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Has anyone actually read Infinite Jest in its entirety? I got about 50 pages in and I'm pretty sure I got the jist of it from that. The constant slog into minut

Has anyone actually read Infinite Jest in its entirety? I got about 50 pages in and I'm pretty sure I got the jist of it from that. The constant slog into minutia and clunky grammar made it very slow reading for me. There were some funny parts but overall the effort didn't feel worth it. I tore through Gravity's Rainbow (mentioned in another thread).

dilap 1y ago
Yeah definitely, multiple times. But I feel you! The first time I read it it took me months to make it past the first couple hundred pages. But once you get far enough in everything starts to gel and it gets really fun.
- Boogie_Man 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - dilap 1y ago
    white, probably, though i don't think ever explicitly stated. "incandenza" as a last name is vaguely italian sounding. why the question, tho?
    - Boogie_Man 1y ago
      [flagged]
kolbe 1y ago
Cool. We care. Keep talking.
rurp 1y ago
I totally agree, IJ might be the single most disappointing book I've read given the extreme hype around it. The writing style felt very self-indulgent and annoying. The funny/clever parts rarely seemed amusing to me. Enough people say they love the book that it's probably just a style thing that didn't click for me, but I regret how much time I spent slogging through the book and never bothered to finish it.
jquaint 1y ago
I enjoyed Infinite Jest. I think it's good book if you are someone who HAS to know all the details. The book itself criticizes this way of thinking, while letting you in the all the details you could want. (the footnotes especially) I get the sense that the writing style is a metaphor and part of it for sure. I also really like many of the subtle ideas the book presents. Though like many "post modern novels", it's not for everyone. If intentionally dull parts are not your thing, that's perfectly fine IMO.
- neuroelectron 1y ago
  Yes the writing style is def a metaphor for the book's subject and why i feel like I already get it without having to read the whole thing. 1080 pages of that does feel like infinity.
dpig_ 1y ago
At about page 300 it starts to pay off hard and you fly through the rest. I definitely recommend giving it another go.
- ball_of_lint 1y ago
  "Once you've read this book, then you can read a good book" (/s - I have read and enjoyed Infinite Jest. It's very reasonable for someone to not enjoy it though)
- wissam124 1y ago
  For the 20th birthday of the book's publication, there was an article in the Guardian that ended on this beautiful quote that captured the experience of reading the book perfectly for me: " It’ll be a slog, but around the point where it starts making sense, you will read these words: 'But you never know when the magic will descend on you. You never know when the grooves will open up. And once the magic descends you don’t want to change even the smallest detail. You don’t know what concordance of factors and variables yields that calibrated can’t-miss feeling, and you don’t want to soil the magic by trying to figure it out, but you don’t want to change your grip, your stick, your side of the court, your angle of incidence to the sun.' "
Boogie_Man 1y ago
Yes I have and I think I'm the only person not lying about that fact.
- spondylosaurus 1y ago
  I am curious... what's up with your "What race is Hal?" questions throughout this thread? Unless I'm super unobservant I legitimately don't remember it being made explicit in the novel. Avril is obviously French-Canadian[1], so she's presumably white, which would also make Hal at least half white, but I don't remember any description of JOI's appearance (when he was alive lol) or ethnicity beyond him being very tall. I feel like a more definitive question could be "Which ETA student is missing several fingers?" or "How did Bruce Green's mom die?" or "What's the call sign for Joelle's radio station?" or "What roams the Great Concavity?"[2] [1] I can't remember if CT is a true Quebecker or not, but if he is, I could at least say that Mario is 100% French-Canadian, lol. [2] Or I just thought of another... "Which ETA student has an ironically apt disease?"
  - Boogie_Man 1y ago
    It is made explicit. I believe your questions are more easily Google-able.
    - spondylosaurus 1y ago
      Well this was gonna bother me until I figured it out, so, drumroll... Hal Incandenza is... a white boy! Or at least he says he is. Who would've thunk. > "I’m a privileged white seventeen-year-old U.S. male." I think it has the air of a trick question though. Most readers will (correctly) assume that Hal is white, which the text does little to dispute or confirm barring a throwaway reference or two (and which is unlikely to stand out in their minds since it confirms what they already assumed), so encountering such a question makes it seem like the answer is more complicated than "Shockingly, the tennis heir protagonist written by a white American author is also a white American kid." And for many people it's somewhat gauche to admit that you assumed a character was white by default, so if you hazard a (correct) guess of "Well he's white, isn't he?" but it turns out there was a different throwaway reference to him being a quarter Puerto Rican or something, you might be a little embarrassed! EDIT: I forgot there is actually a throwaway reference to Hal being (at most) 1/8th Native American, lol. > ...a great-grandmother with Pima-tribe Indian S.W. blood, and Canadian cross-breeding...
kimfc 1y ago
I had a very easy/boring job and where during last few month I spent most of my time reading infinite jest after finishing the days work. I really loved it but I probably won't read it again anytime soon, there's a pretty substantial upfront time investment you have to make before it starts getting enjoyable to read. Though once you lock in with the world and flow of infinite jest it gets pretty amazing, I wish I had more people to talk to about it without coming off as a pretentious jackass. Also it's far more enjoyable to read it as an ebook where you can jump instantly from the text to footnotes and look up unfamiliar words. Reading the physical copy seems torturous to me.
- Boogie_Man 1y ago
  What race is Hal?
  - neuroelectron 1y ago
    He's white.
    - Boogie_Man 1y ago
      Yet in another comment you said you only read 50 pages
      - neuroelectron 1y ago
        Did you read it?
        Boogie_Man 1y ago
        Yes :) I hope you read and enjoy too. I'm sorry to everyone if I've been an ass in this thread. I think I was feeling obstinate but I apologize.

dilap 1y ago

Yeah definitely, multiple times. But I feel you! The first time I read it it took me months to make it past the first couple hundred pages. But once you get far enough in everything starts to gel and it gets really fun.

Boogie_Man 1y ago
[flagged]
- dilap 1y ago
  white, probably, though i don't think ever explicitly stated. "incandenza" as a last name is vaguely italian sounding. why the question, tho?
  - Boogie_Man 1y ago
    [flagged]

kolbe 1y ago

Cool. We care. Keep talking.

rurp 1y ago

I totally agree, IJ might be the single most disappointing book I've read given the extreme hype around it. The writing style felt very self-indulgent and annoying. The funny/clever parts rarely seemed amusing to me. Enough people say they love the book that it's probably just a style thing that didn't click for me, but I regret how much time I spent slogging through the book and never bothered to finish it.

jquaint 1y ago

I enjoyed Infinite Jest. I think it's good book if you are someone who HAS to know all the details. The book itself criticizes this way of thinking, while letting you in the all the details you could want. (the footnotes especially) I get the sense that the writing style is a metaphor and part of it for sure. I also really like many of the subtle ideas the book presents. Though like many "post modern novels", it's not for everyone. If intentionally dull parts are not your thing, that's perfectly fine IMO.

neuroelectron 1y ago
Yes the writing style is def a metaphor for the book's subject and why i feel like I already get it without having to read the whole thing. 1080 pages of that does feel like infinity.

dpig_ 1y ago

At about page 300 it starts to pay off hard and you fly through the rest. I definitely recommend giving it another go.

ball_of_lint 1y ago
"Once you've read this book, then you can read a good book" (/s - I have read and enjoyed Infinite Jest. It's very reasonable for someone to not enjoy it though)
wissam124 1y ago
For the 20th birthday of the book's publication, there was an article in the Guardian that ended on this beautiful quote that captured the experience of reading the book perfectly for me: " It’ll be a slog, but around the point where it starts making sense, you will read these words: 'But you never know when the magic will descend on you. You never know when the grooves will open up. And once the magic descends you don’t want to change even the smallest detail. You don’t know what concordance of factors and variables yields that calibrated can’t-miss feeling, and you don’t want to soil the magic by trying to figure it out, but you don’t want to change your grip, your stick, your side of the court, your angle of incidence to the sun.' "

Boogie_Man 1y ago

Yes I have and I think I'm the only person not lying about that fact.

spondylosaurus 1y ago
I am curious... what's up with your "What race is Hal?" questions throughout this thread? Unless I'm super unobservant I legitimately don't remember it being made explicit in the novel. Avril is obviously French-Canadian[1], so she's presumably white, which would also make Hal at least half white, but I don't remember any description of JOI's appearance (when he was alive lol) or ethnicity beyond him being very tall. I feel like a more definitive question could be "Which ETA student is missing several fingers?" or "How did Bruce Green's mom die?" or "What's the call sign for Joelle's radio station?" or "What roams the Great Concavity?"[2] [1] I can't remember if CT is a true Quebecker or not, but if he is, I could at least say that Mario is 100% French-Canadian, lol. [2] Or I just thought of another... "Which ETA student has an ironically apt disease?"
- Boogie_Man 1y ago
  It is made explicit. I believe your questions are more easily Google-able.
  - spondylosaurus 1y ago
    Well this was gonna bother me until I figured it out, so, drumroll... Hal Incandenza is... a white boy! Or at least he says he is. Who would've thunk. > "I’m a privileged white seventeen-year-old U.S. male." I think it has the air of a trick question though. Most readers will (correctly) assume that Hal is white, which the text does little to dispute or confirm barring a throwaway reference or two (and which is unlikely to stand out in their minds since it confirms what they already assumed), so encountering such a question makes it seem like the answer is more complicated than "Shockingly, the tennis heir protagonist written by a white American author is also a white American kid." And for many people it's somewhat gauche to admit that you assumed a character was white by default, so if you hazard a (correct) guess of "Well he's white, isn't he?" but it turns out there was a different throwaway reference to him being a quarter Puerto Rican or something, you might be a little embarrassed! EDIT: I forgot there is actually a throwaway reference to Hal being (at most) 1/8th Native American, lol. > ...a great-grandmother with Pima-tribe Indian S.W. blood, and Canadian cross-breeding...

kimfc 1y ago

I had a very easy/boring job and where during last few month I spent most of my time reading infinite jest after finishing the days work. I really loved it but I probably won't read it again anytime soon, there's a pretty substantial upfront time investment you have to make before it starts getting enjoyable to read. Though once you lock in with the world and flow of infinite jest it gets pretty amazing, I wish I had more people to talk to about it without coming off as a pretentious jackass. Also it's far more enjoyable to read it as an ebook where you can jump instantly from the text to footnotes and look up unfamiliar words. Reading the physical copy seems torturous to me.

Boogie_Man 1y ago
What race is Hal?
- neuroelectron 1y ago
  He's white.
  - Boogie_Man 1y ago
    Yet in another comment you said you only read 50 pages
    - neuroelectron 1y ago
      Did you read it?
      - Boogie_Man 1y ago
        Yes :) I hope you read and enjoy too. I'm sorry to everyone if I've been an ass in this thread. I think I was feeling obstinate but I apologize.