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Cover of Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Infinite Jest

David Foster Wallace

  • 1104 pages · about 18 hours
  • First published 1996
  • 24 editions
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1 About this book

A gargantuan, mind-altering comedy about the Pursuit of Happiness in America Set in an addicts' halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwed-up family to come along in recent fiction, Infinite Jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives; about how our desire for entertainment affects our need to connect with other people; and about what the pleasures we choose say about who we are.

Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, Infinite Jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. It is an exuberant, uniquely American exploration of the passions that make us human - and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do.

Good for readers who want: humor, a coming-of-age story, friendship, and a long read.

  • Humor
  • Family life
  • Coming of age
  • Friendship
  • Compulsive behavior
  • Entertainment
  • Addicts
  • Motion pictures

2 About David Foster Wallace

1962–2008

David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008) was an American writer and professor who published novels, short stories, and essays. He is best known for his second novel, Infinite Jest (1996). In 2008, David Ulin wrote in the Los Angeles Times that Wallace was "one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last twenty years". Wallace grew up in Illinois, and graduated from Amherst College and the University of Arizona.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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