David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest"

[JakWil]

This is a review I wrote of DFW's epic masterpiece Infinite Jest. If you haven't read it yet, definitely look into it if you're feeling adventurous and dedicated.

http://www.metawordz.com/2010/08/infinite-jest-review.html

Enjoy.

[Sancho]

Nice review, JalWil. I want to read it, but it frightens me. It's the size of a Manhattan phone book.

[TheChilly]

I have a copy of "Infinite Jest" sitting at my dorm right now... and now I want to run back there and pick it up, just after reading this review.

[AuntShecky]

There is a custom on many college campuses in the U.S. involving formal Infinite Jest "readathons," within a proscribed time frame of several weeks, months, or the entire semester. Although I'm thoroughly pleased that students are reading this remarkable novel, I'm a little baffled why the prospect of reading a book, given a lengthy one, seems to them a challenge akin to running a marathon, or an opportunity to exercise self-discipline with the general goal of self-improvement, as in doing twenty push-ups a night without fail, even though doing them is not an activity anyone actually "likes" to do.

I did read that novel one summer within the last decade.
Of course I found the plot intricate, the format at times maddening (switching back and forth between the compendious footnotes, which in themselves were entertaining and enlightening), at times a bit tiresome(such as the passages concerning tennis), and a tour de force gathering elements of nearly every kind of modern writing genre: a philosophical treatise, a science fiction novel (set either in some future dystopia or a parallel earth), a piece of modern mythology, with a beautiful but
scarred "basilisk;"an example of metafiction in every sense of the word, and most effectively --in my opinion -- a humorous/serious piece of social satire. Of the latter, DFW aims at such targets as political terrorism (from a special interest group we wouldn't automatically consider as threatening), the savage destruction of the environment
by megacorporations and the laughably ineffectual
remedies which governments use to counteract it, middle-class values including systematic fear of crime and the underclass, drug addiction and its psychobabble treatment
facilities; especially and above all, it is an indictment of present-day society as it considers its entertainment -- in mass media and in professional sports (with the aforementioned tennis trope and a running joke that is wickedly designed to mark the non-linear time frame: for not only have corporations exerted their power by copping the "naming rights" of sports arenas which is the reality of 2010, in DFW' s fiction they've gone so far as to own time itself, e.g. "The Year of the Depend Undergarment.") The title metaphor perhaps refers to the main theme of transmitting a literally deadly weapon through the airwaves (or however the novel's version of television is transmitted); what makes it especially lethal is that, similar to our own day, television (or whatever DFW's narrator calls it) irresistibly addictive, just as it is/was in our own day. (The Internet and its children--Twitter, Facebook-- are addictive as well, are they not?) When I read the deadly TV sections of Infinite Jest I wondered if DFW was aware of the jeremiads posited by the late Neil Postman, a professor of communications at NYU, one of whose most fascinating and frightening books was Amusing Ourselves to Death.

Infinite Jest covers all those things, and --to use a favorite phrase from late-night infomercials -- much much more.

That the novel is simultaneously so many things may explain why readers find Infinite Jest such a daunting enterprise. Still, I think everyone should read it, for no other reason that it is a hell of a lot of fun. I must say that the book must have made an impression upon me, because I'm surprised that after many years I remember so much (not of course, character's names and other details. But if you think it's difficult just to read it, imagine how David Foster Wallace went through to write it!

[JakWil]

Nice review, JalWil. I want to read it, but it frightens me. It's the size of a Manhattan phone book.

Ha, that's probably the best analogy for its size I've read. It's definitely worth a try though. Just keep in mind it's probably not the kind of book you're going to sit down and read for hours on end each day, finishing it straight through. I ended up reading it on/off alongside a dozen other "less demanding" books over the course of a few months, and by the end it had grown into one of my favorites.

[Sancho]

It's definitely worth a try though. Just keep in mind it's probably not the kind of book you're going to sit down and read for hours on end each day, finishing it straight through. I ended up reading it on/off alongside a dozen other "less demanding" books over the course of a few months, and by the end it had grown into one of my favorites.

Ya know, sometimes all I need is the right nudge. Thanks JakWil. I’m in. Anybody else?

Also sorry about misspelling your username earlier.

[laymonite]

I'm reading IJ now, currently 311 pages in. Wow. By page 85, I realized I had note-tabbed nearly every other page because I was getting so much out of it. This whopper is not padded with fluff; this is the Thanksgiving meal of literature!

[Sancho]

I'm reading IJ now, currently 311 pages in. Wow. By page 85, I realized I had note-tabbed nearly every other page because I was getting so much out of it. This whopper is not padded with fluff; this is the Thanksgiving meal of literature!

de acuerdo

Largely due to JakWil’s sweet review (and encouragement) I’ve started reading Infinite Jest. And it’s going to take me a while. I purchased an actual book instead of downloading an e-book for this one because I thought the footnotes in a David Foster Wallace novel would be tedious in an e-format, but then the notes and errata are all contained at the back of the book rather than the bottom of the page. What the …? Also I wanted this one on my bookshelf.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s a big danged book. My arms are becoming hypertrophied from holding it up. My brain is getting a workout too. One thing I enjoyed while reading several of his other books was his use of words not commonly used. It’s not a bad idea to have a copy of the O.E.D. close at hand while reading David Foster Wallace. I came across the word hypertrophy early on in the book – it was used to describe the tennis coach’s arm. Atrophy is a word most eighth-graders can use in casual conversation, but hypertrophy is unusual. I knew immediately what it meant, but I don't think I've ever heard it before. It's never occurred to me that atrophy had an antonym.

[laymonite]

Just finished! It took me from 12/27/2010 - 1/27/2011 to read this juggernaut! The longest I've ever spent on a single book, but boy have I been rewarded.

I'll be back once I've collected all my thoughts and consolidated all the Post-it notes that are lining the pages!

[iamnobody]

Looks like this will have to go on my TBR list.

[Ayahuasca]

It has been two years since I read this novel and I can still remember most of the characters and plot details. My literary tastes can be divided into pre- and post-Jest. The only reason I wouldn't recommend this book is that Wallace makes almost everyone else look bad. I honestly hope I do not sound like a fanboy, because if I did that would make me unhappy.

[Buh4Bee]

Great review. How does it compare to War and Peace or is there no comparison- just length? LOL!

[MarcoPolo]

There is a custom on many college campuses in the U.S. involving formal Infinite Jest "readathons," within a proscribed time frame of several weeks, months, or the entire semester. Although I'm thoroughly pleased that students are reading this remarkable novel, I'm a little baffled why the prospect of reading a book, given a lengthy one, seems to them a challenge akin to running a marathon, or an opportunity to exercise self-discipline with the general goal of self-improvement, as in doing twenty push-ups a night without fail, even though doing them is not an activity anyone actually "likes" to do.


I don't think there's anything to be baffled about. Like all difficult things (e.g. quitting smoking, losing weight, working out, grieving the death of a loved one), it helps to have a support system of people who are doing it with you.

Regarding difficulty, the most difficult part of reading IJ, not just for a full-time college student but also for working, parenting adults, is finding the time to commit to it. When people call it a "readathon" or whatever, I'm sure you understand that they aren't suggesting it's literally akin to running a marathon. Figuratively, there are some similarities.

I would also say that the person who does the 20 push-ups a night might not be used to the new habit at first, but that doesn't necessarily mean they don't "like" doing it.

The irony here of course is that you are baffled by the fact that reading and focusing attention on something for a long period of time would require the support of a network of people, and the book that these people are reading is about how entertainment is so good at what it does that people have a difficult time doing anything other than watching TV. With hi-def, flat screen images everywhere, it is becoming difficult to read books like Infinite Jest, so I don't think it does any good to belittle people who read it in groups.

[AuntShecky]

The late DFW would never have confused "proscribe" with
"prescribe." It was a typo, but the person who committed
it is cringing.:blush:

[WyattGwyon]

Ha, that's probably the best analogy for its size I've read. It's definitely worth a try though. Just keep in mind it's probably not the kind of book you're going to sit down and read for hours on end each day, finishing it straight through. I ended up reading it on/off alongside a dozen other "less demanding" books over the course of a few months, and by the end it had grown into one of my favorites.

Contrary to the above, I would say it is a good idea to read it straight through without other reading on the side. Like Gaddis's The Recognitions, it is impossible to comprehend all of the dense interconnections on one reading. I would be afraid that spreading it out would inevitably result in multiple threads slipping away.

[tonywalt]

Great review. How does it compare to War and Peace or is there no comparison- just length? LOL!

It is the War and Peace of our generation. It is The Comic Satire of Modern Life-there is no other in the same league.

[Zagreus]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJpfK7l404I Rumour has it this song is inspired by Infinite Jest, though I haven't ever read the book and can't say whether it's actually so. Thought you guys might appreciate it nevertheless. Cheers.

[Bibliophile79]

Read it about two years ago, it was alright

[ladderandbucket]

Didn't like it much. Obviously I'm in a minority, but I don't think I missed anything. The theme of the book was quite interesting - I had more fun pondering its complexities than I did actually reading it - but it was hardly worth 1300 pages of my time.

I should have trusted my instincts and bailed out early. Somebody told me it picked up after 200 pages. Elsewhere I read it took 400 pages. IMO it doesn't really start until 600 pages in - but the second half only looks good in comparison to the first.

There are flashes of brilliance. DFW had intelligence and talent, which he often used to be deliberately annoying. His style feels like a magnification of everything I don't like about Don Dellilo - unlikable characters, unconvincing dialogue, ill-advised experimentation - with none of Dellilo's poetry. In fact, I suspect DFW had not much appreciation of poetry at all.

His essays are great though. And yes, I'm an idiot for spending so much time on a book I didn't like.

ETA - the most infuriating thing is that, because the book was so complex and inconclusive, the first thing I wanted to do when I finished, was to start reading it again and try to work out what happened.

I'm sure this was DFW's intention as it reflects one of his major themes - our joyless addiction to entertainment. There is a running joke in the book about pseudointellectual art films that play tricks on the audience. It's pretty clear that DFW knew exactly what he was up to. He employs a lot of this kind of metafictional trickery in the book, and in this respect it has a kind of genius. I finished reading it a week ago, and it's obviously still in my mind. But I don't feel as if this justifies the many tedious hours I spent wading through it.