Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

21 reviews

lizburny's review against another edition

challenging dark funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It is a book that pulls you in and pushes you away. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Ableism, Bullying, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Addiction, Animal death, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Cursing, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Medical trauma

beansrowning's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It took several months of non-committal reading and a month of solid reading to knock this out. 

Wow. Not sure where to begin. I both loved many sections and hated an equal amount.

I get why so many people just don't finish it, but I'm happy I did. Not my favorite book, but one that has (maybe a bit too much) to say.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship

emily_mad's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Mental illness, Suicide, and Violence

asililydying's review against another edition

I really thought I was gonna finish this one, but honestly I'm so utterly exhausted by it in a mostly negative manner; this book is work. I like word-play, I like crazy expanse, I like big themes; this book plays with these things, tries to transcend them, reinvent the novel, but it just isn't charismatic enough to pull this off, nor is it actually smart enough. Plenty of impressive writing and postmodernisms to gawk at, and certainly some truly affecting moments, but so much more just goes on and on and on about absolutely nothing, or plays a bigoted portrayal (eg. All minority characters) to the same tired stereotypes for pages and pages. I'd call it dated, but being this ignorant while you're trying to show off how impressive and intelligent you are is just embarassing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Rape, Torture, Murder, Transphobia, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, and Suicide

goroshyna's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Ця книжка виявилася не такою заплутаною, як я очікувала (добре). Основна складність полягає в тому, щоби запам'ятати всіх персонажів у цьому дуже довгому романі.

Якби в мене була необмежена кількість часу, я би точно перечитала «Нескінченний жарт», щоби ще раз зв'язати все докупи. Для мене все почало складатися в один сюжет десь на останній третині книжки, а до цього персонажі хіба що з'являлися на тлі окремих ліній оповідання. Було очевидно, що автор сам професійно займався тенісом і, напевно, мав досвід відвідування зустрічей анонімних наркоманів. Тема залежності та тверезості відіграє одну з провідних ролей роману.

Ще одним мотивом твору виступає мистецтво, а саме його вплив і підходи до його реалізації. Один з героїв «Нескінченного жарту» знімає незалежні фільми, які запрошують аудиторію до метааналізу безпосередньо під час сеансу. Читаючи розділи про режисера, я замислювалася, чи автор також хоче вирвати читачів із занурення в події роману та змусити їх усвідомити, що вони читають текст, написаний людиною в реальному світі.

Я помітила спроби автора коментувати політику, але далі, ніж прирівняти політиків і дітей, які грають у ядерну кризу, він не пішов.

Якщо двома словами, то це дуже довга метамодерністська книжка, яку можна читати, а можна не читати. Вона точно наштовхнула мене на цікаві роздуми.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, and Pedophilia

julziez's review

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Gore, Transphobia, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Drug use, Excrement, Homophobia, Medical content, Rape, Suicide attempt, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

edick's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Man, I might be ensnared by the feelings I have from finishing this amazing piece, so the almost-5 might be impulsive, but I absolutely loved Infinite Jest.

Wallace’s style and flow of writing is truly mesmerizing. His insertion of minute details may seem sporadic at first, but as I moved through IJ I found a calculated precision that revealed itself slowly, as you see everything tie into itself. I know that this is a popular one to reread, and I plan on it, but I was so crushed when I hit the last page. I haven’t got a feeling like this since East of Eden — Wallace absolutely immerses you in a scattered mix of O.N.A.N. locales, and I was so sad to not have any more to explore.

There’s just so much I can ramble about with this one. Overall, Infinite Jest just displays so much… humanity, I’d say. I don’t think it’s for everyone, but so many elements of the lens Wallace viewed the world with ring true to me. So much incredible, subtle humor enmeshed in some absolutely desolate, crushing vignettes of Enfield’s inhabitants stumping through life. There are so many absolutely bizarre fragments here, but simultaneously it all feels so raw & authentic. 

I realized it not too far in, but the weird MFA-litbro reputation Infinite Jest has these days is absurd. Wallace’s prose is so fun, so addicting, but with pretty substantial depth and agility. It doesn’t really talk down to ya, but he throws in some interesting word choice and concepts to keep you on your toes. Yes, it’s long and winding, but like many amazing “non-linear” works its beauty simply unfolds the more you immerse yourself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Addiction, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Suicide, Homophobia, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Murder

Minor: Transphobia and Xenophobia

book_dragon001's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

It’s important to go into this book knowing that it’s a challenging read. In all the mess though you can come away with 3 different plot stems all pointing toward the argument I think Wallace was making. The futuristic American society muddled in addiction, need for entertainment, and unhealthy race for success all explore how we can find a virtuous life if we choose the right thing to consume our lives.  Some waste away from a search for entertainment and others wither at the stress inducing need for success. I think this novel has a beautiful argument going for it and if you’re strong willed enough, tough it out to the end and you will not be disappointed!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Addiction

Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicide

Minor: Sexism and Racial slurs

nickds's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Suicide, Self harm, Mental illness, Incest, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Deadnaming and Child death

drewbutler's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

There’s so much to say about this book. It’s a behemoth and pushes the boundaries of what a novel can do and how much ground it can cover. It’s not without its flaws whatsoever, but I really loved it in spite of its shortcomings. This is a very sad, very funny, very sincere book, and I think it’s worth reading, if for no other reason than that you can feel the honesty with which everyone is written. DFW doesn’t always succeed with each facet of each character, but when he does, you feel like someone is telling you plainly something you’ve always felt, but never had the ability to describe. There are so many themes woven into the myriad plots and subplots and endnotes and footnotes in this massive book, but they all connect and paint a messy picture of life. There is a lot of satire and tongue-in-cheek settings here, but they’re all supported by a genuineness that’s hard to find, especially nowadays in a world where most media reflects the current cynicism so pervasive in our modern American culture. DFW has some incredibly astute observations on entertainment, meaning, and things like personal and national identity, all of which have been validated by the actual course of events and culture since this book was written. Above all, though, he’s not mean about it, and the criticisms levied at some of our worst instincts as a people still feel like they come from a kind place that wants things to change, and wishes that they could. This is definitely a book that you can read over and over again, and I look forward to picking it back up sometime in the future. It’s a lot, and has such a reputation behind it, but I really believe it’s worth reading, and it’s worth getting to know these funny, broken characters that we’re lucky enough to meet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide, and Rape