Superfluous Men and Rakish Heroes: Christian Lorentzen on ‘The Nenoquich’
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Superfluous Men and Rakish Heroes: Christian Lorentzen on ‘The Nenoquich’

Cynicism, laziness, anger, misplaced righteousness, vacillation between vanity and self-loathing: Such are the qualities of the superfluous men we’ve encountered in novels for centuries. Existing somehow outside the structures of family and regular employment, these prodigal sons have too much time on their hands — time to spend thinking, ranting, writing or intoxicating themselves.

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Where Be Your Jibes Now? Patricia Lockwood on David Foster Wallace’s Last Great Work
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Where Be Your Jibes Now? Patricia Lockwood on David Foster Wallace’s Last Great Work

It begins with the flannel plains of Illinois. The year is 1985, and the place is the IRS Regional Examination Centre in Peoria. Something to Do with Paying Attention first appeared as a long monologue in The Pale King – it comes about a quarter of the way through the book as Pietsch placed it – though Wallace had toyed with the idea of publishing it as a stand-alone novella. It is enthralling.

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A Survey of McNally Editions, the Boutique Publisher of Out-of-Print Gems - The Seattle Times
Articles Nathan Rostron Articles Nathan Rostron

A Survey of McNally Editions, the Boutique Publisher of Out-of-Print Gems - The Seattle Times

The impeccably curated New York bookstore McNally Jackson has launched a publishing arm, McNally Editions, dedicated to resurfacing “hidden gems” and “lost classics.” These are works that have gone out of print or been otherwise neglected by the factory that is book publishing with no reflection on their merit or timeliness. Now they are given a new life.

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