Find books like infinite jest from the worlds largest community of readers. It has also been called metamodernist and hysterical realist. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. 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. A book that has shaped popular culture despite or because of its length which demands a bit of much rewarding work from the reader. In 2006, little brown published a 10th anniversary edition of david foster wallaces infinite jest that featured a foreword by dave eggers. Infinite jest displays a wider range of styles from the subliterate monologue of a povertystricken abused woman to technical explications of the properties of various pharmaceuticals but the main narrative style is both casual and complex, slangy and erudite, a kind of slacker mandarin with comically manic specificity of detail. A subreddit dedicated to reading david foster wallaces infinite jest over the summer. David foster wallace, who died in 2008, was the author of the acclaimed novels infinite jest and the broom of the system. Jun 02, 2009 also worth reading although possibly less timeconsuming than infinite jest is a great essay from that master of the weird china mieville.
Today, i turned the last page of infinite jest, around a week late for my deadline. Is it worth it or should i find another book to read. The ease of access to satisfaction in the digital age, from smart phone to. 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. Goodreads members who liked infinite jest also liked.
All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The novel is widely noted for its unconventional narrative structure and its experimental use of endnotes there are a total of 388 endnotes, some with footnotes of their own. Books that have been made into movies and are coming out in 2017 plus all things film on the printed page and our wish list of titles that should be a movie. Infinite jest by david foster wallace turns 20 today, and im still confused by it all these years later. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, paperback barnes. Discover book depository s huge selection of david foster wallace books online. Navigating its maze of relationships and 400 footnotes could drive even the most seasoned literary disentanglers up the reading room wall. 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.
Steven asin infinite jest is the perfect book for the kindle paperwhite. Unquestionably, infinite jest required great ambition and focus to write, and requires a bit of ambition and focus to read as well. David foster wallaces infinite jest, a favorite book of many, is the kind of genrebender that will thwart your mind with its convoluted narrative, plethora of allusions and cultural references, and multilateral connections between the characters. Then rolling stone sent lipsky to join wallace on the last leg of his book tour for infinite jest, the novel that made him internationally famous. Wallace, who railed against irony, wanted to be sincere in his writing. But if you are seeking something other, then this book will not disappoint. Feb 07, 2016 when his infinite jest came out 20 years ago, david foster wallace felt some anxiety about how his fully stuffed novel would be received.
He did though, leave behind a hugely impressive body of work and infinite jest, in my opinion, having read everything he has written over the years, is his crowning glory. My copy of the book is sawn in three, abused, with smudges of food across its pages, from when i couldnt stop. Exceedingly short fiction from the author of infinite jest. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value.
The book is drumtight and relentlessly smart and, though it does not wear its heart on its sleeve, its deeply felt and incredibly moving. Elegant complexity is the first critical work to provide detailed and thorough commentary on each of the 192 sections of david foster wallaces masterful infinite jest. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, 9780316920049, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Navigating its maze of relationships and 400 footnotes could drive even the most seasoned. Ive seldom been more engrossed in a novel, and more willing to put in the time of. Books similar to infinite jest goodreads share book. Apr, 2009 equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. 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. Ive heard people say its the greatest book in existence and others say its a horrible book you shouldnt waste your time with. 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. Start by marking incarnations of burned children as want to read.
It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines. Dec 10, 2010 david foster wallaces infinite jest, a favorite book of many, is the kind of genrebender that will thwart your mind with its convoluted narrative, plethora of allusions and cultural references, and multilateral connections between the characters. To miss the desperate worshipping hidden beneath the strange, erudite, bellydeep joy of infinite jest is to fall prey to its pleasure. 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. Tom bissell and the editor michael pietsch discuss infinite jest. Some readers have found it useful to rip the book in half for easier reading on the subway or on the beach. Infinite jest in the age of addiction the millions.
If you do this, you also need to tear the footnotes from the back half and tape them to front half. Beyond the ease with which one can lookup footnotes, consider the following. Two centuries into the future, the hundred concerns, a group of powerful corporations that dominate galactic commerce, have pressured the commonwealth of humans into signing a pact with the haluk, a conquering alien race with nefarious designs. Shakespeares book of insults, insights and infinite jests by william shakespeare and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. To fully understand what wallace was up to, the book bears being read, and reread, with talmudic focus and devotion. There is stuff that happens in the opening pages that explains events at the end of the book, albeit over pages and hundreds of footnotes away. Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by american writer david foster wallace. 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. Buy infinite jest 01 by foster wallace, david isbn. Infinite jest is a postmodern encyclopedic novel, famous for its length and detail and for its digressions that involve endnotes some of which themselves have footnotes.
I felt compelled throughout to read it aloud, such was the almost poetic quality of it. David foster wallace wrote the novels the pale king, infinite jest and the broom of the system and three story collections. It does a very good job of teasing out the different plot threads and relationships between the characters, while helpfully highlighting the interplay between infinite jest and other literary works, e. And while that classic is not a great book, its a damned sight better, as well as more narratively daring than this book.
Sep 10, 2016 its been a bit of a journey on this one. Infinite jest kindle edition by wallace, david foster. Infinite jest by david foster wallace book analysis. Heres how i finally read infinite jest and how you can, too. A novel 9780316920049 by wallace, david foster and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Eggerss introduction observed that infinite jest was 1,067 pages long and there is not one lazy sentence. Incarnations of burned children by david foster wallace. The book is drumtight and relentlessly smart and, though it does not wear its heart on its.
This summary of infinite jest includes a complete plot overview spoilers included. Infinite jest 9780316066525 by wallace, david foster and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Infinite jest is both sad, depressed and funny and even 25 years after it was published in 1994 remains relevant to the modern age. While i cant read the book not even the end notes for you, i. David foster wallaces infinite jest is a postmodern novel with a premodern message. Jul 11, 2016 the final joke of infinite jest is that the book is intended to be almost as endless and mirthful as the addictions it depicts. You can peruse their how to read infinite jest post here. Feb 01, 1996 admittedly, infinite jest is a tough book.
Infinite jest, in that sense, is a very easy read, almost as light and gay as victor hugos les miserables, which is even longer. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Infinite summer blog archive how to read infinite jest. Burn, 9781441157072, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Infinite jest, in other words, can be exceedingly frustrating. Infinite jest by david foster wallace 70,709 ratings, 4. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, 9780349121086, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Discover book depositorys huge selection of david wallace books online. Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else.
Feb 15, 2016 today, i turned the last page of infinite jest, around a week late for my deadline. So while this book does contain many postmodern conventions, its ideas about humanity arent postmodern at all. So did i, for the first two or three pages, until i saw the author didnt give a damn. When his infinite jest came out 20 years ago, david foster wallace felt some anxiety about how his fully stuffed novel would be received. Infinite jest by paul barolsky, 97808262024, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
It is the most fun book of this length that i have ever read. Feb 04, 2016 if one of your reading resolutions is to finally finish infinite jest, david foster wallaces mammoth novel, im here to help. Were considering expanding this synopsis into a fulllength study guide to deepen your comprehension of the book and why its important. May 30, 2018 infinite jest by david foster wallace, 9780349121086, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Infinite jest by david foster wallace in epub, fb2, fb3 download e book.
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. Some thoughts, delivered on a significant occasion, about living a compassionate life. But this infinite jest summary guide may actually prove valuable to you at least, that is the hope. If one of your reading resolutions is to finally finish infinite jest, david foster wallaces mammoth novel, im here to help. The book essentially is a chapter by chapter analysis of infinite jest. As the novel unfolds, various individuals, organizations. Infinite jest is a cult book that became a phenomenon right from its publication day in 1996. 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. He was also a tragic figure, hanging himself when changing antidepressants in 2008. Discover book depositorys huge selection of david foster wallace books online. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, 9780316306058, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. You start the book having no clue when it is happening and who the various characters are. In short, if finnegans wake was a rancid fart that was proudly left to rip, infinite jest is a weak one, lacking sound and odor.
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