Scan barcode
A review by samue_l
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
5.0
Fucking fantastic. Would not recommend.
If you’re a masochistic reader, this book is for you. This is a mammoth of a book. It’s tough. But somehow—and I feel weird saying this, given how arduous of a read it is—at the end, I found myself wishing it was longer. Not so much in a ‘seriously-this-is-how-it-ends?’ kind of way as much as a ‘I just want it to keep going…’ kind of way.
This book will knock your socks off, if you’re stubborn enough to put the work in and try and understand and finish it. But holy shit don’t read more than like 30 pages a day, 50 at the max if you’re into it.
If you do want to read it, don’t be afraid to look online for help understanding what’s going on. Once you get it, you get it, that’s all I can say. I would highly recommend University City Public Library’s YouTube intro to the world of INFINITE JEST, if you’re struggling with comprehending exactly what the deal is with this book. It really enhanced my experience.
INFINITE JEST is a book where you must let yourself get lost in the moment in the text. DFW writes like nobody else. Consuming this book will make you a better reader. Consuming this book will make you a better writer. Consuming this book will make you realize that you do not use the English language as efficiently as you could, and probably no one does. The way DFW structures his sentences is pristine and unique and insightful.
And yeah, there are 388 footnotes. You gotta read those too. Very important, especially the long ones. There are even footnotes on some of the footnotes! Why would someone do this, you ask? Because this book is not meant to be read linearly. The plot doesn’t exactly follow what you would call a temporally sound structure. You’ll see what I mean, if you hate yourself enough to read this book.
I learned a lot about tennis, too.
10/10, but won’t read again for many decades
If you’re a masochistic reader, this book is for you. This is a mammoth of a book. It’s tough. But somehow—and I feel weird saying this, given how arduous of a read it is—at the end, I found myself wishing it was longer. Not so much in a ‘seriously-this-is-how-it-ends?’ kind of way as much as a ‘I just want it to keep going…’ kind of way.
This book will knock your socks off, if you’re stubborn enough to put the work in and try and understand and finish it. But holy shit don’t read more than like 30 pages a day, 50 at the max if you’re into it.
If you do want to read it, don’t be afraid to look online for help understanding what’s going on. Once you get it, you get it, that’s all I can say. I would highly recommend University City Public Library’s YouTube intro to the world of INFINITE JEST, if you’re struggling with comprehending exactly what the deal is with this book. It really enhanced my experience.
INFINITE JEST is a book where you must let yourself get lost in the moment in the text. DFW writes like nobody else. Consuming this book will make you a better reader. Consuming this book will make you a better writer. Consuming this book will make you realize that you do not use the English language as efficiently as you could, and probably no one does. The way DFW structures his sentences is pristine and unique and insightful.
And yeah, there are 388 footnotes. You gotta read those too. Very important, especially the long ones. There are even footnotes on some of the footnotes! Why would someone do this, you ask? Because this book is not meant to be read linearly. The plot doesn’t exactly follow what you would call a temporally sound structure. You’ll see what I mean, if you hate yourself enough to read this book.
I learned a lot about tennis, too.
10/10, but won’t read again for many decades