NP - Infinite Jest

[Tore Rye Andersen]

David Morris:
 
> I've not read IJ, and probably never will, because I read DFW's Broom 
> of the System and thought it juvenile crap. I know some people think IJ 
> is great. Do those same people like BOTS?
 
Even Wallace himself tended to regard The Broom of the System as
juvenile crap and later tried to distance himself from it. (I've even
heard that at one point he refused to sign it). But hey, the guy was in
his early twenties when he wrote it. I also happen to think V. contains
its moments of juvenile crap (even though it's a much better book than
BOTS).
 
But your dislike of BOTS shouldn't scare you away from IJ, which is a 
whole 'nother kettle of fish. I read it for the fourth time this summer,
and I am more and more amazed at that novel - funny, intelligent, and
deeply moving. I think Wallace was the only worthy heir to Pynchon, and
now he's gone. IJ, fortunately, isn't. If I had to pick the best novel
to come out of the 90s, I wouldn't know whether to choose IJ or M&D.
 
IJ is not for everyone, but it does seem to inspire something of the same 
near-religious fervour as GR does (and novels like Underworld, M&D and ATD
don't):
 
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r61/jnickerson27/wallacefinished2.jpg

 
(Disclaimer: That's not my tattoo. I'm not really into tats, but if I
were, y'all know which novel my tattoo would come from, right?) 		 	   		  
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