6 ms·

I had a ton of fun reading Infinite Jest, it took me two months of reading daily but after a while I couldn't wait to get home from work to read it (I didn't ha

I had a ton of fun reading Infinite Jest, it took me two months of reading daily but after a while I couldn't wait to get home from work to read it (I didn't have a kid yet mind you). There are many things about it that are dissatisfying, frustrating even maddening. But there are so many points of brilliance it makes the whole thing worth it. The ambitiousness, audacity and shortcomings are part of it. I felt similarly about Pale King, DFW's posthumously published unfinished novel. Was it a great book? No. But there is about a 50 page section in the middle that makes the whole damn thing worth it.

ebg13 7y ago
> Was it a great book? No. But there is about a 50 page section in the middle that makes the whole damn thing worth it. Could you not read just the good part?
- vo2maxer 7y ago
  Any suggestions for “the good part” in Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time? Just kidding ;-)
  - loofatoofa 7y ago
    Proust is a perfect analogy, but in 3k pages, proust’s illness becomes less nuanced while dfw’s relates brilliantly to obsession. it shaped the past 2 decades of tv. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2doZROwdte4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2doZROwdte4
afterburner 7y ago
What 50 page section? I would love to skip to it...
pokler 7y ago
What 50 page section? Are you referring to the Eschaton game? If so, its not in the middle, nor is it 50 pages.
- ses1984 7y ago
  The 50 page section refers to Pale King I think.
- pjc50 7y ago
  It's a different 50 page section for every reader. That's why the book is so long in the first place.