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DFW examines this phenomenon, obtusely, in Infinite Jest. None of his characters are Hikikomori (and honestly a book about someone sitting around and doing noth
by roymurdock 10y ago
DFW examines this phenomenon, obtusely, in Infinite Jest. None of his characters are Hikikomori (and honestly a book about someone sitting around and doing nothing sounds a tad boring and self-absorbed, but I'll have to read Leave Society to find out), but they are all forced to deal with a world over saturated with drugs, politics, sex, tennis, and the TV/video media.
Orin, the main character's older brother, becomes a semi-recluse/sociopath, which is the closest character to an explicit Hikikomori DFW paints in the book. The other major characters rely on other forms of relief to cope with their anxiety, depression, family issues, etc.
DFW wrote Infinite Jest in 1996 before the internet truly took over. I'd love to see another book tackle the issues and repercussions of internet-soaked culture the way DFW tackled the nature of addiction in Infinite Jest.
- trevyn 10y ago>a book about someone sitting around and doing nothing sounds a tad boring May I refer you to the 1859 Russian classic Oblomov -- "Oblomov is a young, generous nobleman who seems incapable of making important decisions or undertaking any significant actions. Throughout the novel he rarely leaves his room or bed. In the first 50 pages, he manages only to move from his bed to a chair." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblomov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblomov Oblomov is more a treatise on 19th-century Russian nobility, but I find it interesting that lethargy and lack of direction has been democratized. :)
- roymurdock 10y agoInteresting...sounds very Russian. My favorite book of all time, Blood Meridian, tracks a 17 year-old adolescent known only as "the kid" and a motley band of cowboys he falls in with as they run across Texas/Mexico/California in 1850 killing indians, mexicans, and each other. Perhaps I'll enjoy what sounds like its polar opposite. We used to have work and war to keep the youth busy. Now, in developed countries, we have...virtual work and war...video games. Part of me thinks that Japan got hit with this phenomenon earlier than the US because they were outlawed from having an army for the past 60 years.
- graedus 10y ago> My favorite book of all time, Blood Meridian I'm reading Blood Meridian for the second time now - I think I like it even more now than the first time.
- JCDenton2052 10y agoAfter reading Blood Meridian, I needed to read a book to explain to me what Blood Meridian was really all about.
- fdsfsafasfdas 10y agoThere are many trains of thought. Personally, I think if you're looking for a strong argument about a single direction for such a thematically complicated novel, you might look at Mavericks at the Border: The Early Southwest in Historical Fiction and Film. Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Mavericks-Border-Southwest-Historical-Fiction/dp/0813121809 https://www.amazon.com/Mavericks-Border-Southwest-Historical...
- blackbagboys 10y agoPredating that by a few years is the classical Melville story of Bartleby the Scrivener, who, stuck in a dead-end white collar job, 'prefers' not to do anything at all.
- brothercolor 10y agoBartleby the Scrivener is good too. The hikkomori prefer not to, as well.
- discreteevent 10y agoOr "Murphy" by Samuel Beckett. He takes it to the limit.