The Guardian has published a piece on Infinite Jest. Thought some folks here might enjoy this :)
It is tempting to see Infinite Jest as one final act of heroism in the name of fiction. Certainly, I think it’s no stretch to say it’s unlikely we’ll see another book like this in our lifetimes. Ten years from now, Infinite Jest may exist as an artefact of an era when humans still wrote, from a writer who could describe the weather with detail as compelling as the realists, a work that combines Shakespearean lexical boldness with literary brat-pack druggie precocious cool and mainstream momentum to create one of the enduring literary successes of the 20th century.
I think about president Johnny Gentle quite a bit these days, as well as ONAN, etc. Unfortunately while real life has matched the story in ridiculousness, it’s exceeded it in evil.
Thanks for this, it’s my number 1 favourite book, so looking forward to reading the article!
Yea, I didn’t make it past the first chapter. Maybe it’s a good book, who knows. But it’s not for me.
If you like philosophy as fiction, I suggest White Noise by Don DeLillo.
I think you have to work up to it. Expand your short-term memory by reading books with longer run-on sentences and subordinate clauses, step by step, until you’re ready to unhinge your jaw and swallow one of Wallace’s multi-page, one-sentence paragraphs and digest it.
I gave it a solid effort when I was in the Peace Corps and didn’t have much entertainment other than reading (yes, the irony isn’t lost on me) and still only survived a few hundred pages before throwing in the towel
I don’t think I’ve read more than a hundred pages. It was also too American for my interests to devote so much time to. But I still remember the scene where the character preps everything to lock himself up in comfort, full hermit style and hedonistic entertainment maxing, once he gets his weed. Good stuff!
