Background Knowledge: I’ve known about Infinite Jest by it’s reputation. I’ve heard it’s one of the most intellectually stimulating pieces of post-modernism in the last 30 years. I’ve also heard it’s a book for douchebags that want to sound smart.  But like most people, I wanted to read it to say that I did. It took a global pandemic, but I finally got around to reading it.

Author: David Foster Wallace  Version: Bay Back Books, 2006, 981 pages (1079 with Footnotes)

Book Report Summary: Infinite Jest is a non-linear narrative littered with hundreds of characters and story points. It takes place in a fictional timeline where North America has become a combined nation with heavy corporate sponsorship. The main plot can be divided into three main sections. First, the book follows the different members of the Incandenza family, a group of dysfunctional individuals as they each live their lives, a lot of which happens at a tennis academy. Second, the book explores the happenings of a Boston AA group. Finally, the book describes a plot to destroy America by Quebecois terrorists. The connecting plot device is the film “Infinite Jest,” a hypnotic and lethal movie made by James Incandenza, the family patriarch. However, Infinite Jest focuses more on introspective observations from the characters and author. The plot is secondary, or even tertiary, to the enclosed events that occur within each individual section of the story.

Themes (I Think):

Addiction: Addiction is the main thesis behind Infinite Jest. As an addict himself, Wallace knew how to articulate the thoughts and rational behind an addictive personality. However, on a broader scope, I think Wallace was suggesting that everyone is addicted to something. Almost all of the characters are obsessed with something, be it drugs, sex, or entertainment. The book chapters parody society’s general addiction to brands. The book’s McGuffin is also named after a film that effects the viewer so much, they become catatonic or even dead. They can literally overdose on entertainment. One wonders if the text’s overuse of words was Wallace’s own indulgence in grammatical structures.

Fathers and Sons: There’s a lot of father and son drama in this book. There’s a lot of family drama in general. The most obvious example is between Orin and James, who each “compete” over Joelle after she is introduced to the family. Father’s and sons seem to have a permanent disconnect between each other in Infinite Jest. Wallace’s father was a philosophy professor, and Wallace himself briefly pursued a philosophy degree as a graduate student, so he might have been commenting on his own experiences.

Tennis/Achievement: Surprisingly, Tennis of all things has a consistent and prominent role in Infinite Jest. Hal and Mario Incandenza spend a lot of the book at a prestigious tennis academy. James and Avril Incandenza both run the school. Wallace also played tennis competitively as a young man. Wallace often uses Tennis to comment on the nature of achievement. He comments on how talent and practice can only get you so far, and how being good early on will not translate into being great later in life. The idea of failed potential is explored in the book through various characters. So is the idea of unhappy success. The Incandenza family is technically affluent, but each suffer from various psychological issues.

Suicide: Suicide has a big presence in Infinite Jest. The catalyst for the “plot” is arguably the suicide of James Incandenza. A few characters try to commit suicide in the book. Wallace even has one of the character describe what it’s like to be suicidal, and bluntly it as states “I wasn’t trying to hurt myself, I was trying to kill myself.” Wallace struggled with mental health issues throughout his life, and ultimately hung himself in 2008.

Melancholy: The book explores melancholy, and a lot of the tone could be described as melancholic. One the surface, a lot of the characters are successful individuals. The Incandenza are an upper class family that run an prosperous academy for the rich and famous. Hal is a tennis protege, Orin is a professional football star, James is a celebrated director, Joelle is literary the most beautiful woman on Earth, etc. But each suffer from self-doubt and personal demons. They each try to escape their reality through their addictions, mostly narcotics. While the book can be silly at times, there is a prevailing sadness in the text.

Intellectualism: The ability to convey one’s intelligence is often explored in Infinite Jest. The very first section presents Hal as an incredibly intelligent boy, but his first words are gibberish. Mario is an introspective budding film maker, but his physical and mental deformities stifle his expression. Joelle articulates her knowledge through her radio show, and James through his films. The fear and struggles against the lose in translation between the mind and reality  is brought up a few times in the book.

Abuse: Abuse is used a few times to explain the some of the addict’s backgrounds. It’s also used to explain the behaviors of the two most prominent female characters: Avril and Joelle.

Repetition: The repetition of behavior is an important aspect of Infinite Jest. Hal and Mario are, in some ways, repeating the choices their father made. Mario with film making and Hal with tennis. Orin’s sex life is partially modeled after his mother’s infidelity. A few of the characters express a desire to circumvent the choices of their parents. The title “Infinite Jest” also comments on the nature of cycles.

Postmodernism: This isn’t really a theme, but it would be helpful to keep this in mind. Infinite Jest is considered to be an example of postmodernism literature. After a quick google search and Wiki read, it turns out that postmodernism is a rejection of modernism. Basically, it’s a rejection of more conventional structures. Which is why Infinite Jest is so mixed up in terms of narrative and focus. It’s also why we have a mix of tone, from super silly fart jokes to super technical chemistry explanations. Postmodernist seem to want to experiment with established concepts. Remember that some of the confusing bits of Infinite Jest were confusing for a reason (so feel free to skip them!).

How to best read it: Infinite Jest is not an easy read. The books doesn’t grab you like a typical narrative. It requires you to put in some effort. Not as much as some would lead you to believe. I would say that if you can read a textbook, you can read this. That being said, here’s my advice.

Pace Yourself- The book is a thousand pages long. You shouldn’t try to read it over the weekend. Since the text is non-linear and so jumbled, I would suggest pacing yourself. If have time, you could read one section every day. That would allow you to finish in about 2-3 months. If you want to read it within a specific time frame, than I would focus on the 30-20 page range a day.

Get a Guide Book- I found Infinite Jest unclear and confusing, so I bought a reading guide to better understand it. You can find a few on most digital book stores. I personally used Elegant Complexity by George Carlisle, which had summaries and thematic discussions for every section. I read it on Kindle since that was the cheaper choice. I kinda liked having a guide as I read the book, since it felt like I was taking a class/lecture on it. But it also meant that I needed to buy a book to understand a different book.

Get a Misc. Resource- The internet is full of blogs, websites, forums, and wikipedias about Infinite Jest. I used a podcast called “I Hate Infinite Jest” to reflect on the book after reading it. Treating Infinite Jest as a project actually makes reading it a little more enjoyable.

Skim Wisely- Lastly, I would argue that skimming is a powerful tool for getting through Infinite Jest. Some purist may argue that every word is as important at the last, maybe more important, but lets get real. The book is a slog at times, and some of the sections just don’t matter. Luckily, since this book is more about the experience than the narrative, you can get away with skimming some of the bits. Trust me, for every weird moment the Incandenza family has, or every revelation the AA meeting produces, you have 3 sections on the concept of ventilation systems. Basically, it’s a book, so read it whichever way you want. But don’t feel pressured into absorbing every minute detail.

My reaction while reading it: Infinite Jest was not an easy read. In fact, I would caution against tackling this book from a reader’s approach. This isn’t a book for people that like to read. This is a book for people that like books. There are three types of people that love Infinite Jest: litbros, book nerds, and sad people. Lit bros love it because it’s a well known literary challenge that they can brag about finishing. Hell, that’s why I started reading it. Book nerds like it because it’s a work that plays around and manipulates the medium. The fact that footnotes are not only included, but crucial to understanding the story is something book nerds eat up. It’s a book you have to treat like homework, and nerds love homework. Finally, sad people like it because it’s a book about what it’s like to be sad. Which is perfectly normal. The book has resonated with so many people because Wallace is able to describe what it’s like to be depressed, or addicted, or suicidal, or anxious. There were time when the book felt more autobiographical than fictional. It’s a very personal book. I think what Infinite Jest did really well was accurately showcasing what a mental process sounds like. Wallace’s genius as a writer was his ability to convert metacognition into words.

That being said, boy, would I not read this story again. This was hard, man. Not challenging, hard. Absalom, Absalom is challenging, Infinite Jest is needlessly difficult. A lot of sections aren’t really necessary. Wallace likes to use 5 pages to describe a 2 sentence thought. There’s also a lot of arbitrary description. It’s a novel written by an essayist, which explains a lot about the structure. A non-narrative story is fine, but this is just messy. The best parts are at the beginning, but it kinda peters out towards the middle. The book hasn’t aged well due to some of the racist and sexist language, especially because you can’t always discern the character’s voice from the authors voice. For someone who seemed to love Hamlet, Wallace appeared to have forgotten that “Brevity is the soul of wit.”

Life is too short  to not read something. But for me, this wasn’t the classic that I thought it would be. I wasn’t really blown away, nor has my perceptive changed all that much. Part of it may be that I’m not a white guy from a upper-middle class Eastern family. Or that I’m reading this after my 20’s. Or that the 90’s were several decades ago. I’m glad that I read it from an intellectual standpoint, but it wasn’t fun. Part of me really wants to believe that Infinite Jest was just this big practical joke on the literary world. Like, as a well regarded writer, Wallace chose to create an unwieldy book that he knew literary circles would claim to love, if just to save face. A piece of entertainment that would drive people mad with obsession. If anything, it get people to read more, which is always a good thing.

Personal Grade: C

Best Moment: I really liked the Joelle bits. Her dinner with the Incandeza family was particularly great.

Worst Moment: Anything to do with the design of something.