Some readers have found it useful to rip the book in half for easier reading on the subway or on the beach. It is an exuberant, uniquely american exploration of the passions that make us human and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do. Find books like infinite jest from the worlds largest community of readers. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. I read about guy montag, linebyline, 12 straight times. Infinite jest by david foster wallace overdrive rakuten. Infinite jest comes, in time, to seem like some great. If you like infinite jest you might like similar books consider the lobster and other essays, the pale king, white noise, a supposedly fun thing ill never do again. Infinite summer blog archive how to read infinite jest. Martins storm of swords are longer this, but i was able to clear those books much quicker than david foster wallaces second novel.
Im still trying to make sense of infinite jest io9. I love its sincerity, it never feels like wallace is fucking with me. I did find it a bit of a slog for the first 100 pages, but once i learned to trust that the author would fill in the blanks for me over time, everything became awesome. It is an exuberant,uniquely american exploration of the passions that make us humanand one of those rare books that. The novel is widely noted for its unconventional narrative structure and its experimental use of endnotes there are 388 endnotes, some with footnotes of their own.
There have been some interesting infinite summer posts about whether infinite jest counts as science fictionsee, for instance, these two at infinite tasks and this from chris forsterso i thought it might be interesting to run through some of my standard classroom definitions of science fiction and see how the book shapes up. Essays and arguments, brief interviews with hideous men. Infinite jest has been listed as one of the top 100 all time greatest novels of 19232006. Is there no ending to infinite book because there couldnt be. May 09, 2005 i have three helpers to infinite jest, each purchased at different readings of the great novel. I was talking to my roommate about infinite jest, and he asked me how it compared to illuminatus. Infinite jest by david foster wallace librarything. When i finished, i finally felt like i was ready to start. I know that infinite jest isnt about drugs to reduce it to that would be insulting but nevertheless, i read these books around the same time, and found they both have really interesting things to say about drugs and addiction in modern society so. Not too many people write thousandpagers, much less read them. An ambitious and frequently brilliant fictional exploration of the pursuit of pleasure and its ramifying consequences, by the antic author of girl with curious hair 1989, etc. Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by american writer david foster wallace.
The book is drumtight and relentlessly smart and, though it does not wear its heart on its. Ive seldom been more engrossed in a novel, and more willing to put in the time of. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most. Infinite jest is a cult book that became a phenomenon right from its publication day in 1996. A study of david foster wallaces infinite jest, and david foster wallaces infinite jest. They are not boring bibliographic details, but rather an integral part of the text. One year i opted to just reread fahrenheit 451 each month. Literary troll has talked about nothing but inifnite jest. Mar 08, 2016 the first chapter of infinite jest is one of the best examples ive read in recent years. Why i cannot recommend the infinite jest audio book infinite jest i guess this is a first for me and ill get straight to the point. It is an exuberant, uniquely american exploration of the passions that make us human and one of those rare books that renew the. Also, on a certain level, it is very grim and sad and honest and has a message that just becomes more and more relevant. Its just a totally brilliant, dense, super fun and insightful novel.
Are there any other books i could read like infinite jest. Infinite jest, a friend of wallaces commented to me when i was researching every love story is a ghost story, the biography of wallace that i wrote, reads like a valentine to a. Why i cannot recommend the infinite jest audio book. Infinite jest is notoriously known for being a long book its just shy of 1100 pages. When i hear things like, only for the most patient or be prepared to spend a lot of time. Infinite jest, in other words, can be exceedingly frustrating. Im seeking recommendations for books, essays, and really anything else games, films, etc. Each one has good material, but for an overall or first read of the book, i. Having only read the first extremely exhausting chapter, i cant tell you whether i would feel this way after two or more. Eggerss introduction observed that infinite jest was 1,067 pages long and there is not one lazy sentence. In 2006, little brown published a 10th anniversary edition of david foster wallaces infinite jest that featured a foreword by dave eggers. George saunders civilwarland in bad decline, neal stephenson snow crash. I have three helpers to infinite jest, each purchased at different readings of the great novel.
I began reading infinite jest by david foster wallace around october 2008. A study of david foster wallaces infinite jest and an instructor of theater at morehead state university when my friend brian handed me a supposedly fun thing ill never do again and told me i had to read it, i immediately recognized the name of the author whose story the depressed person was featured in harpers magazine. Really enjoy those books, you voracious reader, you. A book that has shaped popular culture despite or because of its length which demands a bit of much rewarding work from the reader. By my estimation infinite jest and 2666 have more differences between them than similarities. David foster wallaces 1996 novel infinite jest poses rhetorical, formal, and verbal challenges that will confound many readers new to the text. And the bouncing backandforth is a feature, not a bug. His intellect is beyond beyond, but wallaces heart and instinct burn just as brightly. This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. I wish dfw were still here to break it down and distill the current moment, though ij prophesizes. On reading the first chapter of infinite jest sally allen. Wallace deals language like a mad, drunk croupier, mixing the books hyperdetailed narratives with film script dialogue, lists, stream. Im an aspiring writer currently consuming infinite jest.
In the 19 years since it was published, david foster wallaces infinite jest has gained the sort of cult status that a struggling novelist would kill for. They are both long and have many characters but that is where the similarities end, thus these books might fit the bill for one more than the other. Feb 26, 2016 12 if you think infinite jest at 1,100odd pages is a long book, be advised that it started longer. I cant recommend the purchase of the what at first appears to be the amazing ive heard good things about the audio. To fully understand what wallace was up to, the book bears being read, and reread, with talmudic focus and devotion.
Infinite jest by foster wallace, david and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Wallace wrote to a friend that the fuckers cut by 600 pages from the first version. In the three hundredish page range i found some passages that made me think about our. The first chapter of infinite jest is one of the best examples ive read in recent years. In fact, having to take such a long time reading the book makes it even more satisfying when you finish it. When i hear things like, only for the most patient or be prepared to spend a lot of time, i wonder what sort of readers these people are. I think what you say about infinite summer is quite interesting. Once you start connecting the whole thing together, youll want to read it over and over its a lot like the entertainment other books that are lighter but somewhat similar. Goodreads members who liked infinite jest also liked. In a manner both reminiscent and imitative of thomas pynchons gravitys rainbow 1973, wallace traces the sometimes connected fortunes of two dozen or so addicted and obsessed souls variously involved with. If infinite jest the novel not the text but the relevant literary objects the text leaves unstated is, like its cinematic counterpart, the brainchild of jim incandenza, jim could be understood as analogous to wallace, and the novel as a totalitarian creation of a barthesian authorgod or two of them. I had ordered the book from after hearing of david foster wallaces death.
Infinite jest by david foster wallace turns 20 today, and im still confused by it all these years later. Its a breathless and elliptical colossus of a book. Buy infinite jest book online at low prices in india. Dec 19, 2016 infinite jest is notoriously known for being a long book its just shy of 1100 pages. Aaron baughman, im studying statistics at james madison university, and i like to explore ideas. Steven asin infinite jest is the perfect book for the kindle paperwhite. Feb 07, 2016 infinite jest, in other words, can be exceedingly frustrating. Heres how i finally read infinite jest and how you can, too. I know that infinite jest isnt about drugs to reduce it to that would be insulting but nevertheless, i read these books around the same time, and found they both have really interesting things to say about drugs and addiction in modern society so if you liked ij, tome fellings book might be worth a look. Infinite jest as infinite jest a supposedly fun blog. A brief note to readers new to infinite jest and a very. Wallace began infinite jest, or something like it, at various times between 1986 and 1989. I acquired it in the days before my tbr pile became a mountain having noted its recurring presence on the many best books lists that appear on line.
Burn david foster wallaces infinite jest similar books. Infinite jest is both sad, depressed and funny and even 25 years after it was published in 1994 remains relevant to the modern age. The novels most crucial event, for instance, is only referenced on page 17 and page 934. Jul 06, 2015 david foster wallaces 1996 novel infinite jest poses rhetorical, formal, and verbal challenges that will confound many readers new to the text.
The abundance of or excess of guides and commentaries on the novel can perhaps have the adverse and unintentional consequence of making readers new to infinite jest believe that they cant get it without help. Jul 31, 2009 there have been some interesting infinite summer posts about whether infinite jest counts as science fictionsee, for instance, these two at infinite tasks and this from chris forsterso i thought it might be interesting to run through some of my standard classroom definitions of science fiction and see how the book shapes up. It was so soothing, and i loved the release of not having to feel like i was constrained to read a lot of. The length of infinite jest should not be an obstacle to finding pleasure in it.
Beyond the ease with which one can lookup footnotes, consider the following. I was in france at the time, and when i got back to the u. Feb 15, 2016 reading infinite jest 20 years on books podcast. Infinite jest has a reputation for being one of those books that everyone starts and no one finishes. Infinite jest, by david foster wallace, is one of the few books that has defeated me. It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines list of the 100 best englishlanguage novels published between 1923 and 2005. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to come along in recent fiction, infinite jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives. In an instant of sudden clarity i realized he was right, that they were basically the same book the same fractally complex narrative of broken meandering plots about an endlesslyawaited but never arriving apocalypse. Books similar to david foster wallaces infinite jest. Apr, 2009 a gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to come along in recent fiction, infinite jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives. In fact, its take on the very nature of entertainment itself perhaps foresaw the age of vanity and social media, as seen through the prisms of tinder, facebook, twitter and instagram.
At the macro level, infinite jest consists of numerous anticonfluential wallaces word episodes set a dozen years or so in the future as was the broom, at a time when numerical designations for years have been sold to corporate sponsors. It is an exuberant,uniquely american exploration of the passions that make us humanand one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do. Stephen kings the stand uncut edition and george r. Apr 12, 2012 why i cannot recommend the infinite jest audio book infinite jest i guess this is a first for me and ill get straight to the point. Apr 09, 2009 i began reading infinite jest by david foster wallace around october 2008.
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