Infinite jest quotes the guardian on the front cover, and the guardian quotes infinite jest. Jan 16, 2007 the novel infinite jest is the story of this addictive entertainment, and in particular how it affects a boston halfway house for recovering addicts and a nearby tennis academy, whose students have many budding addictions of their own. A multilayered postmodern saga of damnation and salvation. While i cant read the book not even the end notes for you, i. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, first edition abebooks. The title of david foster wallaces 1996 novel infinite jest refers, amongst. A big thank you to the men and women in the publishing industry who were kind andor lazy enough to keep things consistent. With regard to the basic 14 plot line, the setting for the majority of the action is enfield, a fictional suburbia town outside of boston. Reviews of infinite jest david foster wallace wiki.
David foster wallaces infinite jest, a favorite book of many, is the kind of genrebender that will thwart your mind with its convoluted narrative, plethora of allusions and cultural references, and multilateral connections between the characters. They are not boring bibliographic details, but rather an integral part of the text. Wallace wrote to a friend that the fuckers cut by 600 pages from the first version. 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. David foster wallace quotes that may change your life. My applications not bought, i am telling them, calling into the darkness of the red cave that opens out before closed eyes. Apr, 2009 infinite jest ebook written by david foster wallace. 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. What passes for hip cynical transcendence of sentiment is really some kind of fear of being really human, since to be really human. Infinite jest is a novel written by david foster wallace. Book excerpts are provided by the publisher and may contain language some find. Infinite jest 20th anniversary edition special edition by. 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.
In the book, infinite jest, by david foster wallace, a young tennis prodigy is learning how to transcend his limitations, develop his talent and manage his fear in this case talking about tennis and how to improve your game but at the same time talking about hope, fear, understanding, fathers and sons, parents, the long waking dream. Infinite jest by david foster wallace librarything. It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines list of the 100 best. David foster wallace quotes author of infinite jest goodreads. Sep 10, 2016 its been a bit of a journey on this one. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, 9780316920049, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. I felt compelled throughout to read it aloud, such was the almost poetic quality of it. Apr, 2009 a gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america 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. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. This huge volume will prop open even a castles gates. Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by american writer david foster wallace.
A brick of a tome of a journey of a boy and his harried growth in spurts of tennisfueled tragedy. Infinite jest by david foster wallace the 329th greatest. Anyone who struggles with depression can relate to this quote on the deepest level. 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. Which excerpt from infinite jest best supports the inference. Infinite jest 1996 is a novel written by david foster wallace. Feb 05, 2018 its just a totally brilliant, dense, super fun and insightful novel.
Npr coverage of infinite jest by david foster wallace. At the very least, infinite jest, his new, 1,079page novel including 90 pages devoted to esoteric endnotes, gives a whole new twist to the word infinite. Infinite jest, in that sense, is a very easy read, almost as light and gay as victor hugos les miserables, which is even longer. Feb 07, 2016 infinite jest, in other words, can be exceedingly frustrating. Infinite jest is a book that in almost every sense just keeps going and going.
And the bouncing backandforth is a feature, not a bug. The beloved 1100page novel is david foster wallaces magnum opus and. Of course, its exhausting to read such a mega book. Infinite jest ebook by david foster wallace rakuten kobo.
Infinite summer blog archive how to read infinite jest. His second novel, infinite jest, wosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. Dec 10, 2010 david foster wallaces infinite jest, a favorite book of many, is the kind of genrebender that will thwart your mind with its convoluted narrative, plethora of allusions and cultural references, and multilateral connections between the characters. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america 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 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 the kind of book that, when it is mentioned, creates a hushed silence of mingled awe and fear in the room. The lengthy and complex work takes place in a semiparodic future version of north america.
One, which im still not over, is the fact that infinite jest was not a finalist much less a winner for the national book award, the national book critics circle award, the pulitzer prize, or any other award. Infinite jest quotes by david foster wallace goodreads. If you have not read infinite jest there are major spoilers to be found. The book is drumtight and relentlessly smart and, though it does not wear its heart on its. This is a bit late, but there are some interesting excerpts from every love story is.
My applications not bought, i am telling them, calling into the darkness of. Infinite jest ebook written by david foster wallace. As it turns out, all physical edition of infinite jest have 981 pages. To fully understand what wallace was up to, the book bears being read, and reread, with talmudic focus and devotion. Infinite winter read infinite jest with a few hundred of. Infinite jest has a reputation for being one of those books that everyone starts and no one finishes.
Infinite jest has become an exemplar for difficulty in contemporary fictionits 1,079 pages full of verbal invention, oblique narration, and a scattered, nonlinear, chronology. I did find it a bit of a slog for the first 100 pages, but once i learned to trust that the author would fill in the blanks for me over time, everything became awesome. The novel is a interconnected sequence of events, told out of timeline order, that focuses on addiction in all its forms. Today, i turned the last page of infinite jest, around a week late for my deadline. This page contains details about the fiction book infinite jest by david foster wallace published in 1996. As the novel unfolds, various individuals, organizations, and governments vie to obtain the master copy of infinite jest for their own ends, and the denizens of the tennis school and the halfway house are caught up in increasingly desperate efforts to control the movie as is a cast including burglars, transvestite muggers, scam artists. David foster wallace, infinite jest david foster wallace killed himself in september of 2008, making this quote all the more profound, and sad. Heres how i finally read infinite jest and how you can, too.
How to read infinite jest chronologically infinite jest. The novel infinite jest is the story of this addictive entertainment, and in particular how it affects a boston halfway house for recovering addicts and a nearby tennis academy, whose students have many budding addictions of their own. Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else. Hayles quotes hals statement regarding tennis in order to show the. What passes for hip cynical transcendence of sentiment is really some kind of fear of. Not a great segment, but posted here for dfwmedia completists. Copyright 1996 david foster wallace all right reserved.
David foster wallace infinite jest abc book club youtube. It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines list of the 100 best englishlanguage novels published between 1923 and 2005. I am somewhat tempted to immediately start again, since the end is the beginning and you really cant pick it all up in a single read, but if anyone has a good followup or comedown read suggestion id be glad to hear. Neoclassical assumptions in contemporary prescriptive grammar, the implications of postfourier transformations for a holographically mimetic cinema, the emergence of heroic stasis in broadcast entertainment. Navigating its maze of relationships and 400 footnotes could drive even the most seasoned. In summary, i argue that the chronotopes in infinite jest delimit the narrative.
I am yet to have come across a quote that more accurately describes what it is like being in the depths of. The book means so much to me because it deals with things i think a lot of white, uppermiddle class people have never seen in such an introspective way. Feb 15, 2016 today, i turned the last page of infinite jest, around a week late for my deadline. Eggerss introduction observed that infinite jest was 1,067 pages long and there is not one lazy sentence. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read infinite jest. Mar 20, 2009 the slate audio book club on infinite jest. If one of your reading resolutions is to finally finish infinite jest, david foster wallaces mammoth novel, im here to help. 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. Infinite jest, in other words, can be exceedingly frustrating. Read the excerpt from david foster wallaces infinite jest. In 2006, little brown published a 10th anniversary edition of david foster wallaces infinite jest that featured a foreword by dave eggers. Unquestionably, infinite jest required great ambition and focus to write, and requires a bit of ambition and focus to read as well. It is an exuberant, uniquely american exploration of the passions that make us human and one of those rare books that renew the. David foster wallace infinite jest abc the book club.
At the top of a hill is the enfield tennis academy, and at the base of the hill is the ennet hou. The answer depends on whether you define the end as the last chronological event of the story, chronological events near the end of the text, or whats happening on the actual last page of text not counting footnotes. 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.
This book is the 329th greatest fiction book of all time as determined by. For all the critical praise and hype and awareness of ij that exists today, it was nowhere to be found in 199697. But if you are seeking something other, then this book will not disappoint. Also, on a certain level, it is very grim and sad and honest and has a message that just becomes more and more relevant. Infinite jest free pdf, epub, fb2, fb3 books library. Feb 04, 2016 if one of your reading resolutions is to finally finish infinite jest, david foster wallaces mammoth novel, im here to help. Morrissette quotes an article written in the 1950s by walter pitkin of columbia.
This article examines david foster wallaces infinite jest alongside its. Wallaces particular conceit in infinite jest is that the events described are taking place in the indeterminate future, possibly. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Infinite jest quotes 18 quotes meet your next favorite book. Which excerpt from infinite jest best supports the inference that hal is extremely intelligent. A readers guide was the first book to be published on the novel and is a key reference for those who wish to explore further. Its just a totally brilliant, dense, super fun and insightful novel. My copy of the book is sawn in three, abused, with smudges of food across its pages, from when i couldnt stop. I had no basis for what depression was like or what addiction was like, but this book helped me understand these things as well as any one person can without dealing with them personally. Feeding into the cycle, this cynicism and hip boredom flowed from the. And while that classic is not a great book, its a damned sight better, as well as more narratively daring than this book. For reference while working on the project drew used the ij scene by scene guide, and stephen burns david foster wallaces infinite jest. David foster wallace was right even in paradise we will need the internet brigid delaney there was one thing he didnt predict.
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