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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The greatest book.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I find it hard to review a book I truly loved. This was not a perfect book. Its descriptions of vulnerable people groups are clearly of their time. Despite its imperfections, though, it represents such an authentic search for meaning in the midst of the painfulness of life that I found it hard to look away. I got the sense that David Foster Wallace wrote this book like Chopin composed music—in stretches of "heartbreaking labor" that were intense, self-conscious, meticulous, and desperate, but which produced a cascade of sound and motifs that pushed the medium to its limits.
I haven't stopped thinking about the book since I finished it, and I want to reread it again and again, to run alongside Wallace as he considers what it means to be human.
I haven't stopped thinking about the book since I finished it, and I want to reread it again and again, to run alongside Wallace as he considers what it means to be human.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Jest, was indeed, Infinite.
OH MY GOD I did it. I'm done. What a journey. Now how on earth do I sum up everything thought that crossed my mind? Every time I try and talk about this book, I sound insane! It would take a book 3x the length of Infinite Jest to try and break down Infinite Jest, and that would only be one person's perspective, and it would be the concise version. We could also all save time by slamming our heads against walls to get the same effect as reading this thing.
Big picture opinions: David Foster Wallace was an incredibly gifted and deeply troubled man, and it's one of the greatest literary tragedies that he's no longer with us. This monster of a novel is one of the most intimate, vulnerable, uncomfortable baring of a soul I've ever encountered. Within every plot, character, connection, there is humanity and absurdity to the nth degree. Infinite Jest is one of the greatest books ever written, and one of the worst. And this is nothing to say of the technical skill involved, Infinite Jest makes House of Leaves look like a middle grade novel! There is no number of words that can prepare you for the experience, you simply have to read it for yourself.
(I'm going to rage and angst about the ending, or lack thereof. Is it a bit childish? Yes.)
OH MY GOD I did it. I'm done. What a journey. Now how on earth do I sum up everything thought that crossed my mind? Every time I try and talk about this book, I sound insane! It would take a book 3x the length of Infinite Jest to try and break down Infinite Jest, and that would only be one person's perspective, and it would be the concise version. We could also all save time by slamming our heads against walls to get the same effect as reading this thing.
Big picture opinions: David Foster Wallace was an incredibly gifted and deeply troubled man, and it's one of the greatest literary tragedies that he's no longer with us. This monster of a novel is one of the most intimate, vulnerable, uncomfortable baring of a soul I've ever encountered. Within every plot, character, connection, there is humanity and absurdity to the nth degree. Infinite Jest is one of the greatest books ever written, and one of the worst. And this is nothing to say of the technical skill involved, Infinite Jest makes House of Leaves look like a middle grade novel! There is no number of words that can prepare you for the experience, you simply have to read it for yourself.
(I'm going to rage and angst about the ending, or lack thereof. Is it a bit childish? Yes.)
There's things about this book that really does deserve five stars-- certain passages are arresting and penetrative. I think I understand why people laud this book, but there are elements that irked me to no end, so I had to compromise between wanting to give it two (sometimes only one) stars and five stars. I'll probably return to this rating after I digest this very heavy meal.