Infinite Jest
Reddit take
Not enough linked mention summaries yet; the source excerpts below are the evidence.
Pros
- I love IJ. I love everything I've read by Wallace, but IJ is one of the all-time greats for me personally. ... The creativity - in terms of neologisms, ideas, narrative vs. narrated structure and time - is staggering.
- It's a slow burn. The first chapter is meant to make you wonder how Hal got to that point, not just for the next 45 pages, but for the entire rest of the book. It's genuinely hilarious at times (I remember one line about a coach being ex...
- I loved this book. It's easy to get lost in and it's such a rich, real world he's built. The entire description of AA was really eye opening to me and gave me powerful insights into the experience of addiction.
- Parent context: Ik haha kinda cringe, but they are really good books tbf (I’ve never raid infinite jest tho) Reply: Why on Earth is it cringe? Who cares what reputation they have as being popular on Reddit. If they're good books, and if...
- Infinite Jest really opened my eyes and mind to the mentality of addiction to drugs, screens, and depression. Wouldn't say it cured me, but it helped sooth my mental battles with myself reading about fictional characters' struggles of go...
Cons
- After hearing so many good things about DFW and Infinite Jest I finally gave it a try. ... I find the absurdity of the intro situation and world building funny, however I just have trouble following the prose. To me it seems unnecessaril...
- I admit that aspect is annoying, but then I'm not sure there's a non-annoying way to handle the end notes in print either. I liked being able to listen to the main story without distraction.
- I don’t know what to make of the book, if it is one of the best books I have ever read or just a verbose version of If on a winter’s night a traveler mixed with Foucault’s pendulum. I know the book is great structure-wise, I loved it but...
- Never read it. Turned off by 1) the people who celebrate DFW’s cult of personality, 2) the awful stories that have come out about him as an abuser, and 3) a catty and badly missing-the-point article he wrote once about a David Lynch movi...
- i’m currently reading infinite jest… slowly but surely. i have to have another book along side it so i don’t go crazy
Sentiment
25 positive (64%) · 6 mixed (15%) · 8 negative (21%)
Trust + time weighted score: +43% · raw score 44%
What redditors said (10 of 39)
After hearing so many good things about DFW and Infinite Jest I finally gave it a try. ... I find the absurdity of the intro situation and world building funny, however I just have trouble following the prose. To me it seems unnecessarily complicated and convoluted.
I love IJ. I love everything I've read by Wallace, but IJ is one of the all-time greats for me personally. ... The creativity - in terms of neologisms, ideas, narrative vs. narrated structure and time - is staggering.
I admit that aspect is annoying, but then I'm not sure there's a non-annoying way to handle the end notes in print either. I liked being able to listen to the main story without distraction.
I don’t know what to make of the book, if it is one of the best books I have ever read or just a verbose version of If on a winter’s night a traveler mixed with Foucault’s pendulum. I know the book is great structure-wise, I loved it but I was not able to feel the eagerness I usually feel when reading something I really like, I felt like I was reading it for an assignment
It's a slow burn. The first chapter is meant to make you wonder how Hal got to that point, not just for the next 45 pages, but for the entire rest of the book. It's genuinely hilarious at times (I remember one line about a coach being excited about Gately's 40 yard dash time that made me cackle), and well worth the read if you can get into it.
I loved this book. It's easy to get lost in and it's such a rich, real world he's built. The entire description of AA was really eye opening to me and gave me powerful insights into the experience of addiction.
Never read it. Turned off by 1) the people who celebrate DFW’s cult of personality, 2) the awful stories that have come out about him as an abuser, and 3) a catty and badly missing-the-point article he wrote once about a David Lynch movie that I really like.
i’m currently reading infinite jest… slowly but surely. i have to have another book along side it so i don’t go crazy
But on the flip side there's Infinite Jest where I just ended up thinking life's too short and gave it up after what felt like an age but was probably not even a fortnight
Parent context: Ik haha kinda cringe, but they are really good books tbf (I’ve never raid infinite jest tho) Reply: Why on Earth is it cringe? Who cares what reputation they have as being popular on Reddit. If they're good books, and if someone wants to talk about them, why judge that, or cringe at that?
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