Infinite Jest

[Grant, Usurper of Book Club]

That took a while. I don't think I'm going to have anything to say about this book that hasn't already been said. I'm not super interested in trying to figure out everything that happened. I see that there are many theories on the internet about what happened and trying to piece it all together, that's all well and good, but I'm not going to re-read the book. Other than re-readign the first chapter of Hal in the admissions office.

So much happened, so many characters, so much information. An and ending that doesn't fill in the gaps. The book opens with what is chronologically the thing to occur. And the endnotes, those are a whole other thing. So many parts of the book seem so conversational, like the author using the book as a venue to talk about things completely unrelated to the characters or plot.

I did look up some of the "what happened to Hal?" theories, I saw a lot of emphasis on the mold and the DMZ, which probably makes sense. But my initial reaction was to think that it was somehow related to withdrawal from substances and not being able to cope with the mounting pressures.

I was listing to The War on Drugs' Lost in the Dream today (never thought about how appropriate that name is for something related to Infinite Jest. That album is about pressure and relationships. I was thinking about how at the start it can feel like a wave washing through you, or that you're going with the flow, but eventually it turns so that instead of washing through you, it begins to wash over you, little by little or sometimes all at once until you're under it, and it keeps piling up, and you're under the pressure. Even though nothing much changes outwardly, its the subtle change, the different in buoyancy. For a book that is all about entertainment and substances I would've hoped the answer would have some more meaning then Hal did a substance and now he can't talk.

Considering the way the whole development of the novel was going I was also pretty convinced the AFR was going to kill John Gentle, or something would happen. But ultimately plot isn't really a concern of the novel. Nor is economy. Or tying up loose ends. I'll need more time to think on it.

Also, the Peemster was one of the most entertaining characters. Hal cuts him out when he cuts out the drugs, which makes sense, but was kind of a disappointing way to see that go.

Also, I loved the idea and word "experialism." I think the whole Gentle thing is a bit over the top and subsided time is kind of funny, but also pretty over the top.

[Grant, Usurper of Book Club]

I was watching something on youtube and ended up watching something with David Foster Wallace in it. Got me thinking about Infinite Jest, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it, so I came back here to see what I'd written.

I wrote above: plot isn't really a concern of the novel. Nor is economy. Or tying up loose ends. I'll need more time to think on it.

The way I think of this novel now, is that it wasn't worth the slog. There was some fun along the way, but I think I commited myself to reading and finishing the book, so had to take enjoyment in it, or at least expected it to have some kind of ending that would justify it.

[Mikael, Lowly Founder of Book Club]

I've always been on the fence about reading this and now I'm pretty firmly in the camp of "no" after reading your posts lol