Feb 01, 1996 admittedly, infinite jest is a tough book. A summer of infinite jest comes to an end short stack. I vowed id finally read david foster wallaces infinite jest. Infinite jest book club tackles the big tome on its 20th. The brand new, perennial, endless book club for infinite jest by david foster wallace.
Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by american writer david foster wallace. The book seems to have been written and edited or not edited on the principle that bigger is better, more means more important, and this. Its definitely got me reading books again, which is marvelous. The club started on march 16, 2006 and currently meets on the third wednesday of every month to discuss the book we selected to read for that month, and to choose the next book. Infinite jest reading group 1 member last activity nov 04, 2016 05. If you are looking for some support to read infinite jest, jump on board. By the time you arrive, please read up to the word pussy on page 200. Feb 26, 2016 12 if you think infinite jest at 1,100odd pages is a long book, be advised that it started longer.
David foster wallace infinite jest abc the book club. The book club, in whatever its manifestation, is one of the places that says, come on in. We are a small group of people living in and around chorlton who get together to share a mutual love of reading. David foster wallace was wrong about video calling the verge. Jason segel had his book club read infinite jest without telling. Why infinite jest will kill your book club youtube. Ready to realize your goal of making it through david foster wallaces exhilarating masterpiece, infinite jest, in the company of other bright and inquisitive minds in berlin. But talking about some of the most interesting and the most amazing yet different books, you are not going to find.
But this infinite jest summary guide may actually prove valuable to you at least, that is the hope. A casual observer of the book club scene could be fooled into thinking that this summer was a hard one for the nations leisure readers. Ready to realize your goal of making it through david foster wallaces exhilarating masterpiece, infinite jest, in the company of other bright and inquisitive. Part i with a foreword by dave eggers to be better than the print version. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. One new york club s reading list includes infinite. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, first edition abebooks. His archive of his infinite jest commentary can be found here. Infinite jest book club tackles the big tome on its 20th anniversary. When the book was first published in 1996, the audio version wasnt available and to be honest, i was having too much fun in the 90s to be reading. The eta was founded by james orin incandenza, whose family dominates much of the book. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, paperback barnes.
Infinite jest by david foster wallace booksamillion. Portrayals of masculinities in david foster wallaces infinite jest and chuck palahniuks fight club. Wallace wrote to a friend that the fuckers cut by 600 pages from the first version. Infinite summer was an online book clubstyle project started by writer matthew baldwin. My copy of the book is sawn in three, abused, with smudges of food across its pages, from when i. Sponsored by the morning news, participants were challenged to read and complete david foster wallaces novel infinite jest at a rate of about 75 pages a week from june 21 to september 22, 2009 baldwin and three other writers acted as guides, providing commentary on the main infinite. If nothing else, the success of infinite jest is proof that the great american hype machine can still work wonders, in terms of sales. Were reading david foster wallaces difficult book together, because thats the way to enjoy, finish, and understand a challenging book. Somewhere in the notsodistant future, the screwedup residents of ennet house, a boston halfway. I spent some time getting to know it, and for awhile, i.
Garbage, genius, or both 3 ways of looking at infinite jest. Would you consider the audio edition of infinite jest. Today, i turned the last page of infinite jest, around a week late for my deadline. There is stuff that happens in the opening pages that explains events at the end of the book, albeit over. Jan 01, 2020 the brand new, perennial, endless book club for infinite jest by david foster wallace. Mark flanagan is starting a book club for infinite jest, david foster wallaces 1,000plus page novel that turns 20 in 2016.
Jason segel didnt tell his book club hed been cast as novelist david foster wallace in james ponsoldts biopic the end of the tour. This book is wandering, selfindulgent, overwritten, and gives ample evidence that the academics and literati are captivated by the deranged workings of a damaged mind wallace struggled with addictions and mental illness and killed himself a couple years after infinite jest was published. Not a great segment, but posted here for dfwmedia completists. 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. Infinite jest, david foster walaces massive 1,079page tome, is one of the most beloved books of this millennium, but it is also one that through sheer dint of its size has taken on almost religious reverence. Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. You start the book having no clue when it is happening and who the various characters are.
When i was asking my friends on what i should read next, they suggested infinite jest by david foster wallace. Infinite jest infinite jest is the name of a movie said to be so entertaining that anyone who watches it loses all desire to do anything else. Show up at 7 at druckbarwedding, buy your print and order your pizza or just get a drink from the bar, and look for the infinite jest book club sign. Infinite jest by david foster wallace, first edition. Infinite jest is one of those books that a lot of people know of but have never read. Perhaps through a sort of literary stockholm syndrome, people that read infinite jest tend to worship it afterwards. I am a 20something white boy who counts the end of the. Absolutely, for the novice to this type of literary fiction, i cannot tell you how many times i have started and given up on the actual book. Talking about some of the most different books, there is a number of books you are going to find. Feb 15, 2016 today, i turned the last page of infinite jest, around a week late for my deadline. This performance by sean pratt is really humorous, sad and entertaining. She waited to come across a person who had read the book, foreseeing the gushsessions that would take place.
Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Heres how i finally read infinite jest and how you can, too. I remembered seeing this author in interviews and wanting to dive in this book. What makes the book s success even more noteworthy is that it is, in a word, terrible. Our critics dissect david foster wallaces epic novel. Sponsored by the morning news, participants were challenged to read and complete david foster wallaces novel infinite jest at a rate of about 75 pages a week from june 21 to september 22, 2009. Reading infinite jest for the first time was like the start of any new relationship someone i trusted had put in a good word for it, and i decided to give it a go a new book is always a bit like a blind date. Book sales surge as selfisolating readers buy bucket.
He had a convenient reason to start infinite winter in 2016 its the 20th anniversary of infinite jest. If one of your reading resolutions is to finally finish infinite jest, david foster wallaces mammoth novel, im here to help. Infinite jest book club berlin berlin, germany meetup. I hadnt realized how much the internet had affected my ability to just sit down and read a book, and looking back the first half of ij was all that tougher because i. The infinite jest book club was founded in 2019 by a particular passionate reader who really wanted to share the highs and lows of the literary rollercoaster called infinite jest with someone, anyone. 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 by david foster wallace nook book ebook. David foster wallace infinite jest abc book club youtube. One of the things makes david foster wallace so interesting to me is his ability to describe the human experience accurately, to describe things i hadnt realized or articulated but recognize as true. Anyway, to pull back to infinite jest, this pairing came to mind when i read the detailed description of mario pp. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts. Feb 07, 2016 anyone reading or rereading infinite jest will notice an interesting pertinence.
We take 5 months 200 pagesmonth to readtrekmuddlebreeze. Infinite summer was an online book club style project started by writer matthew baldwin. Theyre an odd bunch, plagued by numerous psychological disorders and united in their inability to effectively communicate with one another. Infinite jest is the seminal novel that tells the tale of a dystopian future america, in which the upper classes oh god its so boring kill us now.
I hadnt realized how much the internet had affected my ability to just sit down and read a book, and looking back the first half of ij was all that tougher because. Infinite jest revolves around two locations, the enfield tennis academy eta and the ennet halfway house. 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. It features a biography of the author, a fulllength analysis of the novel, and a great deal more. Partly since it makes the book more accessible and partly because it lets you enjoy the flow of wallaces prose.
I hadnt realized how much the internet had affected my ability to just sit down and read a book, and looking back the first half of ij was all that tougher because i was retraining my attention span. Throughout the book, wallaces flat, minor, onenote characters walk as tall as anyone, peacocks of diverse. May 20, 2003 this is an excellent guide to infinite jest. It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines list of the 100 best englishlanguage novels published between. By troy patterson, katie roiphe, and james surowiecki. This woman has been slowly eating infinite jest for a year. If you re studying this novel, reading it for your book club, or if you simply want to know more about it, you ll find this guide informative, intelligent, and helpful.
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. And as one book club finds out in this genius sketch from nadia osman, the book isnt just deadly dull its plain old deadly. Infinite jest 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. David foster wallaces postmodern novel is notoriously complex and at over a 1,000 pages lengthy. My copy of the book is sawn in three, abused, with smudges of food across its pages, from when i couldnt stop. This is the last of a fourpart roundtable discussion with the infinite summer guides infinite summer.
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