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. The good news is that it is not a thousandpage paragraph or even a thousandpage story. Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by american writer david foster wallace. Having only read the first extremely exhausting chapter, i cant tell you whether i would feel this way after two or more. Personally, i hated infinite jest and i cant imagine ill ever want to reread any of it. What is the significance of spiders in infinite jest.
I was in france at the time, and when i got back to the u. Infinite jest kindle edition by wallace, david foster. A multilayered postmodern saga of damnation and salvation. Let us read david foster wallaces novel infinite jest together. I received an email earlier today from a reader who had excitedly received their unabridged audio book of. Listen to infinite jest by david foster wallace at.
Sep 04, 2012 granada house rules stipulated a fortyhour workweek, so wallace got up at 4. He wore it not as a fashion statement, but because he was prone to anxiety attacks and. 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. Wallaces particular conceit in infinite jest is that the events described are taking place in the indeterminate future, possibly. Not too many people write thousandpagers, much less read them.
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. And the bouncing backandforth is a feature, not a bug. In the narration, its only ever called the entertainment or the samizdat. I guess this is a first for me and ill get straight to the point. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a. The widow spider is named such because the female often eats the male after mating w. Infinite jest infinite jest audiobook, by david foster wallace. Mar 08, 2016 the first chapter of infinite jest is one of the best examples ive read in recent years.
Infinite jest by david foster wallace overdrive rakuten. Imma throw a few readings of infinite jest at you and see what you think. This is a list of rymers that love david foster wallaces novel, iinfinite jesti. The endnotes arent included in the audio and i can see why the publisher omitted them out. Feb 07, 2016 infinite jest, in other words, can be exceedingly frustrating. Why i cannot recommend the infinite jest audio book. Infinite jest ebook by david foster wallace rakuten kobo.
This, combined with his limited but ultraprecise lobbing, made him the schools first master of eschaton. The novel is a interconnected sequence of events, told out of timeline order, that focuses on addiction in all its forms. I have read a number of books of a similar length, so upwards of 500k words or. I cant recommend the purchase of the what at first appears to be the amazing ive heard good things about the audio. Infinite jest is the title of james incandenzas braindestroying cartridge, but said title only appears in endnote 24, his filmography. So many people post their i just finished x post, and while thats fine, what i hope to do differently is having just finished infinite jest, write a post i would have liked to have read before having started the book. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, paperback barnes. Inlclude your favorite sections, quotes, characters or whatevs. 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. Its not really that good of an audio book to listen to and the narration was too slow for me so i ended up reading the whole thing on my own after maybe a hundred pages in. Infinite jest by david foster wallace audiobook 47 youtube. Infinite jest audiobook by david foster wallace, read by. 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.
Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Why i cannot recommend the infinite jest audio book infinite jest. Very good with bumped corners, several light indents to front cover, page block lightly soiled and with a thick remainder mark to top edge. There are 28 unnumbered chapter breaks signified by a little circle, similar to 28 days in a lunar continue reading matt bucher. Infinite summer blog archive how to read infinite jest. The film, so entertaining to its viewers that they lose all interest in anything other than repeatedly viewing it and thus.
They are not boring bibliographic details, but rather an integral part of the text. 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. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, first edition, signed. To fully understand what wallace was up to, the book bears being read, and reread, with talmudic focus and devotion. Infinite jest is a novel written by david foster wallace. Pratt is a startlingly good narrator, dry and expressive, with the kind of vocal control that evokes dozens of characters with only slight but very distinctive. I cant recommend the purchase of the what at first appears to be the amazing ive heard good things about the audio, excellent vocal performance audio book of infinite jest. But really, the plot arc is so complex that its rather dilute, and hooking on to a compelling plot amidst language, run on sentences and endless footnotes makes the. 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.
On reading the first chapter of infinite jest sally allen. I cant recommend the purchase of the what at first appears to. Oct 18, 2016 infinite jest explores the idea that all humans are addicts and examines how the chosen drugs particularly entertainment of late 20th century americans eat them alive. Feb 15, 2016 today, i turned the last page of infinite jest, around a week late for my deadline. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america. Also, the audio book doesnt include the endnotes and its just not ij without the notes. I was talking to my roommate about infinite jest, and he asked me how it compared to illuminatus. Jan 22, 2016 the black widow spider is the perfect symbol for one of the major themes in the bookwhat you love will kill you. Whether its drugs, sex, or fame, the novels primary goal is to examine the need for these addictions and show that it is possible to addicted to addiction itself. Beyond the ease with which one can lookup footnotes, consider the following. But i must admit that a lot of the time when im listening to the audio book, im not giving my full attention. 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. In infinite jest, the characters actions are so bizarre that you cant forget where you left off.
Apr 09, 2009 i began reading infinite jest by david foster wallace around october 2008. My copy of the book is sawn in three, abused, with smudges of food across its pages, from when i couldnt stop. May 09, 2005 a readers companion to infinite jest is a guide for readers who have heard about the literary genius of david foster wallaces huge and sprawling novel but have been put off by its length and narrative complexity. Ive seldom been more engrossed in a novel, and more willing to put in the time of.
Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. Mar 20, 2009 the slate audio book club on infinite jest. Signed by david foster wallace on the title page, inscribed to former owner for jeremy in fellowship. These are the endnotes to david foster wallaces infinite jest, a gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america. I had ordered the book from after hearing of david foster wallaces death. Sep 10, 2016 its been a bit of a journey on this one. So did i, for the first two or three pages, until i saw the author didnt give a damn. Part of what makes this publication hard are generous undefined phrases deliberately. So while gatelys pretty clearly seeing some variant, at least, of infinite jest, he might well be seeing some nonlethal version, the unimpaired artistic vision from which j. Jan 17, 2016 if youve never read it, starting infinite jest can be a little intimidating. 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. You really should just read it even if its just the first chapter and decide for yourself. 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. I bought the audiobook but i also bought the kindle version to help with the.
Infinite jest by david foster wallace turns 20 today, and im still confused by it all these years later. Infinite jest audiobook david foster wallace audible. Infinite jest has been listed as one of the top 100 all time greatest novels of 19232006. Steven asin infinite jest is the perfect book for the kindle paperwhite. 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. Feb 01, 1996 a gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america. The reason is that the footnotes are not included in the audio book.
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