"Forever Overhead" by DFW

What caught my eye most about this piece is the immense amount of detail.  All the senses are accounted for in this short story.  DFW describes things that help the reader feel, hear, see and smell.  It allows the reader to be able to visualize the story even more, almost as if they were there.  One example of incredible detail in "Forever Overhead"was this passage, 

          And past all this, reddened by a round slow September sun, are mountains, jagged, their tops’       sharp angles darkening into definition against a deep red tired light. Against the red their sharp    connected tops form a spiked line, an EKG of the dying day.

But again, DFW added enough detail to keep the audience intrigued and alert, but not enough to where we get lost in all this extra nonsense.  Just as Carr and Barthleme both gave advice about.  I find it so incredible to be able to write like this.  I, myself, find it extremely difficult in y own writings to know when I have reached the point of too much detail or too little.  All these authors seem to have definitely perfected that aspect of writing.  Something very admirable.


              Melinda Terry