Sam's review
Infinite Jest: A Novel by David Foster Wallace
There seem to be two things consistently mentioned when discussing this one: the endnotes and the length/weight. And now, probably and sadly, a third thing: that Wallace recently committed suicide, apparently at least partly due to depression, both of which (suicide and depression) this book is most certainly concerned with. So it was a bit odd to be halfway through when he de-mapped himself.
But what you have here -- in part, at least -- is a novel about family, addiction, entertainment, and depression, all narrowed down even further to the issue of passivity in relation to true human experience and interaction, and how that true experience is so often avoided through various forms of addiction and entertainment. The search for authentic experience is key here, which is kind of interesting for a book so thoroughly full of postmodern distractions. That it covers such textual and contextual ground while being simultaneously a screwball comedy and a heartfelt drama -- all the ...more
But what you have here -- in part, at least -- is a novel about family, addiction, entertainment, and depression, all narrowed down even further to the issue of passivity in relation to true human experience and interaction, and how that true experience is so often avoided through various forms of addiction and entertainment. The search for authentic experience is key here, which is kind of interesting for a book so thoroughly full of postmodern distractions. That it covers such textual and contextual ground while being simultaneously a screwball comedy and a heartfelt drama -- all the ...more
