Infinite Jest
Ratings198
Average rating4.2
A gargantuan, mind-altering comedy about the Pursuit of Happiness in America Set in an addicts' halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwed-up family to come along in recent fiction, Infinite Jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives; about how our desire for entertainment affects our need to connect with other people; and about what the pleasures we choose say about who we are. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, Infinite Jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. It is an exuberant, uniquely American exploration of the passions that make us human - and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do.
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Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
1860onwards challenge - Book 2 - Infinite Jest (1996)
Each chapter like it's own vignette. The book and the writing feels intimately connected to the author. Really strong and unique feeling as you read. Interesting O.N.A.N. world and the plot, while a macguffin, is very interesting. Footnotes break up the text almost in a deliberately challenging way.
Characters *****
Atmosphere *****
Plot *****
Emotion *****
Style *****
5.0
I did have some moments when my resolve faltered, but overall this book met my "made-me-think, would re-read-if-I-had-the-time" criteria for 4⭐️. Chilling descriptions of addiction and depression. Loved the irony/sarcasm, and the prose (albeit often showy). Occasional sexism, racism, ableism etc, not always ascribable to the characters. Erudite, encyclopedic. Learned of many online resources about the book, at least one podcast and an entire community of enthusiasts.
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