''Girl with Curious Hair'' is a collection of short stories by American writer David Foster Wallace, first published in 1989. Though the stories are not related, several reflect Wallace's concern with contemporary trends in fiction, including

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction which emphasises its own narrative structure in a way that continually reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...

and the irony of

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

; and the cynical, amoral realism of "

Brat Pack The ''Brat Pack'' is a nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s. First mentioned in a 1985 ''New York'' magazine article, it is now usually defined as the cast ...

" 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 w ...

. Others address society's fascination with celebrity, some with characters based on real people, including

Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian-American game show host and television personality. He is best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 season ...

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

and

Lyndon 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 ...

. A novella, "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way", closes the book, as an extended response to John Barth'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 ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'', 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 Republican lawyer who associates with punk rockers spends an evening with his drugged friends at a

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a ...

concert, where his LSD-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 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 ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

'' 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 ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' 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 Juvenilia are literary, musical or artistic works produced by authors during their youth. Written juvenilia, if published at all, usually appears as a retrospective publication, some time after the author has become well known for later works. ...

; read as a precursor to '' Infinite Jest'', 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