The Gospel According to David Foster Wallace - (New Directions in Religion and Literature) by Adam S Miller (Paperback)

About the Book

In a series of short, topic-focused chapters, this book joins a selection of key scenes from Wallace's novels "Infinite Jest" and "The Pale King" with clear explanations of how they contribute to his overall account of what it means to be a human being in the 21st century. Adam S. miller explores how Wallace's work masterfully investigates the nature of first-world boredom and shows, in the process, how easy it is to get addicted to distraction (chemical, electronic, or otherwise). Implicitly critiquing, excising, and repurposing elements of AA's Twelve Step program, Wallace suggests that the practice of prayer (regardless of belief in God), the patient application of attention to things that seem ordinary and boring, and the internalization of clichâes may be the antidote to much of what ails us in the 21st century.

Book Synopsis

The Gospel According to David Foster Wallace is the first book to explore key religious themes - from boredom to addiction, and distraction - in the work of one of America's most celebrated contemporary novelists.

In a series of short, topic-focused chapters, the book joins a selection of key scenes from Wallace's novels Infinite Jest and The Pale King with clear explanations of how they contribute to his overall account of what it means to be a human being in the 21st century. Adam Miller explores how Wallace's work masterfully investigates the nature of first-world boredom and shows, in the process, how easy it is to get addicted to distraction (chemical, electronic, or otherwise). Implicitly critiquing, excising, and repurposing elements of AA's Twelve Step program, Wallace suggests that the practice of prayer (regardless of belief in God), the patient application of attention to things that seem ordinary and boring, and the internalization of clichés may be the antidote to much of what ails us in the 21st century.

Review Quotes

"Adam S. Miller looks at some of the favored themes -- despair, distraction, indifference, boredom -- in Wallace's writing. I will confess that Mr. Miller's incantatory and gorgeous preface -- a discussion of why disappointment is not an obstacle to transcendence, but rather, its aim -- caused me to well with tears." -Henry Alford, The New York Times

"Adam S. Miller has crafted a highly approachable, quasi-devotional, religious reading of David Foster Wallace's most popular fiction ... any student of the late-great post-ironist's work will understand the value of Miller's insights ... Miller's project, with its workmanlike organization, will be a great reference piece for anyone studying or writing about the religious themes in Wallace's most premier work; and, with its highly intimate and personal readings, a great devotional work for believers who are interested in the intersection between faith and literature." - Christianity and Literature

"This is a smart book about the theological implications of a brilliant literary figure, David Foster Wallace. Organized into thirty concise chapters with an Afterword, this treatment could serve either as an introduction to the fiction and essays of Foster Wallace or, for those already initiated, an incisive analysis of his central themes freighted with theological import." - Theology and Mission

About the Author

Adam S. Miller is Professor of Philosophy at Collin College in McKinney, Texas, USA. He is the founder of The Journal of Philosophy and Scripture and the author of a number of articles addressing the intersection of religion, ethics and politics.