Why should I read this book? Serious question. It's a massive

It's the Reddit of literary fiction

>>8634008
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_Jest#Critical_reception

>>8634008
>1,079 pages
It's like 3 small books, just get to it.

You can skim it and miss out on nothing

It's the /lit/ of literary fiction

>>8634008
>Why should I read this book?
its an overly deep look at addiction and "white privilege". its a good book for most white kids, but it is drawn out. its too post modern to enjoy

>>8634035
That's kind of what I'm worried about. I tend to dislike books that are unnecessarily wordy and lengthy, without much depth. Is this how Infinite Jest is?

To give an example of what I'm talking about, see Jane Eyre. Had to read it for school recently and there was just so much fluff and shit that could have been cut out without losing anything at all.

>>8634013
>>8634036

This really interests me could you elaborate or nah

Do you meaning that reading is a similar experience to reddit or that it carries many of the same themes or what?

>>8634008
1) It takes your full attention and a plan to actually finish it. Which in my case helped with disciplining myself to read for extended periods of time consistently.

2) I found the prose itself to be entertaining (sometimes infuriating).

3) The plot and themes involved are an interesting journey.

4) You get to show off. (Not a good reason for any respectable scholar, but for some its enticing)

>>8634008
Reading a book is not really a massive commitment.

>>8634040
>"white privledge"
I've never heard this about IJ.

>>8634035
>Skimming

Why even read anything? Just watch a movie

>>8634070
That's exactly how you read IJ you fucking dweeb

>>8634106
What makes you say that? I am genuinely interested in your reasoning behind it. If you got that idea from a DFW interview or a critique piece/review plz link

>>8634062
Is it engaging or does it require a tolerance for boredom/fluff?

File: Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall.jpg (3MB, 4000x2246px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 4000x2246px

>>8634008
>1,000 pages
>massive commitment

>>8634062
>IJ
>showing off
i have bad news

It's fun

>>8634008
>It's a massive commitment

As opposed to what? Spending hours shitposting on 4chan and jerking off?

>>8634165
I personally thought it was pretty engaging, obviously there were some sections that were slow, but it switched narratives pretty quickly so every read gets a bit of everything.

>>8634040
>overly deep look at addiction

Now I definitely won't read it. I fucking despise AA culture. Someone likes doing something a lot—how fascinating, tell me more about how you really, really like it and then tell me how you view and handle the periphery problems that occur.

Contemporary "classics," such as House of Leaves and others I won't mention, won't go away simply because they are original in form. It leaves little to be discussed in the end, except, "Have you read it?" "Yeah, I read it." "Wow!"

>>8634040
>white privilege
Only main character in a position of privilege is at least part Mexican, read better

>>8634165
Sometimes you want to put a bullet in your head when its a part you dont enjoy but no interaction goes on for more than ~25 pages, so its doable

read his short stories

its the same charm, just less of a hassle

>>8634348
There's nothing original in HoL

>>8634511
Read all his other shit and watch his interviews. Better experience desu famlia

>>8634628
This seems untrue

>>8634008
1000 pages isn't really a massive commitment...

I read fifty pages a day minimum with a full time job, but even if you're less crazy than I am this isn't something that will take you longer than a month to finish.

>>8634136

Infinite Jest the book is IJ the entertainment. It's a fucking rapid-fire sensory input into the brain that says a lot in glimmering fashion but never leaves an indelible print; it just compels you onward, further and further into its luminary nothing. Take the time to actually peel back the thought behind the language and you'll see there's not much there. It's bland entertainment bemoaning the addictive and compulsory force of bland entertainment. It's a good book, but not a great one. Wallace probably knew that when he wrote it and had to confront it fully when he was failing to make a worthy sequel. The Pale King sucked shit. Most of Wallace's writing sucks shit. But he's charismatic, and his charisma has the power to blind you to the fact that nothing of substance is being said.

>>8635151
It sums up 20th century avantgarde. It's basically the last experimental epic. Its a language monster about feelings and thoughts. That's it. If you don't like it, you probably don't like Ulysses either.

If you're asking /lit/ why you should read IJ, you probably just shouldn't. If you yourself consider it a massive commitment and don't have a burning desire to go and read it, you will suffer through it at best or just drop it midway.
Read something else, my man.

You shouldn't - why don't you read something of actual literary value instead? Have you read In Search of Lost Time? There's no reason you should prioritize a thousand pages of edgy gibberish written for the sole purpose of novelty (with no consideration for aesthetics) over a genuine masterpiece with style and meaning.