I think that wraith-JOI's description of TV extras and his use of extras in his own films is a pretty decent parallel to the book's use of characters, with every character being developed and usually having their own narrative at one point or another. Also, I enjoy this whole scene of Gately recovering in the hospital, being visited by Ennet people and JOI, etc.
I love, around page 500ish, a chapter concerning an NA meeting, followed by a Marathe/Steeply chapter wherein Steeply describes a victim of the Entertainment as a kind of drug addict. first time I drew that connection.
I starting reading this book last week, and right now I'm around 500. I haven't really read anything as heavy as DFW before this maybe besides during the couple Shakespeare classes I took in high school and college, but always liked those classes, and enjoyed not only the challenge but the joy of reading the work of someone who has such a powerful way with words. I didn't look at one of those first links in this thread about page-marking and sidenote writing and reading the endnotes and being familiar with Hamlet, but I still did all those things naturally. My impressions so far are that I'm starting to love the interconnectedness of almost everything and everyone, and the especially powerful sections about depression, and with Gately and the AA/NA groups (the "things that you eventually found out about/learn from going to Boston AA/NA" section is one of my favorites of the book so far), and the ridiculousness of the dialogues (and their contexts) with Marathe and Steeply. also, I want to play Eschaton really bad. also regarding the humor in the book: I don't know if I'm just twisted or not, but I thought the death scene with Lucien and the AFR was one of the funniest parts of the book so far. Its one of the the most gruesome scenes in the book by far, but the fact that it involves a pack of extremist quebecois wheelchair assassins makes the entire scene ridiculous. Black humor at its finest.
The chapter where Hal goes to an 'NA' meeting had me in absolute stitches. Also some of the backstories that you discover later on, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
One of my favourite things about the book are the scenes that manage to be grotesque, hilarious, and horribly sad at the same time.
Another acronym that supports the ironic direction DFW is taking with the use of acronyms is his use of MP with Don Gately. MP both represents his step-father (or his mother's boyfriend at least) who beat his mother and who he thought was a sadistic and terrible person, and Joelle, whom he really likes and views with the complete opposite feelings of his SF.
.. also an apt description for the entire book. The overall story is fairly tragic, but is often absurd, and occasionally cartoonishly comedic.
The stuff here about abiding by putting walls around each unendurable moment is really powerful, I think. "...Less: the space between two heartbeats. A breath and a second, the pause and gather between each cramp. An endless Now stretching its gull-wings out on either side of his heartbeat. And he'd never before or since felt so excruciatingly alive." etc.
Done. Well then. I need to reflect on it. It was easily one of the best books I've ever read. I probably will need to read it again in the future. Wow.
I'm about 70 pages from the end now, and this re-read has pretty much secured it as my favourite novel. Sad that it's almost over, though Anyway, when I did groceries last, saw this and thought of this thread:
Same. Second run through was well worth it and I think I have a better grasp on the ending now. Thanks everyone for the discussions along the way
I kind of started to expect it as I got closer to it, but I think that was the only way it could have ended, really.
find someone with a large format printer or go to kinkos or similar, hand them a cd/usb with the pdf - it'll be less than $20 to print it
Just thinking about this book makes me want to read it again. I would probably be content to keep re-reading this over and over (allusions to the samizdat unintended, but relevant nonetheless).
Are you like a masochist or something? I loved it to death, but I opened it and then suddenly I was two months older.
My uncle rereads Lord of the Rings every couple of years and I could definitely see Infinite Jest being like that for me.
I've kept out of this thread for fear of reading anything incriminating but just popping in to say I have like 70 pages left
notes and errata the part of Gately's premonition where he and Hal dig up JOI's head gave me fucking goosebumps/the howling fantods and it was at that moment that I realized that the reason there is an Infinite Jest V and VI is to distinguish between the Entertainment and the thing in JOI's head, presumably. the color blue kept coming up. I was considering some subtle meta shit about Hal being the reader of the book, which is backed by the fact that the samizdat is itself titled Infinite Jest and that Hal so often appears utterly unresponsive to people sometimes as people making their way through this book (kind of an absurd/representative-of-stasis act, not even unlike being planted in front of the TV, because of the fact that you're really just sitting there in the same place for a long time not doing anything) must often be; it is also in line with the entertainment vs. art thing, like who cares about such a distinction if immersion in either leads to the same physical result, but it's doubtful that any author would purposefully imply the meaninglessness of his book (much less this book) or of intellectual pursuit in general. JOI's "figurant" bit was amazing. I haven't gone back and reread the first chapter in depth (except the last two pages of it) or generally skimmed yet, though.
essay on Wallace: http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.1920/article_detail.asp plot spoilers but good supplement if you've already read Infinite Jest, and lots of insights about DFW's life (and death)
Got a friend to start reading this ... ...and I'm really bummed I don't have the time to re-read it with them
can't wait for my edited Facebook pictures, me and Ulysses at the beach posing and the text "summer 2k12 bby!! <3"
