See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Oblivion: Stories
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Oblivion: Stories (Paperback)

by David Foster Wallace (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


3 used from £4.94
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 12 used & new from £3.51
Paperback (New edition) £8.99 £6.99 23 used & new from £3.58

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

by David Foster Wallace
4.5 out of 5 stars (4)  £6.99
Consider the Lobster

Consider the Lobster

by David Foster Wallace
4.3 out of 5 stars (3)  £6.99
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

by David Foster Wallace
3.8 out of 5 stars (30)  £6.99
Infinite Jest

Infinite Jest

by David Foster Wallace
4.1 out of 5 stars (72)  £9.09
The Broom of the System

The Broom of the System

by David Foster Wallace
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £6.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Abacus (8 Jul 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0349118108
  • ISBN-13: 978-0349118109
  • Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.4 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 614,934 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #14 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > W > Wallace, David Foster

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review
For BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN: 'Very, very funny and also deadly serious ... a book of formidable creative intelligence' OBSERVER 'Contains longish stretches of genius' INDEPENDENT 'An entertaining and dazzlingly innovative work ... a dizzying gallop across the wild frontier of contemporary fiction' DAILY TELEGRAPH

Stephen Amidon, Sunday Times
'With the exception of Don DeLillo, no writer better depicts the crushing effect of the information age on the soul'

See all Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
(12)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Oblivion: Stories
76% buy the item featured on this page:
Oblivion: Stories 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
7% buy
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again 4.5 out of 5 stars (4)
£6.99
Infinite Jest
6% buy
Infinite Jest 4.1 out of 5 stars (72)
£9.09
Consider the Lobster
6% buy
Consider the Lobster 4.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£6.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, 19 Dec 2007
By J. R. Collinson "Jellis" (lincs, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Oblivion: Stories (Paperback)
Unless you work in market research, and as long as you like fiction, you'll be blown away by this. one of those treats that makes you realise we live in a literary sweet shop where you don't have enough time to read all the cutting edge, addictively thrilling fiction there is out there.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond any other living writer., 13 May 2005
This review is from: Oblivion: Stories (Paperback)
David Foster Wallace has been likened (not especially favourably) of late to Zadie Smith, Thomas Pynchon and even Salman Rushdie, as an exponent of, and member of, a new literary type: the Hyper Realist. This apparent 'new breed' of author is identified by the myriad transgressions and surreal sub-plots, mini-essays and wild tangents that permeate their work, breaking up the traditional narrative flow and making the reader work especially hard for their novel.

What DFW actually does is create such utterly recognisable worlds, with overwhelming clarity and confusing details, as only reality seriously provides, that unless you are very careful you will be sucked into these stories and find your head spinning as you extract yourself and wonder whether it was just a book. His mastery of prose, his swift and accurate turns of phrase and lightning fast chopping and changing from one narrative thread to another is just amazing. Truly he has no real contempories.

In 'Oblivion: Stories' DFW has created a series of short stories, tales and vignettes to enthral and amaze. To read an author at the height of literary power, to be enraptured with stories of the everyday, but told with a use of language that would make any other writer question their own talents, then buy this book.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Good collection of stories, 25 Sep 2008
By Fredward Beasley (West of Ireland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Oblivion: Stories (Paperback)
[4 stars, but I can't change it now]
Oblivion is a short story collection by the recently-deceased author David Foster Wallace comprising 8 stories and 329 pages. These stories are difficult of description and, not infrequently, of comprehension.
The difficulty lies in Wallace's attraction to excessive verbosity, complex sentence structures, extensive use of parentheses and parentheses within parentheses and difficult logical and philosophical ideas.
Arguably, Wallace can seem to be indulging in intellectual games or verbal showboating. This hinders the narrative at times. Perhaps he is simply too intelligent to be a wholly successful exponent of narrative fiction, or too conscious of his intelligence, at least.
Nevertheless, I found this book generally very enjoyable. The humour and tone is reminiscent of Flann o'Brien and there are also echoes of Thomas Pynchon. The story Good Old Neon is an extremely interesting and substantial exploration of the problems of excessive consciousness of one's self, one's actions and one's impressions on others. In this story, Wallace's characteristic irony is discarded for a more serious tone. Though Wallace is a master of the ironic tone, there are times when it becomes too much.
Overall, I enjoyed this book for the undeniable intelligence and wit displayed therein. I feel it would appeal to fans of the aforementioned Flann o'Brien or Thomas Pynchon. I would not recommend this book to persons of low intelligence.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject







i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

›Shop The Body Shop

  

More From David Foster Wallace

Infinite Jest

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

'A writer of virtuostic talents who can seemingly do anything' NEW... Read more
£12.99 £9.09

 

We've Got Converse

Converse
Stock up on your favourite styles with great deals on Converse shoes.

›Shop Converse

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates