Who is the King (or Queen) of the Long Sentence?
I haven’t hidden the fact that I wasn’t a fan of Mrs. Dalloway–which is currently last in my rankings of the books I’ve read to this point. Interestingly, though, I’ve noticed some similarities between Mrs. Dalloway and Infinite Jest.
Both David Foster Wallace and Virginia Woolf didn’t mind writing a sentence with hundreds of words. I believe a couple of sentences in Infinite Jest last more than a full page.
But the difference being, in my opinion, that David Foster Wallace’s long sentences actually make sense to my small brain.
Let’s look at two examples. First, the sentence I quoted in my review of Mrs. Dalloway, which, technically, isn’t a run on, just a long sentence. Correct me if I’m wrong, editors.
It was not to them (not to Hugh, or Richard, or even to devoted Miss Brush) the liberator of the pent egotism, which is a strong martial woman, well nourished, well descended, of direct impulses, downright feelings, and little introspective power (broad and simple–why could not every one be broad and simple? she asked) feels rise within her, once youth is past, and must eject upon some object–it may be Emigration, it may be Emancipation; but whatever it be, this object round which the essence of her soul is daily secreted, becomes inevitably prismatic, lustrous, half looking glass, half precious stone; now carefully hidden in case people should sneer at it; now proudly displayed.
Now, take a look at a sentence from Infinite Jest:
Gately’s biggest asset as an Ennet House live-in Staffer–besides the size thing, which is not to be discounted when order has to be maintained in a place where guys come in fresh from detox still in Withdrawal with their eyes rolling like palsied cattle and an earring in their eyelid and a tattoo that says BORN TO BE UNPLEASANT–besides the fact that his upper arms are the size of cuts of beef you rarely see off hooks, his big plus is he has this ability to convey his own experience about at first hating AA to new House residents who hate AA and resent being forced to go and sit up in nose-pore-range and listen to such limply improbably cliched drivel night after night.
For whatever reason, the Infinite Jest passage is much easier for me to follow. Maybe it’s just the more modern writing or the fact that I’m actually into the story.
Both books require a lot of concentration to read–as shown with these sentences. But I’m digging Infinite Jest much more than Mrs. Dalloway.
What do you think? Are both of these passages painful to follow?
Infinite Jest was more painful to me to follow. Maybe I do not know the story however I know and I like the Woolfs’.
I like your project. You inspired me. And I do the same.
Glad to provide a little inspiration. Thanks for following along!
I think very long sentences like the two shown are always a little difficult to follow, but they force one to slow down and really pay attention to what one is reading. Which is a good thing. I’m reading “The Double” by José Saramago right now, and there are equally long sentences in this. It will be a slower read than usual.
Definitely make you slow down and concentrate. Especially those page-long sentences.
Painful to follow, yes—but I have to admit that the Infinite Jest one made me laugh!
These are nothing compared to Henry James. Ugh! Even the thought makes me feel worn out.
Add Updike to the list of tedious sentence constructors.
From Rabbit, Run (pg 216)
But then they were married (she felt awful about being pregnant before but Harry had been talking about marriage for a while and anyway laughed when she told him in early February about missing her period and said Great she was terribly frightened and he said Great and lifted her put his arms around under her bottom and lifted he like you would a child he could be so wonderful when you didn’t expect it in an a way it seemed important that you didn’t expect it there was so much nice in him she couldn’t explain to anybody she had been so frightened about being pregnant and he made her be proud) they were married after her missing her second period in March and she was still little clumsy dark-complected Janice Springer and her husband was a conceited lunk who wasn’t good for anything in the world Daddy said and the feeling of being alone would melt a little with a drink.
This is only one of many examples in “Rabbit, Run” that really ruined my flow. Maybe in this particular case Updike was trying to make the reader feel as confused as the subject. If so, the book must be about confusion as this style is repetitively used.
BTW – that is a string of 163 words
Ouch! So much for writing class that always taught me to complete a sentence within 20 words. You should also try Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children – brilliant writer but a tad undisciplined. He spills over with verbal diarrhea in this book.
Midnight’s Children is on the Time list, so I’ll get to it one of these days.
The sentence from Infinite Jest was far clearer to me. I think it has more to do with the syntax and the run of the thought in the sentence than in knowing the background of the story. Mrs. Dalloway‘s sentence seemed convoluted to me, because the clauses change subject so often. I enjoyed this post.