Caren Explains Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

As I've mentioned before, I kinda have a thing for John Krasinski, and am looking forward to seeing what he can do as a director when his first movie, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, is released (TBD). I also kinda have a thing for Ben Gibbard, who offers "the meaning of life" in the new issue of Paste magazine and also makes an appearance in Krasinski's film. (I've seen a low budget short film that Gibbard and the Death Cab boys were in a few years ago, and it was pretty fun to watch.)

So back to Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. It's an adaptation of the 1999 book with the same name, a brilliant work of fiction by David Foster Wallace. I first came across DFW in Rolling Stone a few years back, when he penned an article on Senator John McCain. Lately I was curious to read Brief Interviews... so Katie picked up a copy and lent it to me.

Holy cow.

Sometimes I had to remind myself that this was fiction, because the characters were just popping off the pages! They are written so vividly: at times hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking. The literary devices DFW employs are fascinating, too. In all, a very clever look at relationships and how little we know, or rather care to know, about each other.

Now I'm especially curious to know how Krasinski will adapt the book for the screen -- which stories can be faithfully adapted, and which would be lost in translation if put on film?

Here's the opening page of the book, to further peak your interest.

A Radically Condensed History of Postindustrial Life

When they were introduced, he made a witticism, hoping to be liked. She laughed extremely hard, hoping to be liked. Then each drove home alone, staring straight ahead, with the very same twist to their faces.

The man who’d introduced them didn’t much like either of them, though he acted as if did, anxious as he was to preserve good relations at all times. One never knew, after all, now did one now did one now did one.