How to Prepare for Infinite Jest

September 25, 2009 1:22 PM

How should I prepare to read Infinite Jest?

I feel I am ready to tackle Infinite Jest. What is the best way to prepare? Should I just jump in? Read the Wikipedia entry? Read the other books that explain Infinite Jest?

The only DFW I have read are some of his guest articles (NY Times, et. al) and Everything and More (which is non-fictiony).

posted by blueplasticfish to media & arts (48 comments total)

Its too late...but still a good guide.
posted by quodlibet at 1:23 PM on September 25

Just dive in. My only exposure prior was A Supposedly Fun Thing.... I knew zilch about tennis when I started it, though. and a little more knowledge of the game might have helped appreciate some of the minutiae.
posted by jquinby at 1:24 PM on September 25

Wrist/forearm strengthening exercises? Take a leave of absence from work?

Seriously I'd just jump in.

Oh and you'll want a good bookmark or two to deal with the flipping back and forth to the notes.
posted by Perplexity at 1:24 PM on September 25

No. No, no, no, no, no.

You have to go in naked. I would hate to have had many things explained to me in advance, including such simple things as what the main plot was about.... which isn't clear early on.

Just go very slowly, and pay attention. Though you'll end up reading it again later anyway because you WILL miss some clues, no matter what.
posted by rokusan at 1:26 PM on September 25 [1 favorite has favorites]

Some people read it with a notebook and dictionary on hand as a way to improve their vocabularies.
posted by The Straightener at 1:26 PM on September 25

One more for just jumping in. Also, get two bookmarks--one for the text, one for the endnotes.¹

1. 96 pages in my edition.
posted by tellumo at 1:31 PM on September 25 [3 favorites has favorites]

Just jump in. There really is nothing that can prepare you.

Then, when you hit your first brick wall, put it down for a couple of weeks (or months). Then go back in. Put it down when you hit the next wall. Repeat as needed.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:33 PM on September 25

Yeah, a dictionary's not a bad idea. Every 20 or 30 pages DFW would do that thing he does and throw in a word that doesn't feel right, even though I think I know what it means... so I check, and more often than not, yeah: he's being clever again.
posted by rokusan at 1:34 PM on September 25

Having read through the book three times now, I'd recommend that you do your first read-through cold. What makes the process infinitely (heh) easier are TWO bookmarks, as Perplexity suggests--one for the main text and the other for the notes/errata.

Good luck and enjoy!
posted by AAAAAThatsFiveAs at 1:34 PM on September 25

Just dive in.

For the non-just-dive-in approach, I wrote a post about this on Infinite Summer.

You can also join our listserv and ask questions as you read.
posted by mattbucher at 1:41 PM on September 25

I wouldn't read any particular analysis ahead of time, but I don't think there's anything wrong with relying on books or websites about IJ while you're reading it.

I also highly recommend writing the years on your bookmarks. I tried to figure these out on my own the first time, but Wikipedia has a handy entry that at least puts them in chronological order. This would have saved me a lot of head scratching.

Also, depending on what edition you have, there are circles above each chapter. They are related to phases of the moon, and are worth paying attention to.

I don't think these sorts of things could possible be considered spoilers, or that knowing about them would in any way reduce your enjoyment of that awesome tome.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 1:44 PM on September 25

Whereas those of us who think DFW should get to tell the story, full of all the surprises, secrets and twists without our meddling think that solipsophistocracy is a filthy nasty tricksy spoiler spoilererer.

Blueplasticfish, maybe you'd better stop reading this thread right now, and just read the book.
posted by rokusan at 1:46 PM on September 25

Gin helps.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:50 PM on September 25 [6 favorites has favorites]

Dictionary. Patience. Some other books to vacation in for a while when you get annoyed/fatigued. I'd only do the wikipedia thing if you've decided to abandon it and want to see if you can salvage.
posted by Askr at 1:51 PM on September 25

Just jump in, man! It's great!
posted by Greg Nog at 1:52 PM on September 25

Man, I wonder if Infinite Jest has been turned into an e-book yet. It would certainly help with the endnotes, as you could just click on them as hyperlinks and then "click to go back".

"Infinite Read" would be a better title for the book, IMHO.
posted by KokuRyu at 1:55 PM on September 25 [1 favorite has favorites]

Smoke weed and play tennis.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:55 PM on September 25 [7 favorites has favorites]

Definitely two bookmarks. And I'll nth the people that said just dive in -- you could potentially spend months doing prepwork before you read it, but why not just start reading? Anything you read beforehand is going to color your view of the book before you even start it (even the Wikipedia entry), so I'd leave off reading any critical essays and whatnot about it until after you're done. No sense spoiling a book for yourself before you even begin, amirite?

The suggestions to keep a dictionary on hand aren't bad, either.
posted by palomar at 1:55 PM on September 25

(and yeah, sure, smoke a little weed if you're so inclined. it helps.)
posted by palomar at 1:56 PM on September 25

Seconding the gin. Though my 'Infinite Jest' drink of choice was either coffee or beer.
posted by spinifex23 at 1:57 PM on September 25

Man, I wonder if Infinite Jest has been turned into an e-book yet.

It is available on the Kindle. And I might have a samizdat PDF or two with embedded links to end notes.
posted by mattbucher at 1:58 PM on September 25

abandon this thread and open the book!!!

oh, and my Infinite Jest 'drink' was not so much a drink as this plant that you can light on fire and...um...

then again, I found a deep affinity with Kate Gompert.
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:02 PM on September 25

Stretches. Just open the book and read.
posted by holgate at 2:07 PM on September 25

I would advise against reading the Wikipedia entry. I just read it for the first time, after reading the book 10 years ago, and I gotta say, it straightens out things that are best left tangled up. Just start reading.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 2:08 PM on September 25

I believe that you should first prepare to read the book by closing the windows. You want to draw the blinds closed but only after making sure that the street is deserted and that the lights of the houses of the neighbors have been turned off. Then just before you open the book you will want to ensure that the bed is properly made, properly tucked in the style hospitals, the sheets, and that the refrigerator is stocked. In the event you are thirsty you will want to drink plenty of water, perhaps a pint or two, prior to the reading and wait just until the angle of sun indicates that it is late evening and with the doors shut and the sheets properly tucked and any necessary thirst-alleviating water ingested you will want to open the book to page one and read.
posted by xmutex at 2:12 PM on September 25 [4 favorites has favorites]

The Kindle version is pretty neat. The endnote links work just as you'd expect.
posted by Perplexity at 2:13 PM on September 25

I prepared by first reading Broom of the System
posted by Obscure Reference at 2:22 PM on September 25 [1 favorite has favorites]

Not 2 bookmarks, 3. One for where you're reading, one for the footnotes, one to mark a very important chart you'll find about 200-ish pages into the book.

That's all the prep you need.

When you finish, read the first chapter again. It'll help.

Enjoy!
posted by iwhitney at 2:45 PM on September 25 [1 favorite has favorites]

The first hundred pages might seem frustratingly, almost deliberately dense, but once you get through them it all just opens up magically and then you're flying.'

Also, yes -- two bookmarks.
posted by hermitosis at 2:53 PM on September 25

Dictionary, definitely. Be advised: some words you don't know aren't actually IN the dictionary (and I'm using the OED here, of which Hal Incandenza would notably approve) and he just totally made them up.

2 bookmarks. No other prep. Some fluff reading for when your brain needs a break.

Only try to read IJ when you have NOTHING ELSE needing brain cells. Not on your commute. Not on a plane, unless you have an oversized carryon and nothing else you need to bring, and even then, I think it would break your tray table.

Mostly: read it knowing you're gonna have to read it again no matter what. Enjoy the first go-through. It's the second where you're gonna want your highlighter system and notebook to keep track of J. Incandenza's extensive filmography.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 2:54 PM on September 25 [2 favorites has favorites]

Just jump in but realize that you're going to have to pay attention. I read it cold when it first came out and I was fine.
posted by dfan at 3:00 PM on September 25

I second the third bookmark for the very important chart you'll find about 200 pages in; also, I recommend another one for the very long "filmography" footnote you'll find fairly early on.

Be prepared to be Confused for ~150 pages. Once you get past the Confusion, be prepared to not be able to stand setting down the book because it's the best thing, just, the best.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 3:16 PM on September 25

It's a popular novel, written by an American. As long as you are sitting in a reasonably well lit environment in average mental health you should be able to read and comprehend it without recourse to specialist care.
posted by zemblamatic at 3:21 PM on September 25 [3 favorites has favorites]

Two bookmarks are necessary, as is some level of upper body strength. I was surprised how heavy that dang thing was, carrying it around in my purse all the time. It's not a hard read, and some of the chapters are short enough to read them in snippets as you have free moments here and there. I realize that may not be a popular opinion, but it was true for me. At other times, though, I'd curl up in my favorite chair and read the entire weekend away, barely getting up to pee, and certainly not taking time away from reading for such pedestrian concerns as food and exercise. Just start reading it and power through any sections that aren't fun for you until you come out at the other end. It's a marvelous book, and at least one of the scenes or characters will touch you deeply (if not all of them).
posted by booknerd at 3:32 PM on September 25

Prepare that is it possible too not to like it. I really liked the Infinite Summer initiative, yet I didn't particularly like the book. There is a huge element of satire on the American culture in it that I neither found clever, nor compelling, for me as a European. Since European emigrant writers had done that bit a lot better already for me.

But, all during it stayed interesting to see what other readers had to say on the Infinite Summer site and boards.
posted by ijsbrand at 3:57 PM on September 25

There is absolutely no preparation needed.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 3:59 PM on September 25

I read it cold and I think that is the best way to go. Anything else takes away from the experience of making it though the book, which is in and of itself every bit as important as the text on the page.
posted by Palmcorder Yajna at 4:28 PM on September 25

mega nthing just jump in and use two bookmarks. DO NOT skip the endnotes!!! they are not only important to the overall experience, but many are really really funny too. have fun!
posted by supermedusa at 5:08 PM on September 25

No preparing needed. Just open it up at the beginning and start reading. Then after, maybe, if you are inclined to read the other analysis and whatnot. And yes, of course, do not skip the end notes.
posted by mkim at 5:38 PM on September 25

Jump in, don't read about it ahead of time.
Two bookmarks, yes.
Dictionary available, yes.
Don't skip the endnotes.

There are a lot of characters, it might be helpful to have a paper where you can write down names if you like (and page numbers of significant events affecting those characters?) to help yourself if it feels like too much. I didn't do this, but at times I wished that I had.

Here is the biggest tip: Don't quit early.
You may be discouraged after 50 pages or so, because you don't know what's going on and there are too many characters to keep track of, and it all seems like random stuff thrown together. I quit reading it the first couple of times after about 50 pages. But then I finally forced myself to get past that early part - so, keep going through that; give it until at least, say 100 or 150 pages in. It gets easier to keep track, and definite stories do emerge.

Semi-spoiler, come back to this if you're thinking of quitting: (rot13, to decode paste the text here)
Lbh arrq, V guvax, gb trg gb gur cbvag jurer lbh'ir unq n pbhcyr bs fgbevrf nobhg Qba Tngryl, be jurer Qba Tngryl vf gryyvat nobhg gur unysjnl ubhfr. Qba'g dhvg orsber trggvat gb guvf cbvag.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:09 PM on September 25

I found I needed some really good musical accompaniment to this fine, fine novel. I asked this, but learned that the Flying Burrito Brothers were the answer.

In other words, just dig in, don't give up at the 100 page mark and, yes, keep a bookmark on hand. I read it all in five days of wildly hedonistic and non-stop reading sessions. Gram Parsons was my guide. It was amazing.
posted by palindromic at 9:16 PM on September 25

Ive been reading it by the pool of my hotel and on the beach at Byron Bay. I have a long woven book mark that stretches around to mark my place in the main body and the notes.

I read some of the stories in Oblivion first to get a feel for his style (and loved it).
posted by evil_esto at 10:17 PM on September 25

I just finished it last week. I jumped in without any preparation, and found it rewarding to continue without consulting any sources. I loved it - very exuberant prose.

Today is/was my birthday, and I was very happy to get Girls With Curious Hair, Oblivion, and A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. Quite excited!
posted by iftheaccidentwill at 10:27 PM on September 25

Two bookmarks and Just Dive In (TM). The only 'hard' things about IJ are (1) length, (2) non-linear narrative and (3) the peppering of unusual words. (1) and (2) are not uncommon (it's shorter than e.g. Lord of the Rings and more linear than, e.g. Lanark), and if you don't understand a handful of the words (on the first reading) it probably won't spoil your enjoyment.
posted by primer_dimer at 1:49 AM on September 26

The two bookmarks is a must -- listen to everyone on this. To me though, the "difficulty" of Infinite Jest is grossly exaggerated as a result of its bulk and reputation. Much like you, I was a bit intimidated at the prospect of tackling it. The first 100 pages did not help either -- it is confusing, in no discernible chronological order, and lacking an identifiable plot. But like someone said upthread, eventually it just opens up (about 100 pages in) and the humour and sheer humanity shine through on every page. It very quickly ceases to be a chore -- I never would have thought I would start to feel the "I don't want this book to end" pangs when I had 400 pages to go, but this is a special book.

Above all, savour it. For my money, no author tackles what it is like to be a human being trying to relate to the (modern) world around them like DFW does. Reading the book made me feel despondent for his loss, and this feeling only grew more profound as I got deeper into the book. I literally cannot understand people who feel it is impenetrable and overrated. I really hope you enjoy it -- it was a magical reading experience for me, and those are truly rare.
posted by noboru_wataya at 8:31 AM on September 26 [1 favorite has favorites]

I think I was infinitely aided by reading the collection of essays A Supposedly Fun Thing because it had so much information regarding tennis and his own past. I would have been completely stymied without having read those essays first, having never picked up a racket in my life, and the book taking place at a boarding school for tennis.

It was fortuitous dumb luck that I read the essays first, but I think I would have put the book down if I hadn't known where he was coming from on the tennis.

Other than that, anchors away. It's a painful, joyous, confusing hazing ritual, but without the scarring.

Now that I think about it, maybe without the physical scarring. Mentally, I may never be the same.
posted by readymade at 2:17 PM on September 26

Crucial tip from someone who's currently about 775 pages in:

Have a pencil with you at all times.

Rather than immediately resorting to the dictionary, wikipedia, etc., just circle the words/text-blocks that make no sense to you, write in the margins your questions, ("e.g. Wait, who's talking here?") - just annotate whatever you'd want answered later on.

This is way better than the constant back-and-forth you'd have to do if, like me, there's at least one thing, if not much more, on just about every page that is either undefined for you, or gets you curious about an area of knowledge with which you're not directly familiar. Save your look-it-up breaks from the text for those instances where you'll truly be lost for pages at a time if you don't figure something out now. (For example, there was a point in the book where I took a break to watch some rudimentary Rules Of Tennis videos on YouTube, because it was sure going to be painful if I didn't take the time.)

Look up those notes you took later on, whether it's a few 'chapters' at a times as a mid-book review, after you've finished the book entirely, or as goalposts for the second time you read the book. (Hard for me to imagine I'm not going to be doing this again.)
posted by Ash3000 at 9:32 AM on September 27

Drink heavily and bring a wrist brace to stave off carpal tunnel syndrome from flipping back and forth to the damned endnotes.

Seriously, I don't know why anyone would bother reading this monstrosity. I, obviously, second the "be prepared that you might not like it" advice. All I'd say is read up on the sunk cost fallacy beforehand. I mean that. Often with these kinds of huge and dense books, people hate them, but keep reading, because they've invested so much in getting started. That's not rational -- if you hate it midway though you shouldn't punish yourself more by keeping going.

(Second phenomenon: cognitive dissonance kicks in after being done with this kind of book, and you convince yourself it's good because otherwise you'd have been nuts for torturing yourself with it. This is also familiar from, e.g, reading post-structuralist literary criticism.)
posted by paultopia at 2:34 PM on September 27