The Next Best Book Club discussion

Suicide, just don't do it.

Uh. That's so sad. It's tough to understand.

I know nothing about the man or his work, but I'm sad for the pain he must have been suffering to cause him to take his own life.

So awful. The poor man and his poor family.

Its always heartbreaking to hear of people who go unhappy unnoticed. To think that death is the only option in life......

I heard a fascinating segment about David Foster Wallace on NPR's "On the Media" this past weekend. I have not read any of his books (postmodern fiction is not necessarily my favorite) but this piece was about an aspect of his writing that I hadn't known about -- his journalism. The host read some excerpts from various journalistic essays, and, as the host pointed out, they had an astonishing clarity and were beautifully written. They've been published as a collection that I'm going to add to my to-read list: A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments

Being a fairly fickle reader and particularly hard on contemporary American fiction, it was hard to see that one of the few whose talent I admired and respected had committed suicide. After a twenty year battle with depression, I can hardly say that I'm surprised, just saddened. To keep things in perspective, though, his work is significant and will have a lasting impact on the literary world, an accomplishment to be commended and aspired to.

Very sad. It seems that it is always the talented most loved writers who end their lives. Too bad we can't reach out to them in their time of need & help.