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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Well done but should probably be retitled Infinite Jest: The Rough Draft.
Hilarious. DFW shows his mastery of text and ability to confuse and delight with this, his first novel. While the overall story may be difficult to follow and understand, there are plenty of vignettes and anecdotes that are memorable, brilliant, and some of the funniest things I've read in a long long time. Please enjoy before Mr. Bombardini eats us all.
Very funny when it was funny, but I'm not sure I "got" everything. I liked the stories within the story -- both the actual short stories Rick recounts to Lenore and the tangential story lines.
I read this book because it was recently on a list of the most famous books from each state. The Broom of the System is Ohio's most famous book? What? As an avid reader who has lived in the state of Ohio most of my life I've never heard of this book! So I read it. To say it's set in Ohio is an exaggeration as he simply used the words Cleveland and Shaker Heights and Ohio and then completely reimagined the rest of the state. To be honest the list did not say they were GOOD famous books. This is not a good book. It is possible that it is ironic or sarcastic or metaphoric or some other "ic" that I don't understand but I did not like it. Tons of adolescent penis "humor" did not make it funny. The silly names were annoying. Pretty much every single story line was left unfinished. That being said I hope one of my super smart friends reads it and explains it to me!
This was the first long-form David Foster Wallace work I had read, I was 23 when I did and I remember just loving it. The world DFW had created was wild and wacky and fun, and I had so much respect for this work. I think in hindsight it isn't exactly the gold standard of chaotic fiction that I help it up to be, but I still remember thinking it was quite fun.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
medium-paced