“What if there was something essentially wrong with Claude Sylvanshine that wasn't wrong with other people? What if he was simple ill-suited, the way some people are born without limbs or certain organs? The neurology of failure. What if he was simply born and destined to live in the shadow of Total Fear and Despair, and all his so-called activities were pathetic attempts to distract him from the inevitable?”

American writer and professor

David Foster Wallace was an American writer and professor. He published novels, short stories, and essays, and is best known for his 1996 novel, Infinite Jest. His work spans fiction and nonfiction, and he became especially noted for the range and ambition of his writing. In 2008, David Ulin of the Los Angeles Times described Wallace as one of the most influential and innovative writers of the previous twenty years.