The novel is a interconnected sequence of events, told out of timeline order, that focuses on addiction in all its forms. Infinite jest 20th anniversary edition special edition by. When i first read the book, my familiarity with dfw was limited to his. And finally, note that wallace wrote infinite jest from 1993 1996. Burn david foster wallaces infinite jest similar books. Im about to finish 2666, and have realized that i really love this style of a sprawling narrative that consist of tons of different characters and the complex threads that connect them all.
Fifteen years after infinite jest was first published, and three years after i interviewed author david foster wallace shortly before. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, slaughterhousefive by kurt vonnegut jr. 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. 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. Infinite jest by david foster wallace overdrive rakuten. Once you start connecting the whole thing together, youll want to read it over and over its a lot like the entertainment other books that are lighter but somewhat similar. It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines list of the 100 best englishlanguage novels published between.
The new movie the end of the tour recreates the authors tour for that. During the scene in which don gately receives his gunshot, two men. Infinite jest is a novel written by david foster wallace. I havent read infinite jest, but heres some memes about it anyway. Wallace, or his narrator, only of the translation of those authors work into language. Jest books were the 16thcentury version of insult comedy copy link facebook twitter reddit flipboard pocket a detail from an early 19th. The fresh air interview in 1996, wallaces novel infinite jest was a critical and popular success.
It is an exuberant,uniquely american exploration of the passions that make us humanand one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do. I was talking to my roommate about infinite jest, and he asked me how it compared to illuminatus. In an instant of sudden clarity i realized he was right, that they were basically the same book the same fractally complex narrative of broken meandering plots about an endlesslyawaited but never arriving apocalypse. Infinite jest explores the idea that all humans are addicts and examines how the chosen drugs particularly entertainment of late 20th century americans eat them alive. I began reading infinite jest by david foster wallace around october 2008. 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. Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by american writer david foster wallace. Infinite jest is a novel about the narcotic power of languagea power so overwhelming that wallace has to shred narrative into tiny strips to keep it under control. Quote from the book infinite jest by david foster wallace lyric quotes, book. The books homepage helps you explore earths biggest bookstore without ever leaving the comfort of your couch. But to venerate him as literatures good guy is to miss the point. Not too many people write thousandpagers, much less read them. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most. Oct 18, 2016 infinite jest explores the idea that all humans are addicts and examines how the chosen drugs particularly entertainment of late 20th century americans eat them alive.
A landmark and cult novel that has pushed the limits of what fiction can achieve, and a book that defined a generation. A multilayered postmodern saga of damnation and salvation. Infinite jest, the title of david foster wallaces gargantuan new novel, is a kind of inside joke. Caryn vaught chandler foss charles tavis charlotte treat clenette henderson cosgrove watt da pemulis dave harde disney r.
It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines list of the 100 best englishlanguage novels published between 1923 and 2005. A readers guide from the worlds largest community of readers. 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. This deluxe paperback editionfeaturing flaps, new cover art, and a new foreword by tom bissellcelebrates the 20th anniversary of the original publication of infinite jest. May 30, 2018 infinite jest by david foster wallace, 9780349121086, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. 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.
Why infinite jest will kill your book club youtube. Apr 20, 2017 jest books were the 16thcentury version of insult comedy copy link facebook twitter reddit flipboard pocket a detail from an early 19thcentury cartoon by thomas rowlandson. A literary sensation independent with a new foreword by dave eggers. 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 readers guide was the first book to be published on the novel and is a key reference for those who wish to explore further. 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. Cosgrove is one of the only professional actors james ever used in his films. Infinite jest characters from litcharts the creators of. I had ordered the book from after hearing of david foster wallaces death. Infinite jest 20th anniversary edition special edition. Feb, 1996 infinite jest by david foster wallace 1,079 pages.
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. Jest books were the 16thcentury version of insult comedy. Feb 26, 2016 12 if you think infinite jest at 1,100odd pages is a long book, be advised that it started longer. Here, as in all of his work, wallaces achievement was to make thinking about the effects of postmodern life, and thinking about thinking about them, one of. Wallaces particular conceit in infinite jest is that the events described are taking place in the indeterminate future, possibly.
Infinite jest, which came out almost a decade after broom, was a vast investigation into america as the land of addictions. Sadistic penal authorities place a blind convict watt. Books similar to david foster wallaces infinite jest. Infinite jest is a rare text that has the ability to do both seamlessly. Apr, 2009 equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. Description ambitious, accomplished, deeply humorous, brilliant and witty and moving. I havent read infinite jest, but heres some memes about. We guarantee that ebook in our website is the best and in high quality. Infinite jest has been hailed as one the great modern american novels and its author, david foster wallace, who committed suicide in 2008, as one of the most influential and innovative authors of the past 20 years. This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. Signed with a typical wallace smiley added on the title page without further personalisation.
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. The book is drumtight and relentlessly smart and, though it does not wear its heart on its. A study of david foster wallaces infinite jest, and david foster wallaces infinite jest. A novel by wallace, david foster the story of an intelligent but zany dysfunctional family is set in a drugandalcohol addicts halfway house and a tennis academy and follows such themes as heartbreak, philosophy, and advertising. I was in france at the time, and when i got back to the u. The story of an intelligent but zany dysfunctional family is set in a drugandalcohol addicts halfway house and a tennis academy and follows such themes as heartbreak, philosophy, and. Infinite jest by david foster wallace free download. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, first edition. Infinite jests characters are authors of this realm of the novel. Quote from the book infinite jest by david foster wallace lyric quotes, book quotes, lyric quotesbook. I have three helpers to infinite jest, each purchased at different readings of the great novel. 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. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, first edition, signed.
Find books like david foster wallaces infinite jest. Poor yoricks summer infinite jest, pages 6495 tested by research. Novels like 2666, infinite jest, gravitys rainbow, etc. The plot of infinite jest takes place in a somewhatmoredystopian future uni.
In a sprawling, wild, superhyped magnum opus, david foster wallace fulfills the promise of his precocious novel the broom of the system. Eggerss introduction observed that infinite jest was 1,067 pages long and there is not one lazy sentence. Oct 09, 2015 the release of a new dfw biopic, the end of the tour, confirms his cult status as a guide to our cultural predicament. The release of a new dfw biopic, the end of the tour, confirms his cult status as a guide to our cultural predicament. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, first edition abebooks. At its very core, this book is a critique of flashiness and attitude, and argues for a healthy distrust of irony and intellectualizing. Find books like infinite jest from the worlds largest community of readers. 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, the title of david foster wallaces gargantuan new novel, is a. Here youll find current best sellers in books, new releases in books, deals in books, kindle ebooks, audible audiobooks, and so much more. In 2006, little brown published a 10th anniversary edition of david foster wallaces infinite jest that featured a foreword by dave eggers. Wallaces books have become hightly collectible in recent months. Each one has good material, but for an overall or first read of the book, i.
One of the best books about addiction and recovery to appear in recent memory sunday times somewhere in the notsodistant future the residents of ennet house, a boston halfway house for recovering addicts, and students at the nearby enfield tennis academy are ensnared in the search for the master copy of infinite jest, a movie said to be so. The buzzing, claustrophobic energy of infinite jest, wallaces mammoth 1,079page satire of america, immediately placed him in the company of pynchon and delillo wall street journal. The book was edited by publisher little, brown and companys michael pietsch, who has recalled cutting about. 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. The novels most crucial event, for instance, is only referenced on page 17 and page 934. Infinite jest free pdf, epub, fb2, fb3 books library. Beyond the ease with which one can lookup footnotes, consider the following. May 09, 2005 i have three helpers to infinite jest, each purchased at different readings of the great novel. The viewpoints it presents with the greatest vividness are so simple that, at times, they come across as truisms and cliches. Infinite jest wallace, david foster 9780316920049 hpb. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. 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. Infinite jest first edition bauman rare books first.
Infinite jest characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Goodreads members who liked infinite jest also liked. Wallace wrote to a friend that the fuckers cut by 600 pages from the first version. Why david foster wallace should not be worshipped as a. The book is drumtight and relentlessly smart and, though it does not wear its heart on its sleeve, its deeply felt and incredibly moving. Note that cosgrove watt mentioned by hal as he waits for the ambulance in the opening section of the book plays the father. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of. Steven asin infinite jest is the perfect book for the kindle paperwhite. Also note that venus won her first professional tennis match in october of 1994 but did not win her first major until july of 2000. The following was drafted by matt bucher maintainer of the wallacel listserv and author of this post, and augmented by input from nick maniatis administrator of the howling fantods, a site devoted to dfw, and kathleen fitzpatrick professor at pomona college, who teaches a course entitled david foster wallace theres no wrong way to read infinite jest.