Infinite Bleh

Ugh. This was my latest long-form read project where I read only 2-5 pages a day of a notoriously long and difficult work. This allows me to read other works where I tackle more challenging reads. I started Infinite Jest in May of 2021. It is over 1,000 pages of garbage. I like David Foster Wallace's essays and talks etc. But this, his most famous work, I found a drudgery. 

It is obviously the work of a mad genius and maybe I'm just not smart enough to get it. I tried. This is, after all, considered one of the most important works of the late 20th century. It has sold over a million copies worldwide. My guess is hardly anyone finishes it. And I tell ya, as someone who did plow through it, it ain't worth it.

It begins nicely enough but soon bogs down in ridiculous minutiae...like spending dozens of pages describing an on-court tennis war game that simulates a world war. It's not as fun to read as it sounds. The book famously never resolves. I knew that going in but still it's frustrating.

This work hurt my head and not in a good way. Again, maybe I'm just not at that intellectual level to enjoy it. My friend Kurt in Chicago loves this book and will be ticked at my review. I, on the other hand, loathed it. Gen X blasphemy I know.

So since I began these long form (or long term) reads I've tackled Joyce's Ulysses, Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow and DFW's Infinite Jest. I enjoyed the Joyce and Pynchon projects even if I didn't understand everything that was going on. IJ?...bleh.

Next up...War and Peace by Tolstoy. This work is only 696 pages, a trifle compared to IJ. Plus, I've read Tolsoy before. Anna Karenina is a favorite of mine. So I'm hoping for a more enjoyable experience this go around.