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In the left corner... weighing in at 275 pages...

Get ready for fifteen rounds of knock-down, drag-out action!

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And in the right corner... weighing in at 297 pages...

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THE FINE PRINT:
Younger, smaller, and lighter than the novel, the short story is generally perceived as the underdog. But don't count the kid out just yet. Scrappy as it is small, the short story combines a one-two punch of theme and metaphor to deliver quick, short bursts to the novel's head for a quick and brutal KO. You might think an endless tome like Infinite Jest would clobber a short-and-sweet tale by Alice Munro, but keep your eyes peeled: in true David and Goliath fashion, Munro sneaks a swift uppercut of cunning characterization that lays the mammoth novel flat. But David Foster Wallace is ready for his comeback; with stingingly playful prose, he unleashes a torrent of razor-sharp blows in Oblivion that send the most prolific novelists scurrying back to their corner. All of which begs the obvious question: why can't they lay down their gloves and just get along?


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