The book infinite jest

Just over twenty years ago, david foster wallace published his bestknown and most frustrating novel, infinite jest. Infinite jest is a novel of nearly infinite complexity. David foster wallaces second novel is s et in an absurd but agonizingly believable nearfuture, and. Its not a stretch or very original to call infinite jest the defining work of the 1990s. David foster wallaces infinite jest, is, without question, the best book ive ever read. Today, i turned the last page of infinite jest, around a week late for my deadline.

Whethers its the novels wiki or one of the original wallace celebration sites. The film, the eponymous infinite jest, was made by james incandenza and has the terrifying capacity to send anyone who views it into a crazed. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. Effects of the addiction phase, and breaking through it. As a college english major, ive read my fair share of great literature, and very few authors even approach wallaces ability to entertain, enlighten, mystify or infuriate.

Infinite jest by david foster wallace year of glad year of the depend adult undergarment 1 april year of the tucks medicated pad 9 may year of the depend adult undergarment infinite jest by david foster wallace. Some readers have found it useful to rip the book in half for easier reading on the subway or on the beach. Spoken word poem written after reading the book infinite. It is an exuberant, uniquely american exploration of the passions that make us human and one of those rare books that renew the. Luckily, though, wallace is not nearly as subtle with the meaning of the book. Infinite jest audiobook david foster wallace audible. The primary setting is enfield, ma, a township in boston. There are many reference to the book and the author in the office. Once hailed as a work of singular genius, time has not been kind to the groundbreaking infinite jest, as paul ring discovers while reading david foster wallaces novel 20 years on.

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. The first of february saw the 20th anniversary of a work considered by many to have changed the rules of fiction. Perhaps through a sort of literary stockholm syndrome, people that read infinite jest tend to worship it afterwards. Insure that times obituary mentions enduring passion for infinite jest. Wallace wrote to a friend that the fuckers cut by 600 pages from the first version. I hope these words inspire you to learn more about david. Infinite jest, david foster walaces massive 1,079page tome, is one of the most beloved books of this millennium, but it is also one that through sheer dint of its size has taken on almost religious reverence. Infinite jest is one of the biggest books ever written, and it certainly is the biggest book i have ever read. Infinite jest by david foster wallace year of glad year. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, paperback barnes. 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. Infinite jest is both sad, depressed and funny and even 25 years after it was published in 1994 remains relevant to the modern age. This piece was written after i completed david foster wallaces incredible, gargantuan, beloved novel infinite jest. Avoiding letting life happen to you, instead of an active life.

Michael schur, coproducer and actor of the office tv series owns the movie rights to infinite jest. Infinite jest is a novel about the narcotic power of languagea power so overwhelming that wallace has to shred narrative into tiny strips to keep it under control. There is stuff that happens in the opening pages that explains events at the end of the book. Some of the best humor can be found here, tucked away at the back of the book. The novel infinite jest is the story of this addictive entertainment, and in particular how it affects a boston halfway house for recovering addicts and a nearby tennis academy, whose students have many budding addictions of their own. Hal incandenza, a tennis prodigy and drug user as a result of. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The novel infinite jest takes place in a nearfuture dystopia, comprised of the north american nations in a loose affiliation without clear legislative or executive boundaries. Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by american writer david foster wallace. Stephen kings the stand uncut edition and george r. Goodreads members who liked infinite jest also liked.

Reading david foster wallaces latest novel, infinite jest, i couldnt help thinking at times about 7yearold seymour glasss book length letter home from camp, published in the new. Other tv show, bojack horseman, seems to be loosely based on this book. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness. Buried deep in the bowels of david foster wallaces maddening and magnificent novel, the province makes an appearance along with co louth, only its spelt.

The beloved 1100page novel is david foster wallaces magnum opus and one of the most influential books of its time, but did you know he. The novel to which infinite jest is most frequently compared is thomas pynchons gravitys rainbow 1973, which as well as being long and encyclopedic with a circular plot structure and multiple internal narratives, also explores similar themes of technology, high and low culture, free will, sex, and drugs. In an essay written while he was at work on infinite jest, wallace referred to the oracular foresight of writers such as don delillo, whose best novels white noise, libra, underworld. 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. This book is wandering, selfindulgent, overwritten, and gives ample evidence that the academics and literati are captivated by the deranged workings of a damaged mind wallace struggled with addictions and mental illness and killed himself a couple years after infinite jest was published. A writer of virtuostic talents who can seemingly do anything new york times wallace is a superb comedian of culture. The novel is widely noted for its unconventional narrative structure and its experimental. Buy infinite jest 01 by foster wallace, david isbn. So we have infinite jest, the book, which is a book largely about a movie that can kill you its so entertaining, and we have a movie about a book, the end of the tour 2015, which is a movie about an extended conversation between two writers following the publication of the book named infinite jest.

This woman has been slowly eating infinite jest for a year. Find books like infinite jest from the worlds largest community of readers. Addiction component in the book, and addiction issues that the author had. Infinite jest is a clear example of how humans add to the confusion of the world. Infinite jest is the name of a movie said to be so entertaining that anyone who watches it loses all desire to do anything but watch it. Infinite jest might be the most polarizing novel ive ever read. Infinite jest, in other words, can be exceedingly frustrating.

My copy of the book is sawn in three, abused, with smudges of food across its pages, from when i couldnt stop. Pietsch responded to the original 1,600page manuscript of infinite jest with a letter to wallace saying, its exactly the challenge and adventure i came to book publishing to find. Infinite jest takes place in the indefinite future, a time when years are subsidized by major corporations so that we get the year of the tucks medicated pad. With its baroque subplots, zany political satire, morbid, cerebral humor and astonishing range of cultural references, wallaces brilliant but somewhat bloated dirigible of a second novel after the b. Heres how i finally read infinite jest and how you can, too. The length of infinite jest should not be an obstacle to. To fully understand what wallace was up to, the book bears being read, and reread. If you do this, you also need to tear the footnotes from the back half and tape them to front half. Buy hardcover copy of infinite jest at brickandmortar bookstore. Infinite jest is notoriously known for being a long book its just shy of 1100 pages. Infinite jest study guide from litcharts the creators of.