David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest turned twenty this year and a year ago when I reviewed it, I did mention that, I am quoting myself, “Reading INFINITE JEST was a task waiting to be done for quite a long of time.” Indeed it’s a task. Reading any book above thousands pages, is a big task for me. Infinite Jest was first of its kind and one of its kind for me. After it, I had courage to read books like Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Dickens’ Bleak House, the list is a little bit longer than I expected.
Reading a massive novel means that a reader is willing to be attentive to a period of time in which he completes the task of reading that book. In this particular period, the reader’s attention span can be distracted due to daily activities and a thing called life. What tends a reader to read such massive works? (Another question can also be put here: what tends a writer to write such a massive work? But we are leaving the writing part for some time later.) Well, the one major factor I have found in every lengthy book is the start is important. The start of the text, is what will make a reader curious about it and such that the force of curiosity drives the reader to complete the book.
The start of Infinite Jest wasn’t extraordinary but it was enough for one to be engrossed to. Many might not agree, but that is how I felt since I have never read Wallace’s works before and neither had I read that kind of writing style. I seldom think about reading Infinite Jest one more time, however I know the outcome will be again, disappointing. It was the ending that did not work for me. Yes, the ending of any text is as essential as the beginning but it is not in my hands (or yours), to end a book in a way we want. The ending of the book does not at all depends on the few mere pages of what happens when to whom but it actually depends on the structure of the book.The structure of the book is essential to handle the complexity, if there are going to be a 1000 pages, there is going to be some complexity and not just words pen down in abstract manner. The structure of the book must cope with its characters regardless of the writing style of a writer.
This is what Infinite Jest made me understand.
Which David Foster Wallace book have you read recently/last?
What do you think about massive books?
Check out this link: Five David Foster Wallace Essays You Should Read
This book has been on my To Read list for a while. I am not particularly daunted by the length although 1000 paged is a long read. But i have the idea that it may be abstruse. Is it, for instance, along the style of Joyce’s Ulysses which I started but could not persuade myself to finish?
It is not abstruse, certainly not in sense of Ulysses. The book is massive in length as it seems, but context is simple to read.
Thank you. It may be a summer project.
I hope you enjoy it.
I’m still slowly plugging away at Infinite Jest, a little at a time, and think it’ll be a long time before I finish it.. I don’t think the length has put me off as much as the full on intensity of the prose. I find I can’t immerse myself in it for too long without feeling completely strung out. I will persevere with it, as it blows me away every time I pick it up, but I really can only manage it in bite-size chunks!
I think the book is not meant to be immersed in for too long, it has general message, and every reader who reads it will get it.
Watched The End of Tour two days ago and quickly ordered it when I finished. I’ve put it off for too long. When I finally read Ulysses, I did so in six weeks, just barreling through. I plan on taking the same approach with Infinite Jest. It should arrive today and it feels like I have eaten a tab of acid and I’m waiting for it to kick in.
I hope you enjoy it. Time spent on a book is worth irrespective of the amount of time spent. How was the movie?
Recently finished it. It was long, but not as difficult as I thought it would be.
You should try The Pale King.
LOL – great, my reading list just got longer 😉
Hahaha! The list meant to get longer.
I have had The Infinite Jest on my books-to-read list for a very long time. Moving it up the list. I like (love!) the idea of discovering the message within the book. Our own secret code: tap, tap, tap…
(I think that’s a nod to Robert Louis Stevenson).
And now The Pale King beckons!
Yes, that’s why I like books too. Some of them might have simple yet thought provoking message in between the lines. You should also take a look on The Pale King. It’s a different book altogether.
[…] Understanding Infinite Jest […]
[…] pages and is certainly not meant to be read all at once. It’s not Tolstoy’s War and Peace or David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest that you can read continuously without moving your body parts for next 7 to 10 days or so. Bear in […]
[…] and is certainly not meant to be read all at once. It’s not Tolstoy’s War and Peace or David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest that you can read continuously without moving your body parts for next 7 to 10 days or so. Bear in […]
[…] Understanding Infinite Jest […]