I think infinite jest was a way for him to wring out all the bits of postmodernism until the concept and all the tricks were exhausted. Individuals, organizations and governments vie to obtain the master copy, and recovering addicts get caught up in increasingly desperate attempts to control it. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most. It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines list of the 100 best englishlanguage novels published between 1923 and 2005. Why i cannot recommend the infinite jest audio book infinite jest.
Infinite jest may qualify as the ogreat american novel,o especially as it embodies a mythic scale of emblematic writing about americas obsession with entertainment, addiction, and addiction to entertainment. Steven asin infinite jest is the perfect book for the kindle paperwhite. I kind of strongly disagree with alexs post about the endnotes. Infinite jest is a gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america. I was in france at the time, and when i got back to the u. But if you are seeking something other, then this book will not disappoint. Infinite jest rnib supporting blind and partially sighted. Infinite jest by david foster wallace hachette book group. Feb 26, 2016 12 if you think infinite jest at 1,100odd pages is a long book, be advised that it started longer. He is a resident at ennet house who feels powerless being a drug addict.
Why i cannot recommend the infinite jest audio book. The novel is widely noted for its unconventional narrative structure and its experimental use of endnotes there are 388. Spanish surrealist painter darkstar see mcnair, stokely. Always update books hourly, if not looking, search in the book search column. Infinite jest david foster wallace somewhere in the notsodistant future, the screwedup residents of ennet house, a boston halfway house for recovering addicts, and. Somewhere in the notsodistant future the residents of ennet house, a boston halfway house for recovering addicts, and students at the nearby enfield tennis. Infinite jest infinite jest audiobook, by david foster wallace. Set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to come along in recent fiction, the novel explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to dominate our lives, about how our desire for entertainment affects. Beyond the ease with which one can lookup footnotes, consider the following. Order today and receive free shipping on orders over. Infinite jest comes, in time, to seem like some great clattering vehicle that is powered by a rudimentary threestroke engine, the narrative passing in steady sequence from enfield to ennet. I felt compelled throughout to read it aloud, such was the almost poetic quality of it. David lipsky arrived at david foster wallaces house right near the end of the infinite jest book tour in 1996.
Wallace has even remarked to his friend, james franzen, that not only he knows exactly what the book is about or who the protagonist is supposed to be. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house. Infinite jest audiobook by david foster wallace, read by. The lengthy and complex work takes place in a semiparodic future version of north america. Infinite jest 1996 is a novel written by david foster wallace. They exist down the road from each other in enfield, massachusetts, a. Department for continuing educations guest lectures borderlands flnkiddo direct baptist church sermons frenk djs podcast riggs everything is nuts perfect.
A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly. In terms of pages spanned, there are two main plots. I dont know why you think its ok to publicly shame your subscribers and im not the one you mentioned by name in the email, but it isnt cool in the slightest. I cant recommend the purchase of the what at first appears to be the amazing ive heard good things about the audio. I found that after listening in the car i could go home and read the footnotes without losing too much of their immediate value. I cant recommend the purchase of the what at first appears to be the amazing ive heard good things about the audio, excellent vocal performance audio book of infinite jest. Even though i feel a sense of accomplishment, i also feel as if ive experienced a new way of experiencing fiction as an art form and as a whole. Partly since it makes the book more accessible and partly because it lets you enjoy the flow of wallaces prose. Infinite jest might be the most polarizing novel ive ever read. There are more than 1 million books that have been enjoyed by people from all over the world.
The myriad plot turns and tonal shifts of infinite jest, revolving around its main. Somewhere in the notsodistant future the residents of ennet house, a boston halfway house for recovering addicts, and students at the nearby enfield tennis academy are. At the top of a hill is the enfield tennis academy, and at the base of the hill is the ennet house. Nov 27, 2017 i kind of strongly disagree with alexs post about the endnotes.
My thoughts on completing david foster wallaces infinite jest. Somewhere in the notsodistant future the residents of ennet house, a boston halfway house for recovering addicts, and students at the nearby enfield tennis academy are ensnared in the. The novel is widely noted for its unconventional narrative structure and its experimental use of endnotes there are a total of 388 endnotes, some with footnotes of their own. Unquestionably, infinite jest required great ambition and focus to write, and requires a bit of ambition and focus to read as well. Wallace was already somewhat famous at the time, and lipsky was conducting an interview not expecting that wallace would invite him to stay in his house. I had ordered the book from after hearing of david foster wallaces death. Infinite jest is one of those books that a lot of people know of but have never read. Start a free 30day trial today and get your first audiobook free. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup 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. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and.
Wallace wrote to a friend that the fuckers cut by 600 pages from the first version. Set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup 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. It has been categorized as an encyclopedic novel and made time magazines list of the 100 best. The 46yearold recipient of the jarvik ix exterior artificial heart was actively window shopping in cambridge, massachusetts fashionable harvard square when a transvestite purse snatcher, a drug addict with a criminal record all too well known to public officials, bizarrely outfitted in a strapless cocktail dress, spike heels, tattered feather boa, and auburn wig, brutally tore the. But if you are seeking something other, then this book will. Somewhere in the notsodistant future the residents of ennet house, a boston halfway house for recovering addicts, and students at the nearby enfield tennis academy are ensnared in the search for the master copy of infinite jest, a movie said to be so d. Listen to infinite jest by david foster wallace at. I received an email earlier today from a reader who had excitedly received their unabridged audio book. In fact, its take on the very nature of entertainment itself perhaps foresaw the age of vanity and social media, as seen through the prisms of tinder, facebook, twitter and instagram. Feb 01, 1996 infinite jest is a movie so entertaining and addictive, anyone who watches it loses all desire to do anything else.
Don gately, a former thief and demerol addict, and current counselor in residence at ennet house. Infinite jest by david foster wallace year of glad year. Somewhere in the notsodistant future the residents of ennet house, a boston halfway house for recovering addicts, and students at the nearby. Just wrapped up infinite jest a couple of days ago and im experiencing a wide range of feelings about my experience with david foster wallaces masterpiece. He is a resident at ennet house who refuses to discuss tattoos with tiny ewell see above and participates in the harassing of other residents with geoffrey day see above. Infinite jest is both sad, depressed and funny and even 25 years after it was published in 1994 remains relevant to the modern age. Jul 11, 2016 in infinite jest, wallaces addicts are largely centered around boston, on a hilltop near brighton that separates an elite tennis academy run by a family shaken by a suicide and a halfway house filled with a picaresque crew of recovering drug and alcohol addicts. He is a senior resident at ennet house who has a mary tattoo.
At the macro level, infinite jest consists of numerous anticonfluential wallaces word episodes set a dozen years or so in the future as was the broom, at a time when numerical designations for years have been sold to corporate sponsors. David foster wallaces infinite jest is an audiobook, minus endnotes audio by andres jauregui on march 27, hachette audio released david foster wallaces magnum opus infinite jest most of it, at least as a 56hourlong audiobook. Infinite jest is a 1996 novel by american writer david foster wallace. There are more than 1 million books that have been enjoyed by people. After twenty years, david foster wallaces grand overture on humans and addiction, infinite jest, has only become more powerful. Descriptions of prenuptual agreement of heaven and hell and the medusa v. Wallace wrote to a friend that the fuckers cut by 600 pages from the first. The major environments in infinite jest are the enfield tennis academy and ennet house, a drug rehabilitation center. The novel is widely noted for its unconventional narrative structure and its experimental use of endnotes there are 388 endnotes, some with footnotes of their own. Librivox free audiobook department for continuing educations guest lectures borderlands flnkiddo direct baptist church sermons frenk djs podcast riggs everything is nuts perfect lovers imperfect parents.
Infinite jest comes, in time, to seem like some great clattering vehicle that is powered by a rudimentary threestroke engine, the narrative passing in steady sequence from enfield to ennet to a. Infinite jest in the age of addiction the millions. Infinite jest characters from litcharts the creators of. What brings them all together is that mysterious videotape, the entertainment. Once hailed as a work of singular genius, time has not been kind to the groundbreaking infinite jest, as paul ring discovers while reading david foster wallaces novel 20 years on. Infinite jest quotes by david foster wallacepage 6 of 27. Jun 12, 2012 a gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup 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. In terms of pages spanned, there are two main plots that are on the whole fairly disjoint. Apr 12, 2012 why i cannot recommend the infinite jest audio book infinite jest i guess this is a first for me and ill get straight to the point. When i unsubscribed because of this, i also sent it to audible cs, and then replied to audiobook giveaways email. I guess this is a first for me and ill get straight to the point. Get ebooks infinite jest on pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi and audiobook for free. Infinite jest characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes.
With regard to the basic 14 plot line, the setting for the majority of the action is enfield, a fictional suburbia town outside of boston. At the macro level, infinite jest consists of numerous anticonfluential wallaces word episodes set a dozen years or so in the future as was the broom, at a time when. Randy is a cocaine addict and former dealer who ends up as a resident of ennet house. Apr 09, 2009 i began reading infinite jest by david foster wallace around october 2008.