Kind of outside the hecklerspray remit, this, but a sizeable chunk of you seem like a literary bunch and might not have heard yet: writer David Foster Wallace has been found dead at his home in California.
Wallace was reportedly found by his wife on Friday evening. He had committed suicide.
He was best known for his sprawling 1996 epic Infinite Jest – an epic satirical panorama which simultaneously enthralls, infuriates and excites. It’s without doubt one of the most remarkable books published in … well, forever … and if you haven’t tackled it yet you should run out and buy yourself a copy.
Failing that, have a gander online for some of his journalistic efforts and check out his short stories. In an age in which Jordan’s ‘novels’ can outsell the combined Booker shortlist six-to-one, a gleaming beacon of intelligence such as DFW will be sorely missed.