Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace BOOK REVIEW

In which Ryan reviews an uncommon book, the poster-child of the 1990's and postmodern novels, and expansive, maximalist, recursive labyrinth of lovely thoughts: David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest."
I honestly can't recommend this book enough. It's a commitment, sure, but that comes with BIG rewards.
If you've read it, or tried it, or want to read it, let me know below! I love meeting people who are reading it :)!!
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[@BrianPaick]

1:31 "50-80 hours" Wallace is so dense, I averaged maybe 12 pages per hour for IJ. Kudos if you can read it in just 50 hours, or even 80.

[@kaustubhdhawan7385]

Finally A Human!! 😭

[@jonahbauer6410]

After feeling this way as well I gave up on rereading section for understanding, I felt like you just had to keep reading and not question the confusion and eventually the book will address earlier confusions. not sure why, but some of it is definitely purposely confusing like the fact you don’t get an actual chronological subsidized timeline until like halfway through the book, or you don’t get a character background until the last 10 pages (Barry loach). I think maybe the reason the book is intentionally confusing is that it’s from so many perspectives that if he made it super clear cut to understand we would lose all the different perspectives. I think most of the book is also narrated by JAmes Incandenza

[@andrew_owens7680]

I'm expecting it'll take me 100 or more. But I'm up for the challenge.

[@nobodyburgen4594]

The "Wardeen" section at the beginning fucking broke me. I spent an hour rereading his broken AAVE trying to understand who these characters were and what was going on.

[@LeafbyLeaf]

Phenomenal review of an important book! I love that you referred to the book establishing itself as a flash point in your life ("the summer I read IJ"), because that's exactly what happened to me. It tends to stake itself in the ground. I wrestled with this book for almost a month, dutifully reading all the footnotes (and the footnotes' footnotes) and I came out transformed on the other side. Like your Gravity's Rainbow video, you've made me fancy another go at this one!

[@emmasorckoff8150]

I finished this last night. I started in August and it's taken me until last night to get through it. But it was hugely rewarding. I felt like I grew up reading this book. Wallace predicted so much about our current reality, it's eerie and he does it with hilarious hyperbole. I think it's remarkable that he managed to literally create his own "Samizdat" via this book, IE if you tend to overintellectualize things, you will find this story captivating to the point that you won't be able to curb your obsession. The fact that the story's major resolution and best plot points are only alluded to and occur outside of the actual text (for the most part) really make this book's story brilliant. It's like the "shards" you mention give us the tools to imply a sort of true story that occurs in between the end of November in YDAU and November YOG. I have the howling fantods.

[@RyanRabid]

"I felt like I grew up reading this book." Ahhh, I love this comment, and I particularly love that line, because it matches my experience so exactly. Thanks for the wonderful comment and I'm happy you had such an important experience with the book

[@jalves6494]

I just started it and have read about 30 pages I must say it is a god damn challenge to get through but it's just so fucking interesting I can't stop reading even though it somewhat hurts my head , a entire story of the addiction to marijuana was like a short story within the story that just blew my mind I couldn't believe it

[@muratisik6956]

Did you finish it by now?

[@jdwilliams7]

Darn. I read it twice but don't remember that story.

[@jeremyjohnson5678]

@@jdwilliams7 That's some of the best pieces. The thought dump Wallace goes through of the guy addicted to marijuana is amazing.

[@StinFriggins]

​@@jdwilliams7 it's the scene just after Hal's interview in the first chapter. Erdedy's "Where was the woman that said she'd come?" bit

[@EdwardLorn]

I've read many reviews of this book and have spoken with dozens of people who have read it and no one, until now, has made me want to read it. You will be the reason I finally pick this one up. If I enjoy, thanks for that.

[@Elphie204]

Just happened upon this review of my favorite book ever. I agree with sooo much of what you said, the book is very polarizing but if you're one of the ones who get it then it's really powerful. And if you're in recovery even more so.

[@davidnally]

I just finished the book this morning and I have to say that the further I got into the book, the more and more less I understood it

[@odytimesthree]

You've sold it for me, my dude. I'm gonna give it a second try!!!

[@muratisik6956]

Did you succeed in your second try?

[@andrewantes1162]

Initially I was skeptical about KZbin book reviewers and but so I gave it a chance and I think you did exceptionally well, sir.

[@artiesolomon3292]

One of the best book reviews I have ever read or heard.

[@josejimenezgutierrez5531]

Does the title of Infinite Jest have any relation to the Hamlet soliloquy?

[@natalie9488]

Jose J yes

[@haleywilson520]

"The summer that I read Infinite Jest." Yes!

[@Wolverine3660]

Nice to see your race number from the Mt. SAC Relays!!!!! From a former track athlete at a Big-10 Univ. Good job, Ryan.

[@anguishingquark]

Go blue

[@The3ART3]

You nailed it, Ryan. Great review. You kept it short. A wise move. This is a book that could fill hours of review, which might confuse rather than illuminate. Thanks.

[@duewhit310]

I've read some of his essays and i was hoping he would shed some light on David Lynch but that's like asking for a miracle just like asking Lynch to do anything more than film his dreams w/o developing anything within them is a miracle. Man I'll give it a start and see if I'm up for it. If I'm not up for it NOW I'll concede that.

[@TheBookchemist]

Brilliant review, really :) one point I've been thinking about it since quite a while: as you said in the end, this book makes you plunge straight into it and becomes very, very addictive after a while. One thing I have always admired of it is that in many ways it mirrors the movie, Infinite Jest, in that you're compelled to read it (/watch it) over and over again, starting anew as soon as you've finished it. And I'm a sucker for that kind of meta stuff, but my question is: is this really a good thing? If Infinite Jest (movie) represents something terrible and dreadful, isn't the fact that the book mirrors it... kinda hypocritical? I'm not sure I'm making myself clear ;)

[@RyanRabid]

The_Bookchemist No I think you're about as clear as possible! I had that thought too, and got kind of disturbed by it... but I think there's a slight difference that makes all the difference, if that makes sense. The book requires our active participation to parse out a story, a plot, a meaning, and even our active flipping back and forth. The movie, it seems, definitely doesn't. Then there's the whole question of meta-ness: if the book references it's own addictive problem, does that make it potentially better than an addictive movie that doesn't mention it?? (Man it can be hard to talk about these things sometimes.) Anywho, thanks SO much for the encouragement and thoughts :)!

[@TheBookchemist]

I see your point ;) you're welcome by the way, had I waited a few weeks to film my Booktube Reccommendations video I would've definitely put your channel in it! It will surely be in the next one ;)

[@RyanRabid]

The_Bookchemist haha Thank you! (It appears I'm simply blowing up your comments today.) I'm SO very excited to start making more review videos, I feel like I've got so much to put out there! Anywho, much love

[@uog293]

It's why campy horror movies are better than serious ones- the campy ones call themselves out. The book's hypocrisy goes away because it acknowledges it forthrightly

[@tjn0110]

Given the release date, the prediction of the FaceTime/Insta/Snap filters, and how they are used, on the teleputer video chat is very impressive.

[@herrklamm1454]

Did you dress up as the author just for this video? 😂

[@RyanRabid]

+Mark Perrie that's a good guess... but check out the other videos and you'll see that bandanas are just my thing :) Ya know, I don't think DFW would have been to big a proponent of skinny jeans either... haha! Thanks for the comment :)

[@blueisnotgreen7258]

Is this a bad book to get into for the first book since like 15 or 20 years ago when I was in high school / college?

[@timothymcaleer6480]

@@blueisnotgreen7258 Not at all.

[@herrklamm1454]

ForTheLoveOfRyan going to get on to it soon. Just finished Ulysses.

[@levitybooks3952]

I was thinking the same, but then I was like, would DFW wear a pink one?

[@whisperthafreak7101]

After the first hundred pages I can understand much of the book's charm. As someone who has enjoyed listening to hours of Wallace's interviews and speeches and read a fair amount of his non-fiction, one can certainly see some of the important themes which he discussed quite eloquently also swimming around within the pages of Infinite Jest, which makes it a unique work, indeed. That being said, I can't help but find myself slowly forming the notion that the writing itself, if not the ideas discussed and the willingness to discuss them, has been dramatically over-stated. Put simply, Infinite Jest appears sloppily written in ways both obvious and subtle. This may seem odd considering the unbelievable specificity and attention to certain details littered throughout. The use of prose style and word choice (how many times do we need to hear the word 'prandial' used by different characters? There are countless other examples) both operate more often than not to discourage the reader from continuing to read rather than effectively conveying meaning in a way which might reflect a respect for the reader's limited time and energy. Then we have the perspective slips; sometimes we're in First person, as in the opening section with Hal and the college administrators. Often the narration will shift to a close third person (later in chapter one) and then sometimes we're in an omniscient perspective, and then sometimes we'll float into a third-person omniscient (slightly different than the aforementioned, which makes it more confusing) the change in perspective occurring whenever it's convenient to the need of the moment. To my mind, this reflects a specific choice on the part of DFW, rather than an unintentional mistake, but that doesn't make it any less of a problem for the reader. Nor does the decision reflect a mastery in the craft; it just seems sloppy. Speaking of respect for the reader, the aesthetic appearance of the words on the page themselves is a problem. I can't fathom the level of entitlement to the reader's time and energy necessary to look at a 6000 word paragraph i had just written without immediately arriving at the conclusion that it could be improved by a little reduction. I'm visualizing what a 6000 word paragraph would look like on a screen and it baffles me. Im referring 'Erdedy's' section in the second chapter, 15 pages which are subdivided into 3 just paragraphs, each measuring in at approximately 6000 words. For those unfamiliar with the relative length in word count, that's three to four times the length of an average chapter found in just about any genre of fiction. And the section, while interesting, wasn't that interesting. A grown man addicted to marijuana afraid to admit his addiction, which forces him into an anti-social isolation and a near-total objectification of everyone else around him is certainly a compelling subject for fiction; however, I think it's safe to say this could have been conveyed with greater efficiency. Clearly DFW wasn't a believer in Einstein's notion that true mastery over a subject is reflected in one's ability to communicate the aforementioned in the simplest possible terms. Moving along to the Year of the Trial sized Dove Bar and the remarkably offensive manner in which he characterizes his only African American character in the novel thus far. This section reads as if it were written by someone who hasn't socialized with people of color or anyone outside of his own white bourgeois existance. And we see a similarly dehumanized characterization in other members of the under class included in the novel, such as the pot dealer, and those around him. I could go on, but I should probably get back to finishing the book.

[@LivingInTheKaliYogurt]

The guru that lives off the sweat of the tennis players after they work out at the gym is pretty great.

[@michaelpisciarino5348]

0:38 A Polarizing Read 1:32 A Big Book to slog through 2:00 DFW's Magnum Opus 2:20 Plot 3:09 Unions, Wheel Chair Assassins 3:40 Shards 4:29 Endnotes 5:29 Recursive Reading NETFLIX (Formulaic Plot Structure) 6:14 An Itch. Screaming Your Truest Self To The Stars. Distractions/Default Setting

[@dylanjordan4747]

Michael Pisciarino its a 9 minute video, I don’t think this was necessary

[@michellecostley7878]

This is one of the novels I cannot get through like Gravity's Rainbow. I give any book up to page 44. Do not know why that is the page but that is it. I will try IJ again this summer.

[@tears_of_heck]

you are so dead on about this book. A++ review. This book changed my life. more than halfway through my second read. READ IT AGAIN. AND AGAIN. i love you. Also have you read The Pale King yet?

[@RyanRabid]

+Donald Clark The friend who I read Infinite Jest with just started it again.. I've made myself promise that I'll read The Pale King before I restart IJ :) thanks SO MUCH for your comment, seriously. It's comments like this that keep me making book reviews on the channel.

[@Spudcore]

DFW's use of extensive endnotes that are integral to the narrative of the book, seems to me a deliberate way of interrupting the reader's immersion in the story, in order to keep them in the real world rather than getting lost in the world of the novel. It is the literary equivalent of Brechtian alienation, drawing attention to the artificiality of the work and forcing the viewer to take an analytical view, engaging with the story more on an intellectual level than an emotional one, and hopefully causing them to reflect on the ideas presented and how they relate to the real world.

[@beyondz55]

Totally. Thats why it's completely pretentious lol.

[@Spudcore]

@@beyondz55 Haha, well yeah.

[@robderiche]

I'm glad people find delight in this book, though it's not for me. For dense discursive tomes generated by fevered minds, Celine is the one for me.

[@CyrusRogan]

I only read 1/4 of it. It had a lot of marvelously written pages, but also a lot of unnecesary spam. Its like a delicious food with a deliberately put horrible sauce.

[@IndependentThought]

I just bought this book but have been staring at it aimlessly not sure if I was ready to take it down. I kept seeking out reviews to understand what it was about but none ever made too much sense to me. Finally I found yours and it actually gave a sypnosis I understood and an incentive to read it besides, "its amazing!" Thanks for the great review, did you watch the movie recently about David Foster Wallace?

[@RyanRabid]

+Independent Thought Thank you SO much for the comment -- it's comments like that that fuel me to keep making new videos and finding new ways to talk about books. Here's to hoping you tackle the Jest :) let me know with some comments if you do! And regarding the movie, I haven't been able to locate it anywhere near me. Problems of living in the middle of nowhere, I guess. Have you???

[@IndependentThought]

Yeah the movie was fantastic though I've heard some say they portrayed Wallace as a hero when in reality he was very flawed. Got a few more books to read before Jest but hope to tackle it all before the end of September

[@JCloyd-ys1fm]

This review gives me the courage to go on into Infinite Jest. Thank you.

[@securityscorpion8687]

"....& I'm not sure this book is 'spoilable' anyways."🤣👍🏼

[@katlamb4606]

I'll read it this summer. Maybe it'll be the first real committment I don't chicken out of.

[@infectedmethod]

I don't read. I watched the movie The End of the Tour - which is an account of an interviewer from Rolling Stone spending a week with David Foster Wallace in 1996. I came here to say thank you for this video. Do you think there will ever be some sort of Film or TV Miniseries Adaptation of this book?

[@LucaMannai]

thank you, have a nice day

[@alexbitca]

This channel is sooo underrated... Great reviews, keep 'em coming. Thanks!

[@RyanRabid]

thanks for such a nice comment :)

[@Earbly]

When I read the passage that literally, to a scary degree of accuracy, predicts Netflix, I had to put the book down for a while after looking at the front page to see what year it was published.. It's not one of those "predictions" where it somewhat predicts something after some mental gymnastics and a little leeway, I mean it's so exact in it's description of it, it kind makes you feel a little eerie and think "How did this man perceive the world " Also the predictions of increasing quality of various and highly effective distractions. The increase in quality of television, nowadays you have Breaking Bad, The Wire, House of Cards etc... These are shows that once you are "into" them, you do things like "binge-watch" them. Something that funnily enough is similar in execution to drug binges. And speaking of increase in the quality of distractions, the current opiod/painkiller problem, whose major player is fentanyl. An opiod that is many, many times stronger than heroin. This increase in quality has been proportional to increase in use. As far as I've read, heroin/fentanyl/painkiller usage is much more common in high schools now than it was 10 years ago, it was very unheard of in my days of high school. It was there, just pretty rare. Love him or hate him, it's in my mind impossible to deny the man's intellect was huge.

[@shaunjones7918]

Are you really young or something? Everybody predicted netflix when we started using the internet it was an obvious conclusion, it was more about who is going to do it first etc.

[@SNOZ562]

@@shaunjones7918 Ahhh the "I could've done that" guy. Well, why didn't you? And why didn't anyone else? I'd love to see your reaction in a Modern Art Gallery.

[@timwilson8913]

Great review!

[@Teeebirdk]

great review!!

[@isaaczurich9272]

For people who are looking for an entrypoint to his work, I highly recommend A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never So Again.

[@fiorellavasi4594]

"methaphorical buzzing sound at the back of your conscience telling you that nothing is allright, you are not allright and the world is not allright and be should running around screaming our truest selves to the stars and seeking other people in this fast darkness"

[@DarkAngelEU]

Is this book fun to read? I'm asking because I know David Foster Wallace wrote alot of "essays" and I find them kinda entertaining, but not as entertaining that I would read a 1000+ page romance from him.

[@beyondz55]

Nope, not fun. I had more fun reading Foucaults Pendulum lol

[@chrisramirez9696]

awesome video ! I'm a little over 300 pages in and the book is definitely as rewarding as it challenging!

[@RyanRabid]

+Chris Ramirez That's exciting to hear! Good luck with the rest of it and let me know when you finish it! I'd love to hear what you think!

[@estherpyle2566]

Hopefully be reading this with infinite winter group at the end of jan! Bring it!!

[@RyanRabid]

+Reading Around good luck!! Have fun! :)

[@PrestonTaylorStone]

ForTheLoveofRyan was chosen over ForRyanOutLoud?

[@hwiese3448]

can't tell if the bandana is I R O N I C

[@memlbean]

just started reading this for the 5th attempt. as in ive tried 5 times to begin and have started over and over again because it just wasn't the time for me i guess. but this summer is time. I've gotten about 40 pages far, never gotten this far before. im so extremely intimidated but i know i need to read it.

[@RyanRabid]

YOU'VE GOT THIS! just keep swimming :) and if you ever wanna talk about it come find me on twitter! I love to talk IJ!

[@Ykpaina988]

There are many great ways to read this book. For the love of solipsism is 1

[@Ykpaina988]

I've started and stopped and reread at least a dozen times every summer since college and it always feels like I'm doing heavy essential work for sanity

[@tA_aT287]

Takes alot of time to read, but I think it is probably the best 21 century literature out there.

[@julianmirano5001]

Way to describe the plot. Love your descriptions. It is revolving around IJ. And so are we :) I would say it is 3 plots: ETA, Halfway House, and Desert in Tucson, AZ. Shards is a great word. It is definitely the most explored novel. 2666, though, man... I think the footnotes add another voice. It's like a parenthetical, but a little more creative. But i love how you say it makes you a participant; thereby; fighting entertainment culture. Fucking up Freytag's Pyramid for sure. Jumps around in time. I love Hal's timeline, that we see him at the end, first, and then he leaves us with Hal starting to go crazy :( Gately's timeline was incredible, too. Love the backstory when he is shot and unconscious (kind of). SCREAM OUR TRUEST SELVES TO THE STARS AND SEEKING OTHER PEOPLE IN THIS VAST DARKNESS. Dude don't underplay that amazing sentiment. Beautiful. Itch a la White Noise To get over the itch you must accept the cliche and drop the irony!

[@jartonponed8330]

Who is reading this behemoth right now?

[@leveechan]

why should I read infinite jest when I already reread and think about one piece already?

[@michellee6812]

Thank you ☀️

[@bighardbooks770]

Thx for this ... Im a Joycean and have annotated the Wake (my copy, I mean) and Ive been putting it off, but ... IMA have to read IJ now, for sure.

[@user-mf1rz9mn3l]

if i'm not a native English speaker, would you recommend I read it? or will it be too difficult?

[@kate9341]

Great review, thank you

[@dantheman1624]

I believe “the woman who lost her soul” as well as “harlots ghost” rise above ...mainly for the use of historical events interwoven throughout ...

[@DirectionlessStudent]

Can't say I agree with you 100% on the theme (or even the mechanics), but a solid, brief review -- your take is as valid as anyone else's. I will say that I am not in either binary camp on IJ -- I neither love it, nor loathe it. As someone who has slogged his way through a lot of books I felt were "capital I important" works of literature, I put this in that group. It's amazing, and impressive, and ground-breaking, and of course important; but it's often a slog. Part of this is due to the footnotes (which DFW did on purpose in order to break our comfort in plowing mindlessly through the narrative); part of it is due to the endless run-on sentences which digress in ways previously thought unimaginable and can be difficult to follow. :D At times it is literally "laugh out loud" funny and enjoyable, but overall the tenor is incredibly sad and depressing (IMO). I would read it again, but I have to be prepared with a lot of time and be in the right frame of mind. Enjoyed hearing your take!

[@melissaholton5161]

Rewatched this and also sent it to a friend. So good. I wish you were in my book club and we could force everyone to read IJ with us. :)

[@RyanRabid]

+Melissa Holton aww thank you :) I'm already counting down until I get to read it again!

[@josephblythe4281]

Johnny Gentle is the President in Alan Moore's Tempest: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, 2010.

[@josephblythe4281]

And alluded to as Trump parody in his attacks on "24"''s President Palmer, Gentle demanding to see Palmer's birth certificate, accusing him of being a "melanistic Treen" from Venus, an allusion to 2000 AD/Dan Dare alien race, Mekon. Later threatening annexation of Canada for Terrance and Phillip's television lampoons on Gentle.

[@Logicalmaximum]

1:00 omg

[@chelsie2671]

I'm starting this book today! Have you read House of Leaves?

[@RyanRabid]

I have not, though I might this summer!

[@marlona3543]

You should. It seems to be both very similar to Infinite Jest, and unlike it at all. I loved House of Leaves. Thanks to your review, I'm going to read Jest.

[@RyanRabid]

that's what I love to hear :)

[@doughtyluke]

6/3 for House of Leaves

[@RyanRabid]

Luke Doughty Doughty you've read HoL??? Why haven't we talked about this? I feel an email coming soon.

[@shepherdsoutcry1380]

The problem is that the book isn’t infinite.

[@metamoves144]

Sounds like a good read thanks for putting me on. Will check it out. Subscribed!

[@heidegger101]

great review

[@SweetWater12]

I'm giving this book another go. Wish me luck!

[@sugeeban5121]

great one... i am going to pick it up soon..

[@RyanRabid]

+Sugeeban Sundar let me know what you think if you do :)

[@PringlesOriginal445]

Bought it because of this review! Will read it this summer :-)

[@RyanRabid]

+Manvir J I love to hear that :)

[@PringlesOriginal445]

+ForTheLoveOfRyan Can't wait! Also your inability to actually conclude what it about has intrigued me greatly... :-) Also I'm still deeply confused! XD

[@Kelpy]

this book Infinite Jest is just a lot of Babel, someone just babbling into the microphone and somebody else, somebody else typing it up, though Perhaps it is interesting because it is quite evident that there is a method to the madness, to the Babel, I am going to try the hardcover Edition, I'm hoping it has larger type, I have a paperback printed in Great Britain, and I want to find out what ultimately happens to all the Cockroaches trapped under the mayonnaise jars on the floor of the bathroom.

[@6daysago167]

D.F.W must of been heavily influenced by Kurt Vonnegut

[@badtaste311]

Read "Valis" by Philip K Dick.

[@mbw6785]

"... Feel a slight bit of regret every time it comes up in conversation." - Lmao This is literally the first time time it has come up in conversation, thanks

[@oliviamaynard9372]

I think transition could have saved her. That itch. It's just dysphoria.

[@yungyosef]

I love Ryan's enthusiasm.

[@SchrodingersCat8813]

Not being funny...my opinion is in the middle. Dont love or hate it, its...ok. I get the points he was trying to make, I get what he was trying to do and say, and I think (think) I realized why he wrote the book the way he did...to simulate the crushing and never ending nature of depression, and the effort that life needs. Least that what's I think ha also he was right. The United state thing was basically playing off NAFTA but in his future we have a major environmental disaster, years being named by corporations, he nailed it. His America is a numb America. Its stake and formulaic. In an interview he said in a world like this people need a voice something different anything. That well turn to even fascism. This was years ago yet that's what's happening right now....

[@filpnsweet]

Hey great review I am going to buy this book! Do you live in Indiana too or are you just a fan of c+ average basketball team? Lol jk..

[@RyanRabid]

+James medina i did live in indiana :) but no longer. and HEY don't go hating on the team I devoted my youth to ;)

[@filpnsweet]

Hey man i live like five minutes south of IU! I love your channel its super cool to see a hoosier youtube and i saw the video of you moving to california thats my plan for the future.

[@kevaughncampbell7343]

I'm going to read it

[@lincolnd0]

did you read it

[@retrobluemusic]

i love the book, its dark af and satrical af the transitions dont make sense and the words are complex, i got lost a bunch of times

[@christianjimenezkanahuaty1996]

i love your passion and yes, to david foster wallace too, sus ensayos son también increíblemente buenos, es realmente un escritor fuera de serie.

[@tarico4436]

Four minutes in and you showed your true colors: you spoke of Tartt as if. I read Tartt's "The Secret History" and found so many errors I actually wrote her publishing company. And got a smarmy condescending response. I saw a review of people's fav Pulitzer prize winners recently, and Tartt's yellow bird book was the only one that had negative comments about it, and there were several. You are yet another reviewer who does not read the same way I read. I love "Consider The Lobster" by DFW, but after two hundred pages of Infinite Jest I had to put it down. DFW may have been a great writer and I am still trying to read his other works, but IJ is overrated. Years after I came to these convictions re IJ I heard Russell Brand say he tried IJ and couldn't do it either, and if you've ever listened to RB you have to admit he's fairly or extremely intelligent. Those on the far right might not agree with me about Brand, but they're only against Brand because of politics.

[@davego2160]

If you only read 200 pages, you cannot say it's over rated. Because you haven't taken it in whole. And, Russell brand, although kind of funny has nothing to say either if he didn't finish it, so you're both out of place.

[@The.woman.in.the.high.castle]

can someone please explain to me what the eff happened at the end? Haha. such a noob over here

[@davego2160]

Elise Horton the book ends.

[@Cuckold_Cockles]

"its a tough decision" spot on why i'm here....want to get it, want to read it. but I'm not at all certain if I'll ever pick it up, or finish if I do, or even like it if I finish it.

[@JeyLadooche]

Amazing F***ing book great review

[@rodionraskolnikov5948]

Ricœursive

[@RyanRabid]

+Rodion Raskolnikov indeed!

[@d-5037]

I misread that sign behind you as AYN RAND. So for a second you lost my respect 😂

[@bmoneybby]

Crazy, I did the same. Weird brains

[@tomsalati1027]

Oh hei Mr. Plinket

[@CommonUnity]

Cool bandanaI see what u did there ;)

[@jamesbrowning7258]

Nice channel, but did you rip off the opening track from RLM? Come on man, be a little more original

[@RyanRabid]

+James Browning I'm not sure who/what RLM is, but the music is a stock, royalty-free track from iMovie that many people here on KZbin use and no one has ownership of. Thanks for checking out the channel, though :)

[@jamesbrowning7258]

They do movie reviews and use the same track as the intro to their reviews. Just a funny coincidence I guess

[@fashizzlebadizzle6552]

Hack frauds

[@ninjanoah99]

Reading it now. It's amazing!

[@RyanRabid]

hope you're enjoying it :)

[@JohnnyRecently]

One of my top 20 favorite books ever. Rewarding read. Circular.

[@reah7213]

So are you wearing that headband bc you are a dfw groupy wannabe or nah?

[@The.woman.in.the.high.castle]

could someone please direct message me so I can ask some questions about what the heck is going on haha

[@RyanRabid]

I've got a twitter if you wanna ask me over there! (@ftloryan) :)

[@scottkarge]

Nice hair bring it back

[@zaintariq44]

Well lord of the rings is equally difficult for a lot of beginners. It is about 1000 pages long with almost 150 pages of six appendices

[@lxmzhg]

The book is a total waste of time... full of idle talk. If you like to waste your time, then this is the ideal book for you to read.

[@johndee3301]

This book sucks. You don't have to read it to understand it. According to Wallace himself, it's about the "reason we are sad", and his thesis is that American life at the end of the 20th century has lost meaning and become an endless parade of hedonistic, worthless experiences. It's a monumental joke meant to make you ask yourself, "what the hell am I doing?". He called it the "tyranny or irony". How when you're so hip and cynical nothing matters. Basically he was a hyper-intelectual spoiled child. When I read it at first, I didn't get it. Then I listened to Jordan Peterson's critique of "post moderninsm". Wallace called himself a post modern writer, and not like that was a good thing. That's his whole point, the loss of meaning sucks. Wallace said you "have to worship. But you worship success or the body at your own peril." Wallace never understood the solution to his problem, which is a revesrion to our archiac values and an acceptance of resonsibility. He remained forever alienated, and it eventually killed him.

[@AustinDunham95]

John Dee *watched end of the tour and listens to this is water once*

[@johndee3301]

What does that mean? Either Wallace is James Joyce reincarnated or this particular book is what it says it is on the cover: a joke. It will remain a fetish for people who resonate with Wallace personally. That is, people who need to sound smart in front dumb people as a means of acquiring self esteem (something Wallace admitted to). I'm not bashing him. I think I've read everything he published. This particular book you should just read the jacket and put it back.

[@jeffgraham2990]

Maybe Wallace just needed to crack a joke every now and then

[@crutonkid]

Im super interested in reading this book! I've heard so much praise about it. I am 19 years old and I'm a book newbie pretty much. I've read a total of 5 books since i started a few months ago. i wouldn't say I'm a bad reader, but how hard is this book? would it all just completely fly over my head? thanks

[@Earbly]

Despite it's huge girth, all in all, it isn't a hard book to read, page to page. His use of tricky or uncommon/complex words isn't that frequent. One tricky thing is he creates a lot of acronyms and names for organizations that can be weird and confusing. The biggest challenge is the sheer length, and the sometimes ridiculously long footnotes (like 10 pages long, and those are Infinite Jest pages, which are themselves big). I'd say go for it. Some people say it doesn't get really good till aout 150-200 pages in, idk. I'm like halfway through, on a little break from it. Out of curiosity, what are the other books you've read?

[@crutonkid]

+Drew - Norwegian wood, by: murakami -the English Patient, by: Ondaatje -The Great Gatsby, by: Fitzgerald - To Kill A Mockingbird, by: lee And I am currently reading Inherent Vice, by: Pynchon. None of these books are particularly long.. I think the longest is inherent vice and it only stands at 356 I believe, also your halfway through? How do you like it so far?

[@HardyJap]

+Drew I think the book is riddled with extremely difficult words and phrases a lot of which are not listed in the Kindle dictionary (which is an Oxford dictionary) There is heavy use of acronyms, redundant and of course complex specifics for instance the architectural structure of a tennis academy. I like to understand every sentence which is quite hard to commit to in this book. So, I'll say you're wrong, this is a difficult book. or maybe I'm not as intelligent as I thought.

[@rationalactor]

He coins new words too

[@TheHappiestGoth]

I’m like 300 pages in and it’s definitely a lot of work and I’m NOT a strong reader so it’s especially hard for me. But what keeps me going is that buried in the lengthy, confusing dialogue are these really simple lines that kind of hurt my heart and stop me in my tracks. Like when Katherine tells the doctor “I just didn’t want to play anymore is all.” It’s such a simple line but the simple bits keep grabbing my attention and I’m sort of falling in love with the book so far.

[@markgnarz5399]

When you get to the end, remember this: It was meant to be grind of a read and mental illness. Also check out the author's commencement speech, uploaded on KZbin as well.

[@Skibbityboo0580]

It wasn't worth it...was it?

[@camaples]

Great review!

[@MarianaPz14]

I'm obsessed with this book SO much, the only bad thing about it is that now I find it hard to read things that are NOT by DFW.

[@ftlbaby]

The Crying of Lot 49

[@richardravenclaw318]

this book is perfect for those who liked all the childish crap in hitchers guide to galaxy. not one reader i know gives a shit about DFW. with so many great books to read why would anyone waste their limited time with this solipsistic drivel? a mystery.

[@beyondz55]

Totally agree. I just tried reading it again and it's so overrated. It's not terrible, no. He's a gifted writer. But the book itself is objectively overrated.

[@thisisyrrobotfriend]

he also predicts FaceTime! It's insane how well he was able to predict the advances of technology and consumer culture and how it can spiral out of control and impact us. I just finished this and it's definitely the most work I've put into a book and the most I've gotten out of one. great review.

[@RyanRabid]

+yrrobotfriend Thanks for the compliment, but also I'm soooooo happy that was your experience! I know it isn't for everyone but I think the people who are affected are affected drastically. Anywho, thanks :)

[@thisisyrrobotfriend]

you're welcome, glad to have found your channel.

[@Ykpaina988]

He predicted facetime Skype g.chat NETFLIX and of course well err the Tennis channel? Yes he was a prophet for modern times

[@Earbly]

Not only did he predict face time, he predicted it's rise and downfall because as he put it, everyone would miss the little personal things you can do on a normal phone, like biting your nails etc... where as face time you always have to be alert. Smart guy.

[@Ykpaina988]

What if all the inventors of these technologies just ripped David Foster Wallace off and created what he wrote? EXPLOSION

[@Ykpaina988]

Review the PALE KING Id like to see how many pages of Tax information people stick around for

[@The3ART3]

Read it. Wish there had been more. And normally I hate tax information.

[@jhljhl6964]

I've the first 320 pages and can't get into it. Just how many times can one read " Year of the Dependent Undergarment"?

[@lukegraf9365]

I had the same experience but I put it down at 250.

[@jonahbauer6410]

Depend adult undergarment

[@mangstadt1]

I'll have to give it another try some day. After 132 or so pages (same edition you show here) and another obnoxious YEAR OF THE DEPEND ADULT UNDERGARMENT, I said to myself, Esto no es para mí, This ain't for me. So yeah, knowing that I've managed to read through other great classics that are considered difficult or virtually unreadable, I should be able to tackle this one some day.