If one of your reading resolutions is to finally finish infinite jest, david foster wallaces mammoth novel, im here to help. Learn infinite jest english with free interactive flashcards. I read this post late in the evening, right around when i should have been resting my eyeballs to prepare for sleep. Ive seldom been more engrossed in a novel, and more willing to put in the time of. That being said, they still both helped tremendously. Remember that the book moves back and forth through time. That first page infinite jest, david foster wallace. Dec 01, 2016 warning spoilers really though, bbbbaaaaaddddd spoilers why are you still reading if you havent finished the book. Respond to doctors request for details about book with generic facts about david foster. On reading the first chapter of infinite jest sally allen.
The novel is a interconnected sequence of events, told out of timeline order, that focuses on addiction in all its forms. Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this infinite jest study guide and get instant access to the following summary. Having only read the first extremely exhausting chapter, i cant tell you whether i would feel this way after two or more. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in infinite jest, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. In infinite jest, why is john wayne unable to compete in the. Infinite jest is a novel written by david foster wallace. It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines list of the 100 best. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, first edition, signed. Suggest change of waitingroom reading material from people to multiple copies of infinite jest. Any work that is put into this novel is rewarded ten fold and the complexity and interlinking nature of it makes it one of the most rereadable books i have ever come across despite its length.
Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction, features a huge cast and multilevel narrative, and questions essential elements of american culture our entertainments, our addictions, our relationships, our. 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. He is seated across from the dean of admissions, the dean of academic affairs, the dean of athletic. 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 seated in an office, surrounded by heads and bodies. Last year, having never progressed beyond the books first chapter. He was a joint major in english and philosophy at amherst college, and his senior honors thesis for english became his first novel, the broom in the system, which was published in 1987, the same year he graduated from the mfa. Infinite jest does feature hal as a central protagonist, and it ends with him in the first scene.
Its been a little over three months since the last post of the infinite jest liveblog, and i recently noticed the first tiny urges to jump back in and read the book again. In fact, its take on the very nature of entertainment itself perhaps foresaw the age of vanity and social media, as seen through the prisms of tinder, facebook, twitter and instagram. Get a copy of greg carlisles elegant complexity, the reference book for infinite jest. Infinite summer blog archive how to read infinite jest. Infinite jest belongs or tries to belong to quite a few literary traditions, some good, others not. Wallace, best known for his critically acclaimed novel infinite jest, apparently committed suicide on friday. Infinite jest is both sad, depressed and funny and even 25 years after it was published in 1994 remains relevant to the modern age. Infinite jest takes place in the nottoodistant future, around the enfield tennis academy and the neighboring ennet house drug and alcohol recovery house in suburban boston. Infinite jest kindle edition by wallace, david foster. Reading ecs notes for each ij section after you finish will greatly increase your understanding and enjoyment of the book. 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. While i cant read the book not even the end notes for you, i.
Infinite jest ken eerdedy excerpt where was the woman. Aug 01, 2012 by michael moats this is the latest entry in words, words, words the ongoing liveblog of david foster wallaces infinite jest. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Infinite jest study guide literature guide litcharts. Touch paper and feel connected to hundreds of years of printed language. Infinite jest chapter 1, year of glad, and chapter 2. Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by david foster wallace comprising about 1,000 pages. Like several of the characters in infinite jest, he was a competitive junior tennis player he was a joint major in english and philosophy at amherst college, and his senior honors thesis for english became his first novel, the broom in the system, which was published in 1987, the same year he graduated from the mfa. As a preface, i first come across david foster wallace and his writing through my discovery of a group of young writers that was intent on turning the literary world upside down.
Hal incandenza, who is narrating, is in the admissions office of the university of arizona along with his uncle charles. The infinite atlas project is an independent research and art project seeking to identify, place and describe every possible location in david foster wallaces infinite jest. There are copious webpages out there that the first time jesters will find useful. In a sprawling, wild, superhyped magnum opus, david foster wallace fulfills the promise of his precocious novel the broom of the system.
If this is your first time reading infinite jest stop. 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. The infinite jest community note includes chapter by chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. You start the book having no clue when it is happening and who the various characters are. There is stuff that happens in the opening pages that explains events at the end of the book, albeit over pages and hundreds of footnotes away. Mar 03, 1996 reading david foster wallaces latest novel, infinite jest, i couldnt help thinking at times about 7yearold seymour glasss booklength letter home from camp, published in the new. Wallace wrote to a friend that the fuckers cut by 600 pages from the first version. Feb 01, 1996 admittedly, infinite jest is a tough book. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of infinite jest by david foster wallace. The other thing i noticed about this first chapter is that although the language is dense and thorny, and the.
Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Signed by david foster wallace on the title page, inscribed to former owner for jeremy in fellowship. Favorite sentences and paragraphs from infinite jest ben. So did i, for the first two or three pages, until i saw the author didnt give a damn. Feb 26, 2016 12 if you think infinite jest at 1,100odd pages is a long book, be advised that it started longer. In short, if finnegans wake was a rancid fart that was proudly left to rip, infinite jest is a weak one, lacking sound and odor. The book is 99% spoilerfree for firsttime readers of infinite. Infinite jest is a rare text that has the ability to do both seamlessly. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, first edition. My first attempt was a list of advice on reading the novelthe submission of which prompted infsums dungeon master, matthew baldwin, to write. Need help with chapter 1 in david foster wallaces infinite jest. Jun 17, 20 but this infinite jest summary guide may actually prove valuable to you at least, that is the hope. Infinite jest s chapters, such as they are, are typically separated by a quadruple space. The first chapter is actually, chronologically, the end of the action in the book.
Hal incandenza, a tennis prodigy and drug user as a result of. Copyright 1996 david foster wallace all right reserved. Infinite jest is a clear example of how humans add to the confusion of the world. Mar 08, 2016 the first chapter of infinite jest is one of the best examples ive read in recent years. Infinite jest by david foster wallace turns 20 today, and im still confused by it all these years later. Buy hardcover copy of infinite jest at brickandmortar bookstore. The first chapter, where a rich overachieving brat has a weird seizure in front of three university administrators, is a very plain kafka imitation. Heres how i finally read infinite jest and how you can, too. David foster wallaces relentless doorstopper of a novel, first published in 1996. Calling to mind that infinite jest was published in 1996, dont think crystal meth is a new phenomenon. The infinite jest utilities page, which includes chapter thumbnails and an endnote finder.
Enfield a fictional town just west of boston, where parts of the real boston neighborhoods of brighton and allston. My posture is consciously congruent to the shape of my hard chair. Every chapter had the ability to either make me laugh or cry, sometimes. The chronology of his life is not overly difficult to trace, because david foster wallace provides a code for the years that can be used to map out the events. This is a cold room in university administration, woodwalled, remingtonhung, doublewindowed against the november heat, insulated from administrative sounds by the reception. However both sources ultimately are incomplete and sometimes erroneous in their dating. These are the endnotes to david foster wallaces infinite jest, a gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america. If you had finished infinite jest, youd stick it on your coffee table, or face forward on an eyelevel bookshelf that visitors are likely to. There are roughly four narrative threads through the novel. 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. Like several of the characters in infinite jest, he was a competitive junior tennis player.
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