介

Do lobsters feel pain? Did Franz Kafka have a funny bone? What is John Updike's deal, anyway? And what happens when adult video starlets meet their fans in person? David Foster Wallace answers these questions and more in essays that are also enthralling narrative adventures. Whether covering the three-ring circus of a vicious presidential race, plunging into the wars between dictionary writers, or confronting the World's Largest Lobster Cooker at the annual Maine Lobster Festival, Wallace projects a quality of thought that is uniquely his and a voice as powerful and distinct as any in American letters.

作品目录

Big red son -- Certainly the end of something or other, one would sort of have to think -- Some remarks on Kafka's funniness from which probably not enough has been removed -- Authority and American usage -- The view from Mrs. Thompson's -- How Tracy Austin broke my heart -- Up, Simba -- Consider the lobster -- Joseph Frank's Dostoevsky -- Host.
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精彩摘录

**AmIagoodperson?Deepdown,doIevenreallywanttobeagoodperson,ordoIonlywanttoseemlikeagoodpersonsothatpeople(includingmyself)willapproveofme?Isthereadifference?HowdoIeveractuallyknowwhetherI’mbullshittingmyself,morallyspeaking?****Whatexactlydoes“faith”mean?Asin“religiousfaith,”“faithinGod,”etc.Isn’titbasicallycrazytobelieveinsomethingthatthere’snoproofof?Istherereallyanydifferencebetweenwhatwecallfaithandsomeprimitivetribe’ssacrificingvirginstovolcanoesbecausetheybelieveit’llproducegoodweather?Howcansomebodyhavefaithbeforehe’spresentedwithsufficientreasontohavefaith?Orissomehowneedingtohavefaithasufficientreasonforhavingfaith?Butthenwhatkindofneedare...

——引自章节：JOSEPHFRANK’SDOSTOEVSKY

Asapracticalmatter,Istronglydoubtwhetheraguywhohasfoursmallkidsandmakes$12,000ayearfeelsmoreempoweredorlessill-usedbyasocietythatcarefullyreferstohimas"economicallydisadvantaged"ratherthan"poor."WhereIhe,infact,I'dprobablyfindthePoliticallyCorrectEnglish(PCE)terminsulting-notjustbecauseit'spatronizing(whichitis)butbecauseit'shypocriticalandself-servinginawaythatoft-patronizedpeopletendtohavereallygoodsubliminalantennaefor.Thebasichypocrisyaboutusageslike"economicallydisadvantaged"and"differentlyabled"isthatPCEadvocatesbelievethatbeneficiariesoftheseterms'compassionandgenerositytobepoorpeopleandpeopleinwheelchairs,whichagainomitssomethingthateveryoneknowsbutnobodyex...

——引自第112页