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 One of the Best Books of All Time Nov 17, 2009
David Foster Wallace is a genius. This book rivals all the classics with Wallace's amazing style and language. It may be a big book but it is an amazing read all the way through. I have never read anything quite as brilliant as this book.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Do Yourself a Favor Nov 03, 2009
So many of the reviews here are busy explaining why the book is so wonderful, or why it did not live up to expectations. This makes sense I guess, they are reviews. But I just want to say this- if you are considering reading Infinite Jest, do so on your own terms. Don't read the reviews (other than mine of course :p), essays, or the forward. They will point out things you don't want to know and ultimately color your perspective. Basically, you risk taking away from what could be one of the most profound and sheerly enjoyable reading experiences of your life. Give yourself over to it, and see what YOU find.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Disappointment... Oct 15, 2009
First off let me say that I didn't finish the book, but I had high hopes of enjoying this read--even anticipated setting aside time in a busy life to accomplish that which many posters have claimed is near impossible, a complete reading of Infinite Jest. I read for pleasure and prefer books that offer "enlightenment" or fresh perspectives of social/psychological issues. The narrative just never seemed to get off the ground. Should I have persevered and given it another chance? Probably, but there are too many other books I am compelled to read. I really wanted to enjoy this after reading many positive, albeit cautious, reviews. It is the first Wallace that I have attempted, but I found this both ponderous and pretentious. Was he a good writer? Certainly! Do I want to sacrifice the time and effort to appreciate his exhausting prose----maybe later...
Outstanding Oct 12, 2009
Infinite Jest first struck me with its 'maximumist' style of prose. No thought, feeling or physical detail is ever left unsaid. This turned me off at first and it took some time for me to actually start enjoying the book. But suddenly the surface broke, or the corner was turned, and I was swallowed up by the story. The 'maximumist' style, once adjusted to, makes you experience the book as if you are the characters. This is generally said about most good fiction, but Infinite Jest is that art at its pinnacle. It's almost like being possessed!
Infinite Jest is somewhat like how Wallace describes drug rehabilitation in the book: when one walks into an A.A. meeting it is immediately disliked and uncomfortable. The more the addict keeps coming, however, the more it transforms from being the worst thing to the best thing in his life; which is the exact opposite of the drug they are trying to kick -- the drug is immediately loved and easy, but progressively becomes the worst thing in the addict's life. Infinite Jest is a steep upward curve of enjoyment and learning until you are left gutted that it ended.
There is one footnote in it that goes for eighteen pages! And that footnote has footnotes! Again, this was annoying at first, since all the footnotes are at the back of the book (and with a 1000 or so page brick like this you don't want to have to keep running from the back to the front). But this became something like a board game where I excitedly searched in the back for the next plot clue (yes, much of the plot's most important information is in the footnotes!).
For those interested in issues like depression and suicide, Infinite Jest contains the best description I've ever read of how it feels to be suicidal -- and Wallace is unfortunately an authority, as we all now know.
The book is about tennis, film-making, terrorism and drug rehab, plus where/how all those things fit into the rest of the Universe. It's both hilarious and deeply metaphysical. I really love tennis now. Buy the book.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Why and How to Read "Infinite Jest" Oct 04, 2009
If you're debating on buying or reading this book, the most informative thing you can do is probably to go to a bookstore and read the compelling five page introduction by David Eggers, and then read a few pages of the novel itself. "Infinite Jest" is written so well that descriptions and reviews can't help but mar its beautiful economy.
But let's mar it a bit, shall we? What stuns me about this book is how well David Foster Wallace understands our thought processes, both in terms of how effortlessly and orderly the sentences flow (even given the endnotes) and how real and valid the characters' chains-of-thought are. I mean, DFW writes from Hal's point of view in both the first- and third-person, in both cases cracking jokes both within Hal's perspective and as a narrator, and does it so smoothly that I didn't even notice this P.O.V. elasticity until after page 900.
The point being that this masterly flow and characterization set up joke after joke after joke. This is an immensely funny book that also manages to tackle serious philosophical and existential issues - among other things - effortlessly and artfully. It's an incredible expression and examination of what it is to be a human being, and truly a joyous experience.
For the carrot-chasers out there, this may be the greatest book ever written. As in, one of the greatest achievements and expressions that man has made using words. It deserves your attention and cognition the way a good kiss doesn't require but deserves your attention, so consider bringing your full cognitive powers along when you read this. And but obviously don't expect that just because you read One Thousand Pages that there will be a phenomenal one-liner of an ending that bathes your life in illumination and understanding, because that's what every word in the thousand pages along the way is supposed to do. And there is not one unnecessary word. (Or as Mr. Eggers would say, not one unnecessary sentence.)
Lastly, I want you to know that, despite my own disbelief, I'm about to read this book a second time. This excites me. =]
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