3 ms·
Before trying to read Infinite Jest, try to read all his other essays (and short stories). This is really helpful. Be OK with the fact that you really aren't g
by ladyada 16y ago
Before trying to read Infinite Jest, try to read all his other essays (and short stories). This is really helpful.
Be OK with the fact that you really aren't going to understand what happens the first time though, like at all. The book -must- be read twice, the first time in a bit of a haze, since even basic acronyms aren't expanded till 200 pages after they are first used. Its enjoyable the second time because there are hundreds of references you'll get from events that are expanded upon much later.
It really is a fantastic book, and its not nearly as confusing as most people think when read twice. :)
- jbrennan 16y agoThis is assuring to hear. Any particular essays of his you recommend?
- tptacek 16y ago_Consider the Lobster_ has him subverting a Gourmet magazine writing assignment about the Maine lobster festival. _A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again_ is perhaps his most famous, about the Illinois state fair. _Host_ explores a conservative radio talk show; the original Atlantic article had an interesting layout to accomodate his footnotes. _Big Red Son_ has him at the Adult Video Awards in Vegas. A bit TMI for me, but still well written. The "This is Water" commencement speech is online at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178211966454607.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178211966454607.html
- lylejohnson 16y agoI don't think it's necessary to read "all his other essays and short stories" to appreciate Infinite Jest, but you certainly might want to read at least a couple to get used to his writing style (e.g. the unending sentences; heavy use of footnotes and abbreviations). A fun one to read (for me) was "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again," about his experience on a week-long pleasure cruise. Don't skip the footnotes when reading IJ. There's some important stuff in there. Don't get frustrated when you get to the end of the book and aren't sure what just happened. That's why ladyada correctly says that you'll need to read it again when you get done.
- tptacek 16y agoReading IJ on the iPad is the right move. My advice: make sure you look up words that you don't get, instead of following your normal reading instinct to pick up meanings from context. You have a dictionary a touch away. I agree, read (at least some) of his essays first; not because the story will make more sense to you, but because you'll appreciate the writing more after seeing it deployed in a comprehensible linear narrative. Strongly, strongly recommend _A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again_. Once you've done that, even at its gnarliest, you can look at IJ like a collection of essays that just happen to be unmoored from reality, and kind of surf the text until it starts making sense again. Someone reduced IJ to a diagram a few weeks ago, which I translated to Graphviz and re-rendered; this has "spoilers", though: http://yfrog.com/juxo0p http://yfrog.com/juxo0p
- jbrennan 16y agoThanks for the advice. I have indeed been making liberal use of the iPad's dictionary while going through IJ. I'm even highlighting the words after I define them as I love expanding my vocabulary and this novel is such a trove of new words!