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addimop's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this took me so long to read i simply cannot give it anything less than 5 stars…. however! i dont want to immediately start extolling the genius of DFW, this book is too long and i would argue self-aggrandizing (him writing it to impress a girl makes sooo much sense). Im happy ive finished it partly because it was a literary delight and partly so i can finally grill the men who start raving about it.
This is a story of family, addiction, and entertainment set against an almost speculative-fiction background which I think allows this book to stay incredibly relevant (especially in our current political situation). Johnny Gentle, Subsidized Time, and the InterLace Viewers all feel very prescient to 2024. This book was not only a hard read from a literary perspective but also delves into dark topics, especially when it comes to Ennet House and its residents.
The writing is beautiful and has such a strong voice to it. He has a way of breaking up the most pretentious passages with a very down-to-earth sentence, or a dark and sad passage with the funniest thing you’ve ever read. There were multiple times I laughed out loud (Hal’s NA experience took me outttt). I also really enjoyed how DFW acknowledges marijuana as an addictive substance (even to the point of needing rehab), i feel like marijuana is not regarded this way anymore for better or worse. Lastly, I loved the math aspects of the book, but I gotta say… were his explanations overly difficult or am I dumb? Why did I not understand anything when they started talking about math lmao. ( related quote: “ only at times like this, when you are directionless in a dark wood, trust to the abstract deductive. when driven to your knees, kneel and revere the double S. Leap like a knight of faith into the arms of Peano, Leibniz, Hilbert, L’Hopital. You will be lifted up. Fourier, Gauss, LaPlace, Rickey. Borne up. Never let fall. Wiener, Reimann, Frege, Green. “)
My main issue with the book was the way race was handled. Several slurs are used throughout and weird AAVE vernacular is used for certain characters. I genuinely cannot tell if this is a reflection of the characters, a reflection of DFW, or simply a sign of the times. In any case, it was off-putting for me.
Overall, this book was a rollercoaster, sometimes i loved it, sometimes i wanted to throw it out my window. I see how it pulls you in for rereads, as I feel I missed several “minor” details that were actually very important to filling in plot holes. Perhaps a reread is in my future.
This is a story of family, addiction, and entertainment set against an almost speculative-fiction background which I think allows this book to stay incredibly relevant (especially in our current political situation). Johnny Gentle, Subsidized Time, and the InterLace Viewers all feel very prescient to 2024. This book was not only a hard read from a literary perspective but also delves into dark topics, especially when it comes to Ennet House and its residents.
The writing is beautiful and has such a strong voice to it. He has a way of breaking up the most pretentious passages with a very down-to-earth sentence, or a dark and sad passage with the funniest thing you’ve ever read. There were multiple times I laughed out loud (Hal’s NA experience took me outttt). I also really enjoyed how DFW acknowledges marijuana as an addictive substance (even to the point of needing rehab), i feel like marijuana is not regarded this way anymore for better or worse. Lastly, I loved the math aspects of the book, but I gotta say… were his explanations overly difficult or am I dumb? Why did I not understand anything when they started talking about math lmao. ( related quote: “ only at times like this, when you are directionless in a dark wood, trust to the abstract deductive. when driven to your knees, kneel and revere the double S. Leap like a knight of faith into the arms of Peano, Leibniz, Hilbert, L’Hopital. You will be lifted up. Fourier, Gauss, LaPlace, Rickey. Borne up. Never let fall. Wiener, Reimann, Frege, Green. “)
My main issue with the book was the way race was handled. Several slurs are used throughout and weird AAVE vernacular is used for certain characters. I genuinely cannot tell if this is a reflection of the characters, a reflection of DFW, or simply a sign of the times. In any case, it was off-putting for me.
Overall, this book was a rollercoaster, sometimes i loved it, sometimes i wanted to throw it out my window. I see how it pulls you in for rereads, as I feel I missed several “minor” details that were actually very important to filling in plot holes. Perhaps a reread is in my future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, and Sexual violence
blueisthenewpink's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Wow, was this book frustrating! Including the end. A thousand pages of parallel, sometimes intersecting stories, endnotes¹, characters speaking in nonstandard English, some others using a superstandard variant, with unnecessary grammar nazism, all extremely dysfunctional, with some truly horrific stories in their lives, some absolutely abysmal events the reader has to witness irl.
Often, it was like wading through mud, waist-high. It is not a story, it is life. With all its complexity, revolting scenes and quite depressing hopelessness. Also, it was very engaging, I was deeply interested in these stories, most of them at least, still, it was too dense to ever read it quickly².
Following the timeline with all these crazy names for the years proved to be so challenging that I simply gave up trying to understand the order of events after a while. It all started to converge towards the end though and despite not getting any closure, the interconnectedness of these fates became clear.
I loved the sense of humour though. Things like “you have to take what Orin says in a fairly high-sodium way” or “Not exactly the swiftest ship in Her Majesty’s fleet in terms of like upstairs” and “the parents apparently being not exactly the two brightest bulbs in the great U.S. parental light-show” not to mention “Pemulis invites Ingersoll to do something anatomically impossible.”.
And the vast vocabulary.
When narrating from one's point of view, even though it's 3rd person singular, the text becomes like that person's thoughts, with mistakes, with forgotten words. Not to the level of unreadability, but the pace, the choice of words tell that we are inside of this character's head now (often not the happiest places).
Most of the text is this way, but towards the end, there is a sudden switch to 1st person singular at times, making it much more personal even though we heard all this character’s thoughts in the 3rd person before. It turns out to be a completely different experience, more involved to the extent that it feels like being trapped in this character’s situation.
It hasn’t always been easy to read, but I grew to care about most of the characters and I definitely salute the accomplishment. I haven’t enjoyed it as much as Joyce’s Ulysses, but I appreciate it just the same.
¹ one hundred pagesª of them (b)
ªlike this
(b) 388 altogether*
* one of them 8 pages long with 6 sub-endnotes, another 5 pages long
²with the only exception ofDon Gately's standing up for the tenants of Ennet House, and the parts after, when I really wanted to see whether he would be okay. And of course I never quite knew. Or I did. But not explicitly.
ªlike this
(b) 388 altogether*
* one of them 8 pages long with 6 sub-endnotes, another 5 pages long
²with the only exception of
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Medical trauma
pjn345's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Physical abuse, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death
jrsullivan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
ciarafor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’m taking away a star for the sheer amount of racism and sexism in this book - every single female character is objectified so extremely this book can be difficult to read as a woman sometimes.
Taking away another star for the number of times I grew exasperatedly bored with long passages about the individual hallway patterns and structures of buildings and longest backstories that sometimes were crucial and other times entirely useless. And for the way this book made me want to crawl out of my skin way more than once.
But I can’t justify taking away any other stars, because outside of those two (pretty significant) things, this book was one of the most intelligent, intriguing, and powerful books I’ve read. I will not subscribe to the Myth of Male Genius or allow DFW to be venerated as faultless, but this work really is something you kind of have to put a capital G on the Genius for. The entire book, DFW tells you exactly what he’s doing and going to do, and when he does it, it’s still somehow earth shattering. It’s bold, it’s boundary-breaking, and it has left me reeling on more than one occasion. I personally believe the point of literature is to make you feel things, experience things you haven’t had the occasion to touch or think on, to live through someone else’s creation. At its core, Infinite Jest will make you feel, and think, and live through all kinds of stuff you didn’t want to, and may be better off or far worse off for. Read at your own risk - but if you want to experience something unlike anything else you have thus far, and you can stomach what comes with it, Infinite Jest might just be worth picking up.
Taking away another star for the number of times I grew exasperatedly bored with long passages about the individual hallway patterns and structures of buildings and longest backstories that sometimes were crucial and other times entirely useless. And for the way this book made me want to crawl out of my skin way more than once.
But I can’t justify taking away any other stars, because outside of those two (pretty significant) things, this book was one of the most intelligent, intriguing, and powerful books I’ve read. I will not subscribe to the Myth of Male Genius or allow DFW to be venerated as faultless, but this work really is something you kind of have to put a capital G on the Genius for. The entire book, DFW tells you exactly what he’s doing and going to do, and when he does it, it’s still somehow earth shattering. It’s bold, it’s boundary-breaking, and it has left me reeling on more than one occasion. I personally believe the point of literature is to make you feel things, experience things you haven’t had the occasion to touch or think on, to live through someone else’s creation. At its core, Infinite Jest will make you feel, and think, and live through all kinds of stuff you didn’t want to, and may be better off or far worse off for. Read at your own risk - but if you want to experience something unlike anything else you have thus far, and you can stomach what comes with it, Infinite Jest might just be worth picking up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
cecdex's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Racism, Suicide, Violence, and Alcohol
Basically every triggermorets's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Gun violence and Suicide
lizburny's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It is a book that pulls you in and pushes you away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
beansrowning's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It took several months of non-committal reading and a month of solid reading to knock this out.
Wow. Not sure where to begin. I both loved many sections and hated an equal amount.
I get why so many people just don't finish it, but I'm happy I did. Not my favorite book, but one that has (maybe a bit too much) to say.
Wow. Not sure where to begin. I both loved many sections and hated an equal amount.
I get why so many people just don't finish it, but I'm happy I did. Not my favorite book, but one that has (maybe a bit too much) to say.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
lenas_books's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The ending was a bit disappointing bc everything was left unanswered. Still, very well written, funny at times (especially the part about the Eschaton). Even though I didn't give it the highest rating, it's still one of the best books I ever read.
Very complicated in the beginning and a lot of things are only explained later on, that would've made more sense in the beginning.
Very complicated in the beginning and a lot of things are only explained later on, that would've made more sense in the beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use