Oblivion: Stories

David Foster Wallace’s popular reputation rests primarily on his novels (Infinite Jest and, to a lesser extent, The Pale King), which makes it easy forget he only wrote three of them. His best and most innovative work was in his shorter pieces — especially his non-fiction essays but also his fictional short stories. Oblivion is his strongest story collection, eight pieces that cover themes as diverse as marketing research (the rich and complex "Mr. Squishy"), reality and dreaming (the Pale King-like "The Soul Is Not a Smithy"), and suicide ("Good Old Neon"). David Foster Wallace's short stories may lack the directness and immediacy of his essays, but this is nonetheless a superb collection.