Look at me! I’m cursing dead contemporary authors in bed!
I’m pretty sure the reason he titled the book Infinite Jest is because he’s laughing–from beyond the grave–at anyone who tries to read it. The story is a thousand pages long, and it has an additional hundered pages of footnotes, in small print. The footnotes are often just little jokes, like sub footnote (a) of footnote 110, which is, “don’t ask.” A lot of them contain detailed information on various illicit substances which may or may not appear in the story. A few of them contain large chunks of the story itself, which I guess he just put in as footnotes because he couldn’t figure out any place else in the thousand pages of non-linear prose where he could put them. I thought it was cute at first, even amusing, oh ha ha the author is being playful, but now it’s like when you’re hanging around a five year old and they keep telling the same joke about an elephant and a flying pizza over and over, each time laughing hysterically because they just think they are so damn funny.
Has anyone out there actually finished this book? Or is it like Ulysses, everyone starts it but never gets more than a couple hundered pages in before giving up but they all say how great it is because no one wants to admit they couldn’t finish such a highly regarded piece of literature?
I finished it. Twice. Also you’re a jerk. Do you not love the mad stork? Les Assassins en Fauteuils Roulants? Madame Psychosis? Giant feral hamsters roaming the countryside?
Last time I read that my weekend was only five months long – that’s totally less than infinite. Infinite Jest Weekend!
i never could get very far in the book, but i know several of my friends managed to finish it and loved it. maybe my attention span just sucks? i don’t know.
Clearly Mr. Oranje is a big grumpy liar. Also, most people who have friends also have friends who are liars.
i’m with you – intolerable jerking about.
he’s just a big joker.
the book goes nowhere and everywhere. almost like watching lost.
I am still on page 75
So I’m supposed to feel sorry for you because you’re semi-literate and of below-average intelligence? Piss off. Why don’t you find a copy of George W. Bush’s favorite book, “My Pet Goat” and attempt to read that. While that one might be too tough for you too, I doubt it has footnotes–you thickheaded cretin.
Best comment ever.
Geez Blake, which is smaller, your brain…or your pecker?
I am willing to admit that my penis is smaller than my brain.
it’s my favourite book ever. even better than catch 22.
I appreciate the need to go ‘against the system’, and the fact that you actually generated an original thought over the book, but you should definitely stop being such a little bitch and just plow through. Sure it’s challenging, but it’s definitely worth it for probably one of the best pieces of contemporary ficiton out there.
I honestly feel pity for whoever wrote this post. Not only because of his incapacity for appreciating any book beyond the literary level of Harry Potter, but especially because of his conviction of being acting like a REAL intellectual by denigrating a book which is definiteley worth the time it takes to be read, understood and discussed.
If I were you, I wouldn’t try to hide my lack of cultural bases under mere presumption. It just doesn’t work.
Jeeze, you people! You make me feel like I should generate an entire series based on the premise of implying that a person did not 100% finish and become a devoted fan of Infinite Jest. I have a confession: I did actually finish reading the book. I even enjoyed it. I’ll admit I was even a little bit sad that it was over, so many of the characters were left in ambiguous and troubling situations! My only criticisms of the book are that it could have been edited down a bit or at least split into two volumes so it isn’t such a beast to carry around (though in this era of e-books that’s less of a concern) and that Wallace was clearly too in love with his own prose stylings re. excessive footnotes. I agree that literature should be challenging, but the challenge shouldn’t revolve around trying to keep your place in three separate parts of the book at once. It reminded me of the choose your own adventure novels I was fond of when I was like eight years old, all the flipping around.