A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
David Foster Wallace (1998)

THE A5 BOOK REVIEW

A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again is a collection of seven essays written by the acclaimed writer David Foster Wallace.  Only two of the seven articles are arguably travel-related; one as a visit on assignment to the Illinois State Fair and two, the title essay, a summary of his experience as a curious journalist for Harper’s on board a seven night Caribbean cruise.  He watches with horror and fascination as hundreds of passengers try the Electric Slide, burn, peel, and burn again in the tropical sun, while at the same time trying to absorb as much “insanity-prompting pampering” as humanly possible over the course of the trip.  The writing is intelligent, insightful, deeply satirical, and really really funny.  No one is spared, least of all himself.  The rest of the articles are a little more serious, including an influential essay on television and the use of irony in American culture.
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ABOUT DAVID FOSTER WALLACE

David Foster Wallace was an influential and brilliant American writer, most famous for his 1996 novel Infinite Jest (1996) which was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.  His writing was cerebral and sarcastic, renowned for his commentary on the human condition and modern influences, and recognized with numerous honors including a MacArthur foundation “Genius” Grant.  He struggled with depression and committed suicide at the age of 46.

GREAT QUOTES:

“I have seen a lot of really big white ships.  I have seen schools of littel fish with fins that glow.  I have seen a toupee on a thirteen-year-old-boy.  (The glowing fish liked to swarm between our hull and the cement of the pier whenever we docked.)  I have seen the north coast of Jamaica.  I have seen and smelled all 145 cats inside the Ernest Hemingway Residence in Key West FL.  I now know the difference between straight Bingo and Prize-O, and what it is when a Bingo jackpot "snowballs".  I have seen camcorders that practicallly required a dolly; I've seen fluorescent luggage and fluorescent sunglasses and fluorescent pince-nez and over twenty different makes of rubber thong.  I have heard steel drums and eaten conch fritters and watched a woman in a silver lame projectile-vomit inside a glass elevator.  I have pointed rhythmically at the ceiling to the 2:4 beat of the exact same disco music I hated pointing at the ceiling to in 1977.”
- David Foster Wallace, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

INTERESTING LINKS:

  • Read a wonderful New York Times review of A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, written by Laura Miller in 1997.  Or, just read the first chapter.
  • In 2012, there was an episode that refers to the essay titled "A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again", where the Simpson family goes on a cruise after being convinced by a bored Bart.
  • ​Those who want more of an in-depth and funny look at cruising might also enjoy Cruise Confidential, published in 2008 by Brian David Bruns.