Infinite Jest - A Review
January 31st 2010 04:09
January 30, 2010
Normally, this is a music blog. I hope you don't mind the digression.
I just finished reading David Foster Wallace’s epic novel Infinite Jest. This book is often cited as one of the (if not the) best written by someone of my generation (GenX, don’t you know). I wanted offer my review and miscellaneous comments regarding this work of staggering genius (to borrow a DFW phrase).
--- By the way, several spoilers for those who have not read IJ; you are warned ---
First off, it is a daunting task to actually read. Not just because of the length; not just because of the density. I found the first 1/3 to be mentally taxing because of all the little unexplained things. Things that will not get explained until later on in the novel. You get confused reading about the Concavity or the Year of the Trial Size Dove Bar or Eschaton or O.N.A.N. (the heavy use of acronyms is especially infuriating).
The next thing that strikes you is DFW’s language. On one hand, his grasp of vocabulary seems unparalleled in contemporary fiction. Often I found myself looking up very obscure words on dictionary.com. On the other hand, his grammar often comes across as juvenile. His use of the word “like” and phrases like “and so but” are those of high schoolers. Also, he seems to love repeating the same word in the same sentence. This technique was used often throughout. I assume these grammatical flourishes were intentional with the purpose of defining the narrator’s voice, but, nonetheless, it was kind of distracting at first. Especially when combined with the OED vocabulary.
I did love how is writing changed voice with each character. For example, when a scene with Marathe was being described, the vocabulary changed to one whose English skills were not strong. When the drug addict was highlighted, the words were frenetic, slang-filled, and paragraph-less. Brilliant and engrossing.
However, with that said, I have to admit that Infinite Jest is by far one of the best novels I have ever read – which is really kind of surprising, really. After all, what is this book even about? Youth tennis? Addiction recovery? The nature of entertainment? These are not subjects that usually place a piece of art into the upper echelons. The brilliance of this book comes not from these surface skims of its subject matter. No, it is brilliant because of how it presents all these little mysterious wrapped around interconnected (yet ordinary/recognizable) characters that seem to transcend their archetypes. There are all these subtle parallels between characters who face the same problems – just with different perspectives and extenuating circumstances (for example, addicts who neglect their lives for their Substance, viewers who neglect their lives for the samizdat, kids who neglect their lives in pursuit of athletic greatness, fathers who neglect their families for their obsessions). To see DFW weave these lives around these themes is absolutely fascinating.
The best art is the kind that allows the observer to participate (albeit passively) in the experience. Infinite Jest is no exception. There are so many little mysteries that do not get explained – that DFW leaves up to the reader’s imagination (or literary sleuthing skills) to devise answers. What happens to Hal? Why did JOI eliminate his own map? What on the Entertainment is so lethal? Who is Mario’s father? Were Gately’s fever dreams real or imagined (especially fascinating the dream of JOI as ghost)? What’s the deal with Avril? And many, many more.
But my favorite unsolved mystery is PGOAT Madame Psychosis: is she deformed? Or is she too beautiful? Or is she both? This is what I mean by parallels. The Concavity faces a similar mystery: is it a toxic wasteland full of deformed skulls? Or a lush paradise? Or both?
The thing that really makes these you scratch your head throughout is DFW’s use of the Unreliable Narrator literary technique. It seems that no one in the entire book can be counted on as reliable due to mental problems, substance problems, CIA double-cross, ulterior motives, ignorance, hear-say, etc. Not to mention all the conflicting stories that different characters tell about the same scenario. Weaving through this maze is challenging and fascinating at the same time.
DFW also confuses you with Too Much Information. Do you really need to know which pharmaceutical company copyrighted what drug under what name? There are so many character back-stories that it gets absurd. He throws a brand new back-story on page 967 (Barry Loach)! Twenty before the end of the novel! Do you need to know how many times the trainer wrapped taper around Hal’s ankle? DFW is the anti-Hemmingway in this regard. All this wealth of information can be infuriating, yes, but there is a lot of subtle brilliance in these details. JOI’s filmography in footnotes, for example, took me two or three reads to really grasp all the nuances.
DFW is also a clever literary prankster. Take this passage on page 16 (page 16!!): “I think of John N.R. Wayne, who would have won this year’s WhataBurger, standing watch in a mask as Donald Gately and I dig up my father’s head.” Seriously?!? He gives the most important sentence in the book on page 16! Before you know enough about any of those characters to pay attention?!? Wow. This sentence also opens a flood gate of unanswered questions: How do Hal & Gately meet? Why do they collaborate on this venture? Why did JW drop out of WhataBurger and why is he in a mask? What do they do next? My goodness.
I really, really enjoyed this novel. When the pieces start falling into place about 2/3 of the way through, it becomes impossible to put down. I highly recommend it.
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