Infinite Jest & Me
This is decidedly off-topic, having nothing to do with climate change. But when I heard that thousands of people all over the world are reading my favorite novel of all time together this summer, how could I resist? And where better to post my thoughts on the subject than my own blog?
Infinite Summer (also to be found on Facebook and Twitter) bills itself as a guided ‘challenge’ to complete David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest in one summer. I couldn’t help but join in, upset as I was over David Foster Wallace’s recent death. (And as luck would have it, I’d recently come across a copy at a thrift store for $2.)[1]
I first encountered Infinite Jest in the spring of 2002 at a library when I was going through the typical high school Kurt Vonnegut phase. I’d already read most of his books and was getting a little sick of them. Not far from ‘Vonnegut, K.’ alphabetically (and hence physically, on the shelf) was ‘Wallace, D.F.’ and a 1000-page-thick bright orange spine[2] does nothing if not effectively catch the eye of the restless library patron. I picked it up and read the back. I don’t recall being intimidated by, or even taking note of, its size at this point.[3] I just knew immediately that I would love this book.
However, the logistics of getting it home by bicycle without a proper bag prevented me from checking it out that day, and I opted instead for Girl with Curious Hair (which I devoured and even remember reading parts of out loud to my somewhat-perplexed mother as she was cooking dinner one night.)
As soon as I finished Girl, I returned to the library better-equipped and checked out Infinite Jest.[4] I spent the summer reading it.
Why do I love Infinite Jest so much? I really can’t explain it. I detest sports, I’ve never been addicted (or even really recreationally used much of) anything, I generally gravitate towards the small and concise rather than the huge and expansive, etc. And yet there is something about Infinite Jest, something about almost every sentence contained therein, that I adore.
One of the Infinite Summer guest posters was saying how he relates to this or that character, and it struck me that I couldn’t pick a character I relate to more than others. I identify with them all, despite that I’ve never been in situations even remotely similar to most of the ones they find themselves in.
Maybe it’s that they’re all riddled with insecurities. Maybe it’s their so-self-aware-they’re-oblivious verbosity. Maybe it’s that they know they’re stuck in narratives too complex and disjointed to fully grasp. Maybe it’s just that they’re human.
When I read Infinite Jest the first time, I had no idea what was going on (I had only just graduated high school after all.) Like its characters, though, I instinctively knew that even if I could understand all the references and sub-sub-plots and allusions and so forth, I still wouldn’t know definitively what was going on. I believe that that is the point.
And but so. To a summer of low-carbon entertainment!
[1] My other copy never making the trip out to California, since I refused to lug books out that I’d already read, no matter how well loved they were…
[2] Or the hardcover’s spine might actually have been blue, I don’t remember.
[3] After all, as with women, the bigger the book, the more there is to love, right?
[4] The impracticality of getting through a 1000-page book by the time one has to return it to the library didn’t occur to me at the time, and so after I had renewed IJ the maximum amount of times and still hadn’t even reached the halfway point, I finally broke down and bought a paperback copy. Which I found was not as pleasant to read, as the hardcover version’s pages naturally stayed open when placed on a table or other such surface, whereas the paperback’s spine had to be creased (and then re-creased for the footnotes) pretty hard if you wanted it to stay put.
Eve said,
June 28, 2009 at 11:48 am
I’m 1/10 of the way into Infinite Jest for my second try, and now wonder what stopped me during my last attempt. As you mention, understanding what is going on seems beside the point. The enjoyment comes from letting it overwhelm you – with inane concepts, arcane language, and characters that keep you squeamishly sympathetic. Given the heft of the book, however, I’m not sure we can say it is truly low-carbon entertainment. If DFW had sustainability in mind he would, perhaps, have edited himself a bit.
basilbias said,
June 28, 2009 at 7:27 pm
i’m so glad you’re enjoying it this time around!
although hundreds of pages actually were cut from his first manuscript, you have a point: a lot of trees must have gone into the making of ij. however, reading a second-hand copy during daylight hours (or in compact flouorescent light) is still pretty low-carbon, especially when you consider the more carbon-intensive activities you may have otherwise pursued.
Lauren said,
July 2, 2009 at 8:18 pm
so is it your 3rd copy now? I thought you “gave” (as in I never returned…) your first one
Lauren said,
July 2, 2009 at 8:32 pm
or “gave me” that is… sorry I can’t write complete thoughts or comments.
additionally, that book is very special to me. i’m not much of a fiction reader and i usually immediately forget whatever i’ve just read but i remember that book so vividly. i agree about relating to all the characters. i think its because they are so carefully created anyway, read it! it’s long but it’s worth it! and it will give a whole new level of meaning to Lisa’s wonderful footnotes on this site.
basilbias said,
July 2, 2009 at 10:06 pm
you’re right, this is copy number three! it’s that good. and i love that you love it as much as i do. not many people would read a 1000 page book just because their friend recommended it…
Lauren said,
July 2, 2009 at 10:55 pm
i also had no idea he had died! i found his archived NYT obit and was almost crying as i read it (sitting at my desk at work…) it’s so sad! so now i’m actually going to buy (since i’m guessing they won’t have any of his work in the tiny Obihiro library’s even tinier English language section…) and read a book! can you recommend which one or two (as i seem to have a lot of free time as well as insomnia this summer…) i should get? the lobster one looks interesting. what do you think?
basilbias said,
July 3, 2009 at 5:04 pm
i was of course devastated when he died. the rolling stone article about the period leading up to his death was heart-wrenching. i tried to read some girl with curious hair right after i heard he’d died and couldn’t because i was crying too much.
yeah, consider the lobster is probably my favorite of his non-fiction. well, maybe that and a supposedly fun thing i’ll never do again. it’s so hard to choose! as far as fiction goes, girl with curious hair is definitely my second favorite (after infinite jest of course!)
and i just saw on wikipedia that they are publishing his unfinished last novel posthumously in 2010!