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A review by michael_taylor
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
3.0
I did it. After almost half a year of reading Infinite Jest I finally finished it. I suppose I should feel some great relief. This book has basically been my literary Mt. Everest for the last several months. Instead I feel rather ambivalent about the whole process. That's what reading this book is. A process. First you decide you are going to read it. Then you actually start reading the damn thing and realize that you are unprepared for such an endeavor. You'll need to take notes. And highlight pages and passages that may seem relevant. You'll need at least two bookmarks, although three or more would be preferable. You'll need a dictionary for the words you don't understand. You'll need a corkboard with a bunch of character names connected with bits of string so you don't loose track of who is connected to who. You'll need to go and read up on tennis theory and Hamlet as well. And most importantly, you'll need time. Time to read it. Time to digest it. Time to think about it.
Reading this book is a real pendular experience. It starts out pretty strong. There are some scenes that are (no joke) some of the best scenes that I've ever read. David Foster Wallace is a hell of a writer and when he is in the mood, he can paint a picture like nobody else. Then the pendulum starts to swing into what I would (charitably) dub "pointless nonsense". There are several long, LONG passages that don't matter one iota, or they go on so long that even if they did matter, I had lost interest before they resolved. And then the pendulum would swing back the other way, and I would be reading some of the most poignant and heartbreaking passages on addiction and depression I had ever read. Ever. And then the pendulum would plummet the other way and on and on it would go. I could have set my watch by it.
There is so much to like here. Don Gately is a wonderful character. The situations that some of the particularly ill fated characters (Poor Tony) find themselves in are so evocative and told with such precision that you can't help but read on. The themes of the book are strong as well. Addiction, Depression, Redemption, Entertainment and what it does to our society. All great stuff. Unfortunately, ultimately - the bad outweigh the good. The book is bloated and often (I believe) intentionally hard to read. Why are there so many abbreviations? And why do I need 200 pages of footnotes? Why does the author always, ALWAYS take the road less travelled when it comes to revealing information regarding plot? Sometimes I would read and re-read passages trying desperately to decode what the hell was going on. Sometimes I would get there but other times I would just move on feeling frustrated. I don't doubt that this book would benefit from a second or third read but I don't know who would get into that after finishing this book.
I'm glad I read it. And I liked a lot of it. It is a book that begs to be read, re read and analyzed over and over again. David Foster Wallace ought to inspire jealousy in other authors. Can you imagine writing something like this in your 20s? That is wild to think about. I just don't know that I would recommend this to anybody other that the bravest, most curious readers out there.
Reading this book is a real pendular experience. It starts out pretty strong. There are some scenes that are (no joke) some of the best scenes that I've ever read. David Foster Wallace is a hell of a writer and when he is in the mood, he can paint a picture like nobody else. Then the pendulum starts to swing into what I would (charitably) dub "pointless nonsense". There are several long, LONG passages that don't matter one iota, or they go on so long that even if they did matter, I had lost interest before they resolved. And then the pendulum would swing back the other way, and I would be reading some of the most poignant and heartbreaking passages on addiction and depression I had ever read. Ever. And then the pendulum would plummet the other way and on and on it would go. I could have set my watch by it.
There is so much to like here. Don Gately is a wonderful character. The situations that some of the particularly ill fated characters (Poor Tony) find themselves in are so evocative and told with such precision that you can't help but read on. The themes of the book are strong as well. Addiction, Depression, Redemption, Entertainment and what it does to our society. All great stuff. Unfortunately, ultimately - the bad outweigh the good. The book is bloated and often (I believe) intentionally hard to read. Why are there so many abbreviations? And why do I need 200 pages of footnotes? Why does the author always, ALWAYS take the road less travelled when it comes to revealing information regarding plot? Sometimes I would read and re-read passages trying desperately to decode what the hell was going on. Sometimes I would get there but other times I would just move on feeling frustrated. I don't doubt that this book would benefit from a second or third read but I don't know who would get into that after finishing this book.
I'm glad I read it. And I liked a lot of it. It is a book that begs to be read, re read and analyzed over and over again. David Foster Wallace ought to inspire jealousy in other authors. Can you imagine writing something like this in your 20s? That is wild to think about. I just don't know that I would recommend this to anybody other that the bravest, most curious readers out there.