Infinite jest 1996 my favourite book of all time and the very. 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. Infinite jest is a cult book that became a phenomenon right from its publication day in 1996. David foster wallace, infinite jest, the year of glad favorite book quotes, favorite. David foster wallace infinite jest 1996 year of glad audiobook excerpt.
The recently deceased aaron swartz is the author of one of. My copy of the book is sawn in three, abused, with smudges of food across its pages, from when i couldnt stop. Infinite jest ebook by david foster wallace rakuten kobo. The recently deceased aaron swartz is the author of one of the most compelling theories about infinite jests end. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Tom bissell and the editor michael pietsch discuss infinite jest. I rated infinite jest 4 of 5 stars because i found that with the long break i took part way through the book i forgot some key parts to the plot line and i think this kept me from really grasping the entirety of what dfw wanted to get out with the novel which is. I remember seeing its bulk and oddlyentrancing cover in the basement of the seminary coop. I was in france at the time, and when i got back to the u. Over the holidays i took my third crack at infinite jest by david foster wallace all my posts on dfw and made it 800 pages. The chemical modifications of the natural ergot chemical makes the chemical much more potent and psychoactive. Im glad you mentioned aaron swartzs synopsis of the book. I had ordered the book from after hearing of david foster wallaces death. 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 dont know if any of that makes sense infinite jest is shedding new light on how impressionistically and synaesthetically i read. Abstractthis article examines david foster wallaces infinite jest alongside its. I was unable to follow the plot arc to the very end. We start with a presentation of a summary of the article, and then. From early 1992 until the novels publication, excerpts from various drafts appeared sporadically in magazines and literary. The internet is full of charts and complicated schemas to explain the whole sweep of infinite jest, but i just came across this explanation of the books ending by the late hacktivist aaron. Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else. It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines list of the 100 best englishlanguage novels published between 1923 and 2005. 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. It was also certainly cited and quoted a hell of a lot, announcing, as it seemed to, a conquering literary colossus. Walking infinite jest a bostonians reading of david. But the novel still contains many highly entertaining and provocative sections.
Copyright 1996 david foster wallace all right reserved. Goodreads members who liked infinite jest also liked. It is an exuberant, uniquely american exploration of the passions that make us human and one of those rare books that renew the. Beyond the ease with which one can lookup footnotes, consider the following. I think infinite jest was a way for him to wring out all the bits of postmodernism until the concept and all the tricks were exhausted. Infinite jest is set in the nottoodistant but clearly dystopian future, where the. I believe the whole of the book infinite jest takes place in hals so called. The film raises the question of whether a big engrossing book like infinite jest is wrong for taking people away from their lives. Read excerpts of james pattersons new book, allamerican. Ill forever ignore the haters and say im happy to have found this thing that instructs, that entertains, that loves. By any definition, and not just word count, infinite jest is a big novel. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america.
Favorite sentences and paragraphs from infinite jest ben. The novel is widely noted for its unconventional narrative structure and its experimental use of endnotes there are 388 endnotes, some with footnotes of their own. 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. 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. Dmz is synthesized from a mold that grows on mold not an extract from the mold. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, paperback barnes. Theres so much sadness in this book, and yet so much fascination like, the story of orins punt bookends hals story for me a strange flowering.
Infinite jest is a book meant to be an actively read its meant to take a certain amount of work to finish it and try to figure out whats going on. Crack out your copy of infinite jest, and recreate it in lego. Aaron schwartzs, what happens at the end of infinite jest. How to get an 11yearold interested in the works of david foster wallace. The book is incredibly heavy literally and figuratively and has so many cycles. Read excerpts of james pattersons new book, allamerican murder. I literally can not get enough of this book, as my username might indicate. That was the project embarked upon back in april by. Infinite jest does anybody want to talk about infinite jest. But this infinite jest summary guide may actually prove valuable to you at least, that is the hope. Don gately the book ends with don gately on a beach after a.
Walking infinite jest is a onecredit course at boston college. Big in its aspirations, big in its scope, big in what it delivers. Infinite jest is my desertisland book, a book that i could not wring all the pleasure from if i squeezed for a century. What i like about infinite jest is that each chapter can be sort of appreciated in isolation. David foster wallace from the new yorker david foster wallace describes enfield, massachusettsan important setting in his 1996 novel infinite jestas a kind of armshape extending north from commonwealth avenue and separating brighton into upper. I have heard some similar theories about gately not being real. 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. The internet is full of charts and complicated schemas to explain the whole sweep of infinite jest, but i just came across this explanation of the book s ending by the late hacktivist aaron. And get yourself a second bookmark for the footnotes. Im still trying to make sense of infinite jest io9. I began reading infinite jest by david foster wallace around october 2008. Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by american writer david foster wallace. You can peruse their how to read infinite jest post here.
A wheelchair assassin argues about freedom mockingbird. Hayles quotes hals statement regarding tennis in order to show the. See, for example, aaron swartzss astute and immensely plausible. 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. The novel is a interconnected sequence of events, told out of timeline order, that focuses on addiction in all its forms. Steven asin infinite jest is the perfect book for the kindle paperwhite. Topics about this book topics that mention this book. Gaudeamus igitur its been a couple of weeks since i finished infinite jest, a bit ahead of schedule. Yet this flamboyant novel is also one of the most downtoearth books you will ever read. Wallace has even remarked to his friend, james franzen, that not only he knows exactly what the book is about or who the protagonist is supposed to be. Dmz is likely much more psychoactive than the chemicals in the mold. Favorite sentences and paragraphs from infinite jest comments.
So did i, for the first two or three pages, until i saw the author didnt give a damn. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. One character becomes so obsessed with the television show mash that he spends the last years of his life. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, first edition, signed. At its very core, this book is a critique of flashiness and attitude, and argues for a healthy distrust of irony and. Composed by two distinguished literary scholars, the companion is designed both for general readers and for college students taking. Aaron swartz at raw thought has the best explanation ive seen so far, a concise. At present, we employ three fulltime staff, david zahl, ethan richardson, and cj green, and five parttime, sarah condon, kendall gunther, bryan jarrell, deanna roche, and marcy hooker.
Buy infinite jest 01 by foster wallace, david isbn. Wallace published his bestknown and most frustrating novel, infinite jest. For those who have actually read infinite jest, youll probably get more out of my very spoilerheavy summary of what happens just after the end of the book. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel infinite jest, which time magazine cited as one of the 100 best englishlanguage novels from 1923 to 2005. Lsd is synthesized from a chemical in the fungus ergot. I had never heard of david fosterwallace, or infinite jest, until i had mentioned to a friend i was reading house of leaves and he said the foot note structure reminded him of ij, then he proceeded to essentially beg me to read it because he had no one else to talk to about it. Its an astonishing work, dense and darkly brilliant. Infinite jest by david foster wallace in epub, fb2, fb3 download ebook. Find books like infinite jest from the worlds largest community of readers. David foster wallace february 21, 1962 september 12, 2008 was an american author of novels, short stories and essays, as well as a university professor of english and creative writing. Books similar to infinite jest goodreads share book. Today, i turned the last page of infinite jest, around a week late for my deadline. Now that the infinite summer is officially concluded, i feel like i ought to write out some older comments matt bucher. Ive often said theres no way to describe or synopsize infinite jest.
It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. 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. A book that has shaped popular culture despite or because of its length which demands a bit of much rewarding work from the reader.
Someone referred to the pale king as a series of tiny masterpieces, and i think the same can be said of infinite jest. The film is a nightmare version of identification with television in the place of a storyteller. But then a tall heavy afroamerican fellow with a gold incisor and perfect vertical cylinder of afroamerican hairstyle peeled away from a sort of grouphug nearby, hed spotted erdedy, and the fellow came over and established himself right in front of erdedy, spreading the arms of his fatigue jacket for a hug, stooping slightly and leaning in toward erdedys fersonal trunk region. Infinite jest is a novel written by david foster wallace. Obviously there is an overall narrative, but it seemed to operate at the fringes of each chapter a. For those who have actually read infinite jest, youll probably get more out of. Its also a great way to tell people that you are reading infinite jest and not have them think youre a snob. I was talking to my roommate about infinite jest, and he asked me how it. They are helped and supported by a large number of contributing volunteers and writers.
1355 1474 193 29 1248 1234 1560 605 1122 651 168 779 1620 836 1236 1034 1346 1119 1238 1588 1587 1149 88 1313 385 320 958 641 1582 829 878 1525 157 913 964 51 1093 767 1139 997 487 143 268 1434 314