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Maximalism in Contemporary American Literature

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Maximalism in Contemporary American Literature Maximalism in Contemporary American Literature This book begins a new and foundational discussion of maximalism by investigating how the treatment of detail in contemporary literature impels readers to navigate, tolerate, and enrich the cultural landscape of postin- dustrial America. It studies the maximalist novels of David Foster Wallace, Nicholson Baker, Thomas Pynchon, and others, considering how overly detailed writing serves the institutional, emotional, and intellectual needs of contemporary readers and writers. The book argues that maximalist novels not only exceed perceived limits of style, subject matter, and scope, but strive to remake the usefulness of books in contemporary culture, refreshing the act of reading. Levey shows that although these novels are preoccupied with detail and description, they are relatively unconcerned with the traditional goals of representation. Instead, they use detail to communicate particular values and fantasies of intelligence, enthusiasm, and ability attached to the management of complex and excessive information. Whether reinvigorating the banal and trivial in mainstream culture, or soothing anxieties of human insufficiency in the age of automation and the internet, these texts model significant abilities, rather than just objects of significance, and encourage readers to develop habits of reading that complement the demands of an increasingly detailed culture. Drawing upon a diverse range of theoretical schools and cultural texts, including Thing Theory, Marxism, New Formal- ism, playlists, blogs, and archival manuscripts, the book proposes a new understanding of maximalist writing and a new way of approaching the usefulness of literary objects in contemporary culture. Nick Levey teaches in the English Department at La Trobe University, Australia. He publishes on contemporary fiction and is currently writing about post-press literature and the rise of digital self-publishing. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Literature For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com. 9 Spatial Politics in Contemporary London Literature Writing Architecture and the Body Laura Colombino 10 Diseases and Disorders in Contemporary Fiction The Syndrome Syndrome Edited by T.J. Lustig and James Peacock 11 Identity and Form in Contemporary Literature Edited by Ana María Sánchez-Arce 12 The Vampire in Contemporary Popular Literature Lorna Piatti-Farnell 13 Religion in Cormac McCarthy’s Fiction Apocryphal Borderlands Manuel Broncano 14 The Ethics and Aesthetics of Vulnerability in Contemporary British Fiction Jean-Michel Ganteau 15 Genre Fiction in New India Post-Millennial Receptions of “Weird” Narratives E. Dawson Varughese 16 Rethinking Race and Identity in Contemporary British Fiction Sara Upstone 17 A Poetics of Trauma after 9/11 Representing Trauma in a Digitized Present Katharina Donn 18 The Cultural Politics of Chick Lit Popular Fiction, Postfeminism and Representation Heike Missler 19 Maximalism in Contemporary American Literature The Uses of Detail Nick Levey Maximalism in Contemporary American Literature The Uses of Detail Nick Levey First published 2017 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Taylor & Francis The right of Nick Levey to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data CIP data has been applied for. ISBN: 978-1-138-67226-0 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-56265-0 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by codeMantra This book is dedicated to the memory of my father, Peter Howard Levey. This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 Giants and Junk: Power-Reading Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow 37 2 On Flunking: Maximalist Description in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest 55 3 Data-Sickle: Maximalism and White-Collar Aesthetics in David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King 76 4 Just Maximalist Things: Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine and Objects of Curiosity 97 5 Housebound: Domestic Excess in Nicholson Baker’s Room Temperature 116 6 Mindless Pleasures: Playlists, Unemployment, and Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice 132 Conclusion: Overflow: The Margins of American Maximalism 149 Bibliography 165 Index 173 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments Writing a book tends to be a solitary exercise, so I’m grateful for the friends, family, and colleagues who’ve reminded me that there are, indeed, other people out there in the world. This project has been supported at all stages by the La Trobe University English department and the Disciplinary Research Program in English, Theatre, and Drama. My thanks go to Sofia Ahlberg for her enthusiasm, Alison Ravenscroft for her encouragement and support, Sue Thomas for steering me in the direc- tion of grants and other funding opportunities, Henry Veggian for feedback and advice, and to Liz Levine and the other editors at Routledge for helping turn these words into a book. Thanks to Anthony for chats about poetry and science, to Rachel for warmth, and to mum for patience. I want to give a special thanks to Chris Palmer for his extensive feedback, encouragement, and advice. This page intentionally left blank Introduction Without Lamps Upon entering the home of the Marquis d’Andervilliers, Emma Bovary cannot help but notice the vast amount of portraiture adorning the walls: Large gold frames hung on the dark-paneled walls, each bearing, on its lower edge, a name in black lettering. “Jean-Antoine d’Andervilliers d’Yverbonville,” she read, ‘Count of La Vaubyessard and Baron of La Fresnaye, killed at the Battle of Coutras, 20th October, 1587’, and, on another, “Jean-Antoine-Henry-Guy d’Andervilliers de la Vaubyessard, Admiral of France and Knight of the Order of St. Michael, wounded at the Battle of Hougue-Saint-Vaast, 29th May, 1692, died at La Vaubyessard, 23rd January, 1693.” The succeeding names were hard to see, because the lamps, so shaded as to throw their light on to the green cloth of the billiard-table, left the rest of the room in shadow.1 We can observe a battle playing out here between precision and purpose: one part of the novel wants to include the minute and detailed, to see all the portraits and read their gilded labels. But those billiard players using the room want the light for reasons more operative, for their sport and play, and so the lamp is focused on their billiard table and the novel’s sight kept likewise keyed toward the functional, those aspects of narration that push a scene forward in time. The full list of paintings is too “hard to see”; eventu- ally, Emma must move on, to look at other things, have other experiences. Janell Watson suggests that Madame Bovary has been “admired for [its] efficient use of description well integrated into the narrative,”2 and such admiration is not betrayed here. It hardly need be said that a great deal has changed about the way novels are written and read since the time of Madame Bovary, but one clear shift seems to be the development of an aesthetic in which the inclusion of such trivial details is desirable, rather than something to be managed, restrained, or curtailed. It at least seems that one doesn’t have to halt a nagging curiosity for descriptive writing anymore, nor integrate it “into the narrative” in an “efficient” manner. Compare, for example, another description of pictures 2 Introduction adorning a wall, this time taken from David Foster Wallace’s 1996 novel Infinite Jest: Ted Schacht adjusting his wristbands and sash. Carol Spodek stretch- ing for a volley at net, her whole body distended, face grim and full of cords. An old one of Marlon Bain at the follow-through of a big forehand, a corona of sweat shimmering around him, his bigger arm crossed across his throat. Ortho Stice doing a handstand. Yardguard gliding down through a low backhand. Wayne this summer sliding on Rome’s fine clay, a red cloud hiding everything below the knees.3 This cataloging continues for more than three times the quoted length. The most obvious difference between this passage and Madame Bovary’s is the absence of the lamp controlling where attention is given. Here there is no obscuring shadow, no cautious restriction of sight to stop the endless prolif- eration of details, and the passage is free to continue until it has exhausted its description. But there are also no billiard players, nor a “sport” that stands against the observation of the world and interrupts the collection of its data, keeping the game on track. The passage doesn’t shape itself to fit the conventional pleasures of readers. It doesn’t hurry us along; it leaves us star- ing at the wall, hands unheld. Nor will it reward us if we attempt to make something meaningful of these images, attempting to justify their inclusion by finding in them some symbolic or narrative worth. This is simply a wall of photographs.
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