Would anyone be able to shed some light on the stylistic choices throughout this book? There were multiple times earlier in the novel where the style felt pretentious and forced. As I ventured further into the novel the prose became incredible. Was this intentional on Wallace’s part? I feel like it was, because, from what I understand after reading the Swartz synopsis, I didn’t quite catch all of the interplay of the supernatural aspects. I was more amazed at how well Wallace was able to capture adolescent anxiety, grief, and addiction. I can’t wait to reread it and be able to notice the more plot-oriented parts better, but I am really amazed at how the style changed throughout, and felt it was intentional and wanted some confirmation or other’s thoughts on that aspect.
To explain further, a lot of word choices in the first half of the novel seem like someone who is trying to sound intelligent by using large and challenging words. For example, Wallace described someone as thinking in his “sulcus” which is an anatomical part of the brain, but that is not something which someone can think *within.* Like, the character was thinking of himself as doing that. At first I was taking this as Wallace’s way of conveying meaning, but now I’m thinking it was a way of describing the characters by projecting *their* communication styles onto the page. Does that make sense?
by shipmepickles