Consider the Lobster is a collection of various essays of different kinds and on different subjects, many of which are reprints of faux journalism originally published by literary magazines. The summaries of each story are as follows:
Big Red Son: A scathing exposition on the adult film industry focused on their award show beginning with a humorous take on autocastration.
Certainly the End of Something or Other, One Would Sort of Have to Think: A literary-critical review of John Updike's novel Toward the End of Time in which Wallace expresses his disappointment with the modernist powerhouse, eventually concluding that the reason the character in the story is so unhappy is that he is a jerk.
Some Remarks on Kafka's Funniness from Which Probably Not Enough Has Been Removed: A short essay sampling various Kafka moments that were probably supposed to be very funny, but for some reason don't line up with the modern American sense of humor.
Authority and American Usage: An admittedly nerdy exposé of the drama in the dictionary publishing world and the intricacies of modern linguistics.
The View from Mrs. Thompson's: A moderate, albeit challenging response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart: A frustrated literary-critical essay decrying the sports-star-with-ghost-writer autobiography genre, a genre of pulp non-fiction that Wallace wishes he could enjoy, but can't because of the absence of meaning and narrative value.
Up, Simba: A political piece surrounding the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain.
Consider the Lobster: The title essay, focused on the culinary controversy surrounding the correct method for ethically cooking lobster. Indirectly, the essay deals with our assumptions about pain, pleasure, and entitlement.
Joseph Frank's Dostoevsky: A peer-review article for Joseph Frank's biography of Fyodor Dostoevsky appreciating where Frank excels, but not without criticizing arenas where Frank falls short of capturing the true essence of Dostoevsky's life.
Host: A layered, involved exposition of a radio host who can't help their obsession with the O.J. Simpson trial. Indirectly, an exposé of how different media affect the cultural psychology of a society.
