Comments on: Infinite Summery – Week 5

By: Carol02

Carol02 — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:21:49 +0000

Not only was I in awe of the Boston AA section, with its “warts and all” cheesiness vrs. lifesaving truth, I kept thinking of how many people I know that I would love to share it with. As an alcohol & drug counselor, I, too, have familiarity with 12-Step programs and people in all stages of recovery; this section was brilliant!

Also, I confess the Eschaton section went right over my head like a launched bounceless-tennis ball.

By: Bohemian Bill

Bohemian Bill — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:23:37 +0000

Having just discovered this cool project you guys got going, and already having read IJ twice (first time in ‘97, second time a few years later), it is so much fun to read all the first-timers’ comments. Like Nick said, it makes you feel like you’re reading it for the first time.

In regards to this thread, though, I wanted to say that the first time I read the book, The Eschaton section went completely over my head. Maybe my brain misfired, maybe I was tired, who knows. The second time around it clicked big time and instantly became one of my favorite passages.

IJ is easily the greatest book I’ve ever read. Cliches are cliches for a reason, so when I say “it changed my life,” that’s exactly what I mean…it friggin’ changed my life! I’ve never looked at anything the same again. Sure, I’ve been inspired and had many art-induced life-altering experiences since then, but IJ is sort of the ‘rosetta stone’ cipher that has translated those experiences.

By: Doug Cherry

Doug Cherry — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:31:09 +0000

These endnotes are killing me. I’m loving this book – all of it, ETA, the broad slapstick scenes, the Nicholson-Baker-like hyper-specificity of physical descriptions, the gut-wrenching chronicle of suicidal depression by Kate Gompert, made all the more potent by the sense that it could have been written only by someone depressed enough to kill himself, all of it … except the endnotes. I read that Wallace said he used them to break up the flow (or “linearity” or something) of his writing, but why? Apart from the annoyance of continually being forced to flip to the end of the book, it’s the disturbing of Wallace’s brilliant prose rhythms I find off-putting. Am I alone on this?

By: josh

josh — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:06:54 +0000

oh wow. that’s odd. I ordered one of those ETA t-shirts a long time ago, but they didn’t process my order because I guess I forgot to tell them what to put on the back (because I didn’t really want a name on it because, well, that seemed too odd at the time).

during this re-read, I wished that someone would make a t-shirt with the ONAN logo, one of the laugh-out-loudiest parts of the first couple hundred pages.

By: Repat

Repat — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:52:08 +0000

I loved the AA section–love Gately and Gompert and all of it. Even the weird Raquel Welch thing. I also have some experience w/ AA, so maybe that’s me. And the Eschaton bits? Decidedly not for me.

By: Adam Stevens

Adam Stevens — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:23:54 +0000

“a. Don’t ask.

b. Ibid.”

From footnote 110 cracked me up, for some reason. Probably because I’ve been reading too many academic things with lots of references.

By: ec

ec — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:57:18 +0000

I think that may have been the idea Wallace had in mind.

By: Rabble

Rabble — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:32:25 +0000

I’m not going to lie, I found the AA section way too long and barely sufferable. Of course, I enjoyed the Wardine and yrstruly sections, so…

By: Brad Nelson

Brad Nelson — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:13:38 +0000

While reading the material designated for week 5, I wrote a post in my Tumblr on Infinite Jest's manifold influences on my own writing and, as a music writer, what possible music could reflect this book of endless mirrors.

By: Girl Detective

Girl Detective — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:01:12 +0000

I counted footnote 110 as just over 17 pages, which I found funny because I could swear people who’ve read it have told me it’s twenty or twenty-five. So I find it funny that you seem to be low-balling the number here.

I found the Eschaton section hard to read, and not as funny as I suspect it’s meant to be. As with everything though, I’ll wait to see how its significance works out in the context of the whole book. I enjoyed the section on Boston AA, but I’ve got some familiarity with 12 step programs that might make me biased for. What did other people think of that really long section?