Existentialist Engagement in Wallace Eggers and Foer

The novels of David Foster Wallace Dave Eggers and Jonathan Safran Foer are increasingly regarded as representing a new trend an 'aesthetic sea change' in contemporary American literature. 'Post-postmodernism' and 'New Sincerity' are just two of the labels that have been attached to this trend. But what do these labels mean? What characterizes and connects these novels? <br/> <br/> Den Dulk shows that the connection between these works lies in their shared philosophical dimension. On the one hand they portray excessive self-reflection and endless irony as the two main problems of contemporary Western life. On the other hand the novels embody an attempt to overcome these problems: sincerity reality-commitment and community are portrayed as the virtues needed to achieve a meaningful life. <br/> <br/> This shared philosophical dimension is analyzed by viewing the novels in light of the existentialist philosophies of Søren Kierkegaard Jean-Paul Sartre Ludwig Wittgenstein and Albert Camus.