Seems to me this might just be a popular book here. I’ve noticed at least two other people on the board who’ve mentioned either reading it or trying to finish it this summer. I’ve been told that even though it starts out very slowly, it worth wading through all 1079 pages of it, So, has anyone ever actually finished the thing and have any comments or suggestions for enjoying it?
Yes, I have actually finished the thing, and my suggestion for enjoying it would be not to read it. Hmmm, that’s a bit harsh. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but I kept reading more just to see if it changed, and then I was close enough to the end that I took up an “in for a penny, in for a pound” attitude.
I guess a more reasonable suggestion would be to read some of his shorter stuff, and see if you like that before tackling IJ. Personally, I greatly admire his essays (he has one in this month’s Harper’s) but don’t care for his fiction. He has a book of short stories, so you might read a few of those to see if his writing is to your taste.
I finished Infinite Jest and loved it. In fact, now that I live in the area where it’s set, I plan to read it again. Yes, it’s long, but it achieves kind of an epic intimacy.
delphica does have a point, though. It’s a pretty hefty book to take on when you don’t even know if you’ll like Wallace’s style, and he can be infuriating. You might want to start with The Broom of the System.
For anyone else who’s read it, I’d be curious to compare notes. But we should do that in a seperate thread with a spoiler warning, so we don’t give away the beginning.
It actually took me over two years, from start to finish, to complete Infinite Jest. The bits and pieces method worked well for me. I also kept a bookmark for the footnote pages—something I bet many people do.
This is my favorite book of the last ten years. I am awed by the writing.
I’ve attempted to read this twice. The second round only got me about 50 pages past where I lost interest in the first round.
If someone could assure me that it’s all worth it, I’ll try to pick it up again…I’ve loved DFW’s other stuff, especially Girl With Curious Hair. I wanted to like this epic novel, but so far…it’s just blah.
Any helpful hints from those who made it through?
Oh, Infinite Jest! I thought we were discussing Falcon’s attractive assets.
No help here. I only got through a few hundred pages before I set it down. Though I enjoyed parts of it, I was always conscious of the work it was taking to keep track of the story. I’m generally an escapist reader.
But I am silly enough to feel guilt over unfinished books, so I’ll probably give it another shot at some point.
Helpful hint here, hopefully.
Of all the scattered scenes and characters of the first couple hundred pages, the book eventually settles into three parallel threads. So it gets much easier to follow after a while. And I think the beginning might be intentionally disorienting. Wallace has some really absurd ideas, but there’s so much going on that when these strange details start to emerge from the clutter they seem to make sense.
Wow, there are people who’ve actually read the whole thing?? I’ve read the first 100 pages or so three times over the past four years, and I’m on page 11 (again) now.
I’ve really enjoyed a lot of Wallace’s shorter works, so I’m thinking I’m bound to enjoy this one after I get farther into it. Maybe I’ll be better able to concentrate on reading once the kids are out of the house - I only have about ten years to go.
I once read an interview in which the interviewer claimed to have read the book. Wallace said, “You had to read the whole thing? I’m very sorry.”