Does Infinite Jest have a plot?

Infinite Jest is very long but it’s not nearly as difficult as its reputation suggests. There is a compelling plot behind the erudite essaying and sesquipedalian vocabulary. … Wallace often obscures the links between these plot strands, and many of the major plot connections have to be intuited or outright guessed.

Is Infinite Jest difficult to read?

It’s typically regarded as difficult reading, due partly to its narrative structure, but mostly because of its length. Infinite Jest is 1,079 pages long, making it not ideal for subway reading but extremely effective as an emergency doorstop.

Does Infinite Jest have an ending?

DON GATELY — The book ends with Don Gately on a beach after a massively unpleasant experience with his old crew and some Dilaudids.

What is the best way to read Infinite Jest?

These tips can help.
  1. Read It With A Friend. Giphy. …
  2. Take Notes. Giphy. …
  3. Or Take Someone Else’s Notes. Giphy. …
  4. Use Caution When Admitting Non-Jest Reading Material Into Your Life. …
  5. No, Really: Use Extreme Caution When Admitting Non-Jest Reading Material Into Your Life. …
  6. Make A Schedule. …
  7. And Then Let Yourself Disregard That Schedule.

How long does it take to read Infinite Jest?

The average reader will spend 18 hours and 8 minutes reading this book at 250 WPM (words per minute).

Is Infinite Jest pretentious?

David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest”

Not only does Pretentious Section Kid love David Foster Wallace’s unnecessarily wordy novel, he will also recommend DFW’s essays to the rest of the uncultured class. You’ll know if you have a particularly bad Pretentious Section Kid if he ever dons the notorious red bandana.

Is Infinite Jest a sad book?

There are parts of Infinite Jest that feel like the most savage futuristic satire ever made, a Super Sad True Love Story before Super Sad True Love Story. Other parts feel as gritty and sad and true as the best Stephen King.

Is Infinite Jest a great novel?

Categorized as an encyclopedic novel, Infinite Jest is featured in TIME magazine’s list of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.

What happens to Orin Incandenza?

At the end of the novel, Orin is kidnapped by one of his Subjects, a Quebecoise woman named Luria P—— who had been posing as a Swiss hand model. Luria and M. Fortier torture Orin in order to find the location of the master copy, and Orin surrenders.

What is Onan in Infinite Jest?

In the future of Infinite Jest the US, Mexico and Canada have come together as the Organization of North American Nations (ONAN), and William Beutler has created a print of ONAN’s seal.


Is Infinite Jest stream of consciousness?

If you’ve never read it, starting Infinite Jest can be a little intimidating. … Many readers are surprised to find that the text itself is not opaque or laden with stream-of-consciousness meanderings or literary allusions, but is mostly comprised of these highly accessible little chunks.

Is Infinite Jest worth it Reddit?

I read it and really enjoyed it. I don’t think it is a book I would recommend for most people, however. It is very well written, has interesting characters, and unique story lines. It is a very post modern book, so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you like postmodernist works.

What’s so great about David Foster Wallace?

Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel Infinite Jest, which Time magazine cited as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005. His posthumous novel, The Pale King (2011), was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2012.

How long did David Foster Wallace take to write Infinite Jest?

“It looked really hard, and I was really scared about it,” he said. “So I thought I’d do this kind of jaunty, hundred-page novel.” He wrote it in five months, and it clocked in at 700 pages. He called it The Broom of the System. Wallace published stories in the Amherst literary magazine.

How many words are there in 1Q84?

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami – 407,450 words.

How many words are in Atlas Shrugged?

List
Book title Author Word count
Les Misérables Victor Hugo 545,925
Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand 645,000 (estimate by the publisher and by The New York Times and by the author herself quoting printer’s word count)
Jean-Christophe Romain Rolland 610,000 (estimated)
Jerusalem Alan Moore 600,000 (estimated)

Is Infinite Jest a masterpiece?

Infinite Jest: David Foster Wallace’s gleeful masterpiece of a book like no other. As we mark 10 years since David Foster Wallace’s untimely death, Getintothis’ Chris Leathley explores Wallace’s magnum opus Infinite Jest and explains why it remains such a vital literary work.

Is Infinite Jest a movie?

Infinite Jest is actually a movie. In the novel this movie called Infinite Jest is so entertaining that when you sit down and watch it you lose all sense of time and space. It’s so pleasurable, so entertaining, it’s something you never stop watching.

Is Joelle Van Dyne Madame Psychosis?

Joelle Van Dyne (a.k.a. “Madame Psychosis” (her on-air name, a play on metempsychosis), a.k.a. “The Prettiest Girl of All Time (or P.G.O.A.T.)”) – The primary figure in the Entertainment.

What is the most difficult book to read?

The 5 Most Difficult Books to Read
  • Bleak House. By Charles Dickens. …
  • War and Peace. By Leo Tolstoy. …
  • Moby Dick. By Herman Melville. …
  • Ulysses. By James Joyce. …
  • Gravity’s Rainbow. By Thomas Pynchon.

Is Infinite Jest meta?

Infinite Jest as metafiction is an easier deconstruction. Wallace designed the reader experience to reinforce the themes of the novel: knowledge, subjectivity, the limits of language, the paradoxical and recursive nature of self.

Is Infinite Jest an epic?

Infinite Jest is both a tragicomic epic and a profound study of the postmodern condition.”

Is Infinite Jest appropriate?

For a 1,000+ page book there are few scenes of violence, however the 3 or 4 that do occur are extended, BRUTALLY GRAPHIC, and very possibly disturbing to a younger audience. Sexual content is referenced periodically throughout the novel, however never in graphic detail, and is usually limited to a PG-13 level.

What is the theme of Infinite Jest?

Addiction. Addiction, in Infinite Jest, takes many forms, and the novel explores the porous boundaries between addiction, devotion, and fanaticism. The three main objects of addiction/devotion/fanaticism in Infinite Jest are tennis, AA, and substances.

What are the years in Infinite Jest?

Subsidized Time
  • Year of the Whopper.
  • Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad.
  • Year of the Trial-Size Dove Bar.
  • Year of the Perdue Wonderchicken.
  • Year of the Whisper-Quiet Maytag Dishmaster.

Who is the narrator of infinite jest?

RESOLVING THE INFINITE GEST: DON GATELY AS NARRATOR OF “INFINITE JEST”

Why is James Joyce Ulysses so important?

James Joyce’s “Ulysses” is widely considered to be both a literary masterpiece and one of the hardest works of literature to read. It inspires such devotion that once a year, thousands of people all over the world dress up like the characters, take to the streets, and read the book aloud.

How long is Ulysses by James Joyce?

The Gabler edition of Ulysses is nearly 700 pages long. That’s a long, long book–but you can read it in just a few weeks. There are eighteen episodes in Ulysses, some longer and more challenging than others, but reading one episode every two days should be no problem.

Why is Ulysses famous?

The name was made more famous in modern times by the American Civil War hero and eighteenth president of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, by James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, and the film of the same name.

Ulysses (given name)
Origin
Meaning “Wrathful”
Other names
Related names Odysseus

Is Gravity’s Rainbow worth reading?

Gravity’s Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon

Gravity’s Rainbow is widely considered one of the greatest novels ever written but it’s a toughie for those of us used to simpler prose and books with manageable levels of plotlines and characters. First time readers of Pynchon might want to check out this handy collection of tips.

Was David Foster Wallace problematic?

David Foster Wallace was never a good man. … But it’s been clear to me, for many years now, that DFW was not the contemplative, troubled-yet-altruistic soul that everyone who quotes This is Water wants to paint him as. He was an abusive, explosive man who cashed in on his guilt over his own misdeeds.

Was David Foster Wallace genius?

It is not an exaggeration to call Wallace a genius. In fact, he won the MacArthur Genius Grant in 2008. He burst onto the literary scene in 1987 when his senior thesis at Amherst College, “The Broom of the System,” was published to rave reviews.

Why does David Foster Wallace wear bandana?

So what’s with the bandanna? David Foster Wallace was a famously heavy sweater. And he was (literally) self-conscious about it. … He first donned the bandanna during his time in Tucson to keep his sweat from dripping onto the paper he was writing on.

What is wrong with Mario Incandenza?

Born prematurely, he has severe physical and mental disabilities.

Where did David Foster Wallace write Infinite Jest?

In an apartment near the Syracuse University campus, David Foster Wallace divided his time between writing a 1,088-page satire on modern-day Americana and being the life of the party in the early 1990s.

How many words does Harry Potter have?

The entire Harry Potter series – 1,084,170 words.

How many words are in the outsider Camus?

The Outsiders is considered a short novel at 45,240 words.

How many words is a Clockwork Orange?

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid is around the 40000 word mark, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess is close to 60000 words, and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is close to 164000 words. All novels were well received and have had movies made out of them.

How long does it take to read 500k words?

Answer: 500,000 words will take about 27.8 hours to read for the average reader.

What is the thickest book in the world?

A book with a collection of all of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple stories is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the thickest book published. More than a foot thick, the 4,032-pages book weighs 8.04kg, and has 12 novels and 20 short stories.

What’s the longest book ever written?

The Guinness Book of World Records gives the honor to Marcel Proust’s elephantine Remembrance of Things Past, weighing in at 9,609,000 characters (including spaces).

What is the plot of infinite?

The Guinness Book of World Records gives the honor to Marcel Proust’s elephantine Remembrance of Things Past, weighing in at 9,609,000 characters (including spaces).

How many chapters are in Infinite Jest?

Elegant Complexity is the first critical work to provide detailed and thorough commentary on each of the 192 sections of David Foster Wallace’s masterful Infinite Jest. No other commentary on Infinite Jest recognizes that Wallace clearly divided the book into 28 chapters that are thematically unified.

Why does Joelle wear a veil?

I was actually convinced that she chose to wear a veil because she was too pretty, which she wanted to hide from everyone because as it were they were too afraid to approach her.

Is Lyle a wraith?

In addition to a Hindu guru, he resembles a Christian ascetic. He doesn’t eat or drink but survives on licking and inhaling the sweat of people in the room. He possibly appears to Gately in wraith form (or is a wraith all along) during Gately’s feverish period in hospital.

Why did Orin and Joelle break up?

In theory, Orin lost his attraction to Joelle after she supposedly became deformed when her mother threw acid in her face during a Thanksgiving dinner, but cites Joelle’s questionable relationship with his father as the reason for the breakup.

Is Crime and Punishment an easy read?

Tanvi yes this book is much easier to read than many other classic fictions. I agree its good to start with.

How difficult is Infinite Jest?

It’s typically regarded as difficult reading, due partly to its narrative structure, but mostly because of its length. Infinite Jest is 1,079 pages long, making it not ideal for subway reading but extremely effective as an emergency doorstop.

Is reading better for you than TV?

So far, reading looks pretty good compared to television. Reading calms the nerves, increases language and reasoning, and can even keep you mentally alert as you age. TV, on the other hand, has the opposite effect. … On the other hand, reading books together increased the amount and level of communication.

Is Infinite Jest pretentious?

David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest”

Not only does Pretentious Section Kid love David Foster Wallace’s unnecessarily wordy novel, he will also recommend DFW’s essays to the rest of the uncultured class. You’ll know if you have a particularly bad Pretentious Section Kid if he ever dons the notorious red bandana.

Is Infinite Jest a great book?

It is very much a novel of its time. … Theory one: as a novel about an “entertainment” weaponized to enslave and destroy all who look upon it, Infinite Jest is the first great Internet novel.

Is Infinite Jest depressing?

A Twitter feed that will keep moving with my eyes until the end of time. There are parts of Infinite Jest that feel like the most savage futuristic satire ever made, a Super Sad True Love Story before Super Sad True Love Story. Other parts feel as gritty and sad and true as the best Stephen King.

What happens to Hal in Infinite Jest?

After the pages stop, Hal goes to the hospital, escaping the AFR who have come to ETA. He ends up in the bed next to Gately (previously occupied by Otis P. Lord), which is where Gately, Joelle, and Hal come together for the adventures ahead.

Does Infinite Jest have footnotes?

Infinite Jest is a novel by American writer David Foster Wallace. The novel has an unconventional narrative structure and includes hundreds of extensive endnotes, some with footnotes of their own.

Who is David Forest Wallace?

David Rains Wallace (born 1945) is an American writer who has published more than twenty books on conservation and natural history, including The Monkey’s Bridge (a 1997 New York Times Notable Book) and The Klamath Knot (1984 Burroughs Medal).

How do you read Infinite Jest?

These tips can help.
  1. Read It With A Friend. Giphy. …
  2. Take Notes. Giphy. …
  3. Or Take Someone Else’s Notes. Giphy. …
  4. Use Caution When Admitting Non-Jest Reading Material Into Your Life. …
  5. No, Really: Use Extreme Caution When Admitting Non-Jest Reading Material Into Your Life. …
  6. Make A Schedule. …
  7. And Then Let Yourself Disregard That Schedule.

How long does it take to read Infinite Jest?

The average reader will spend 18 hours and 8 minutes reading this book at 250 WPM (words per minute).

What is Onan Infinite Jest?

In the future of Infinite Jest the US, Mexico and Canada have come together as the Organization of North American Nations (ONAN), and William Beutler has created a print of ONAN’s seal.

Is Infinite Jest set in the future?

1 Infinite Jest is set in a near future in which the Gregorian calendar has been supplanted by a sponsorship arrangement. Most of the action of the novel takes place in the Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment [Depend is a real brand of adult nappies].

How many characters are there in Infinite Jest?

There are, in Infinite Jest, 119 characters. They are: Hal Incandenza. Don Gately.

Is Joelle Van Dyne Madame Psychosis?

Joelle Van Dyne (a.k.a. “Madame Psychosis” (her on-air name, a play on metempsychosis), a.k.a. “The Prettiest Girl of All Time (or P.G.O.A.T.)”) – The primary figure in the Entertainment.

Is Infinite Jest a masterpiece?

Infinite Jest: David Foster Wallace’s gleeful masterpiece of a book like no other. As we mark 10 years since David Foster Wallace’s untimely death, Getintothis’ Chris Leathley explores Wallace’s magnum opus Infinite Jest and explains why it remains such a vital literary work.

Is there an infinite jest movie?

Infinite Jest is actually a movie. In the novel this movie called Infinite Jest is so entertaining that when you sit down and watch it you lose all sense of time and space.