''Girl with Curious Hair'' is a collection of short stories by American writer

David Foster Wallace David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel '' Infinite Jest'', whi ...

, first published in 1989. Though the stories are not related, several reflect Wallace's concern with contemporary trends in fiction, including metafiction and the irony of postmodernism; and the cynical, amoral realism of "

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" writers such as

Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a ...

. Others address society's fascination with celebrity, some with characters based on real people, including Alex Trebek, David Letterman and Lyndon Johnson. A novella, "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way", closes the book, as an extended response to

John Barth John Simmons Barth (; born May 27, 1930) is an American writer who is best known for his postmodern and metafictional fiction. His most highly regarded and influential works were published in the 1960s, and include ''The Sot-Weed Factor'', a sa ...

's metafictional short story "

Lost in the Funhouse ''Lost in the Funhouse'' (1968) is a short story collection by American author John Barth. The postmodern stories are extremely self-conscious and self-reflexive and are considered to exemplify metafiction. Though Barth's reputation rests mainly ...

List of stories

* "Little Expressionless Animals" revolves around a unique winning streak on the TV game show ''

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'', and the coming together of two lesbians with abnormal childhoods. * "Luckily the Account Representative Knew CPR", in which two executives at an unnamed corporation meet in the underground parking lot while leaving late, and the senior executive suddenly has a heart attack. * "Girl with Curious Hair". A sadistic young

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lawyer who associates with punk rockers spends an evening with his drugged friends at a Keith Jarrett concert, where his

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-influenced girlfriend is obsessed with the titular “girl with curious hair”. *"Lyndon". A fictional account of a young man named David Boyd working closely with American president

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

and getting entangled personally. *"John Billy". A narrator with an exaggerated Southern dialect recounts the tale of his town's favorite son, Chuck Nunn Junior, and the consequences of his quest for revenge. The story explores local mythology. *"Here and There". A boy and girl relate the story of their relationship simultaneously. *"My Appearance". An actress appears on '' Late Night with David Letterman'' while her television producer husband obsessively coaches her. According to Boswell, it is the "most important and successful story" in the collection. First published in ''

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'' magazine as "Late Night". *"Say Never". A study of a circle of Chicago Jews centering on one man's declaration of his adultery. *"Everything Is Green". The shortest story continues the collection's "exploration of interiority/exteriority". *"Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way". According to Boswell, this 150-page novella is, "Taken on its own ... an engaging piece of pretentious juvenilia; read as a precursor to ''

Infinite Jest ''Infinite Jest'' is a 1996 novel by American writer David Foster Wallace. Categorized as an encyclopedic novel, ''Infinite Jest'' is featured in ''TIME'' magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005. ...

'', it stands as a fascinating programmatic declaration of intent."Boswell, 102

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl With Curious Hair 1989 short story collections Short story collections by David Foster Wallace W. W. Norton & Company books