The Broom of the System: A Novel (Penguin Ink)The "dazzling, exhilarating" (San Francisco Chronicle) debut novel from one of this century's most groundbreaking writers Published when David Foster Wallace was just twenty-four years old, The Broom of the System stunned critics and marked the emergence of an extraordinary new talent. At the center of this outlandishly funny, fiercely intelligent novel is the bewitching heroine, Lenore Stonecipher Beadsman. The year is 1990 and the place is a slightly altered Cleveland, Ohio. Lenore’s great-grandmother has disappeared with twenty-five other inmates of the Shaker Heights Nursing Home. Her beau, and boss, Rick Vigorous, is insanely jealous, and her cockatiel, Vlad the Impaler, has suddenly started spouting a mixture of psycho-babble, Auden, and the King James Bible. Ingenious and entertaining, this debut from one of the most innovative writers of his generation brilliantly explores the paradoxes of language, storytelling, and reality. |
What people are saying - Write a review
User ratings
| 5 stars |
| ||
| 4 stars |
| ||
| 3 stars |
| ||
| 2 stars |
| ||
| 1 star |
|
Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified
LibraryThing Review
User Review - grandpahobo - LibraryThingThe story is very involved, with lots of different threads that overlap and converge in various ingenious ways. However, the ending left me flat. Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - alexrichman - LibraryThingA sprawling dizzying daft deft bit of storytelling that reads like a rough draft of Infinite Jest. Precocious family? Tick. Bizarro corporate America? Tick. Sudden ending? Ti Read full review
Contents
Section 1 | 3 |
Section 2 | 22 |
Section 3 | 28 |
Section 4 | 53 |
Section 5 | 57 |
Section 6 | 81 |
Section 7 | 94 |
Section 8 | 116 |
Section 25 | 521 |
Section 26 | 525 |
Section 27 | 549 |
Section 28 | 562 |
Section 29 | 584 |
Section 30 | 614 |
Section 31 | 627 |
Section 32 | 643 |
Section 9 | 146 |
Section 10 | 159 |
Section 11 | 175 |
Section 12 | 257 |
Section 13 | 281 |
Section 14 | 292 |
Section 15 | 313 |
Section 16 | 324 |
Section 17 | 362 |
Section 18 | 419 |
Section 19 | 443 |
Section 20 | 444 |
Section 21 | 458 |
Section 22 | 471 |
Section 23 | 490 |
Section 24 | 496 |
Section 33 | 666 |
Section 34 | 725 |
Section 35 | 749 |
Section 36 | 760 |
Section 37 | 767 |
Section 38 | 778 |
Section 39 | 781 |
Section 40 | 792 |
Section 41 | 817 |
Section 42 | 830 |
Section 43 | 887 |
Section 44 | 911 |
Section 45 | 912 |
Section 46 | 926 |
Other editions - View all
The Broom of the System: A Novel (Penguin Orange Collection) David Foster Wallace Limited preview - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
Antichrist asked Beadsman begin bird Bloemker Candy chair Clarice clear Cleveland coming course don't door dress eyes face fall father feel Fieldbinder finger floor Frequent friends getting girl give glass going hair hand he's head hear holding inside interesting it's keep kind Lang laughed LaVache least Lenore Lenore Beadsman Lenore's less light living looked mean Mindy Miss moving never night Obstat person Peter play pretty problem reason remember Rick sense shoes side simply Slotnik smiled sort sound started story stuff supposed sure Sykes talk television tell Thank that's there's thing thought tiny told trying turned understand Vigorous Vlad wait watch What's whole window woman you're
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Broom of the System: A Novel (Penguin Ink) Penguin ink series |
| Author | David Foster Wallace |
| Illustrated by | Duke Riley |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Penguin, 2010 |
| ISBN | 0143116932, 9780143116936 |
| Length | 480 pages |
| Subjects | › Fiction / Coming of Age Fiction / Literary Fiction / Psychological |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |