Do lobsters feel pain? Did Franz Kafka have a sick sense of humour? What is John Updike's deal anyway? & who won the Adult Video News' Female Performer of the Year Award the same year Gwyneth Paltrow won her Oscar? David Foster Wallace answers these questions & more in his new book of hilarious non-fiction For this collection David Foster Wallace immerses himself in the three-ring circus that is the presidential race in order to document one of the most vicious campaigns in recent history Later he strolls from booth to booth at a lobster festival in Maine & risks life & limb to get to the bottom of the lobster question Then he wheedles his way into an LA radio studio armed with tubs of chicken to get the behind-the-scenes view of a conservative talkshow featuring a host with an unnatural penchant for clothing that only looks good on the radio In what is sure to be a much-talked-about exploration of distinctly modern subjects one of the sharpest minds of our time delves into some of life's most delicious topics