Crushed that she missed the group read of one of her favorite books, infinite jest, she has been rejuvenated by the opportunity to become a 2666 zombie. He has worked as a pig farmer, roller coaster driver, and copy editor and now pulls levers and knobs as a computer programmer in knoxville, tenn. Feb 26, 2016 12 if you think infinite jest at 1,100odd pages is a long book, be advised that it started longer. Infinite jest is both sad, depressed and funny and even 25 years after it was published in 1994 remains relevant to the modern age. Lethem also compares a part of 2666 to murakamis the windup bird chronicle, which means, like, hey sign me up. I am about to finish infinite jest by david foster wallace and it is bringing up memories of 2666 by roberto bolano. Beyond the ease with which one can lookup footnotes, consider the following. Its themes are manifold, and it revolves around an elusive german author and the unsolved and ongoing murders of women in santa teresa, a violent city inspired by ciudad juarez and its.
Now hes here yet again to write from time to time about 2666. Both books have fans, but i think its safe to say that no twentyyearold will ever stick either of them in his or her backpack alongside infinite jest when they go trekking in nepal. Im about to finish 2666, and have realized that i really love this style of a sprawling narrative that consist. Wallace wrote to a friend that the fuckers cut by 600 pages from the first version. Several times in 2666, we see strange, somehow disjunctive scenes that form themselves around food.
His literary executor overrode this request, and as a result 2666 sees light of day as a single long fiction, although in five sections corresponding to the components the author would have issued separately. Are there any other books i could read like infinite jest. Perhaps, as some have suggested, bolano merely hoped to maximize the financial value of his final work, and decided. He identifies characteristics present to greater or lesser extent in all of the seven novels he discusses. Pray this is the year i finally finish 2666 and infinite jest. Are there any other books i could read like infinite jest or. Infinite jest by david foster wallace turns 20 today, and im still confused by it all these years later. If you want a novel to distract you from life, do not read 2666. Download 2666 a novel in pdf and epub formats for free. It was released in 2004, a year after bolanos death. Ercolino sets out ten particular elements which define and structure it as a complex literary form. They are both long and have many characters but that is where the similarities end, thus these books might fit the bill for one more than the other.
Jan 06, 2010 infinite summer is over, but 2666 spring calls january 6, 2010 3. 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. The himalayas of literature is an online course series focused on infinite jest, the waves, the recognitions, gravitys rainbow, 2666, and finnegans wake. She prefers to spend all her time reading both children and adult books, but also enjoys spending time with her handsome dog henry and the movie fletch. The maximalist novel sets out to define a new genre of contemporary fiction that developed in the united states from the early 1970s, and then gained popularity in europe in the early twentyfirst century. Gravitys rainbow by thomas pynchon, infinite jest by david foster wallace. Apr, 2009 equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. I got out of my doldrums by rereading a book i love in my case, it was lord of the rings but i feel like in.
Ive seldom been more engrossed in a novel, and more willing to put in the time of. Wallaces particular conceit in infinite jest is that the events described are taking place in the indeterminate future, possibly. This summer, a group of enterprising readers took on a really big book david foster wallaces infinite jest in a new. A gargantuan, mindaltering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in america set in an addicts halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwedup family to.
Infinite zombies is a group blog that spun off of the infinite summer project. Nov 09, 2008 as with wallaces infinite jest, in the savage detectives bolano delivered a genuine epic inoculated against grandiosity by humane irony, vernacular wit and a hint of punkrock. National book critics circle, fiction, 2009 composed in the last years of roberto bolanos life, 2666 was greeted across europe and latin america as his highest achievement, surpassing even his previous work in its strangeness, beauty, and. Including the halfread ones i didnt finish in 2017. The books mentioned in this video, in alphabetical order. Bolano 2666 chabon summerland, the final solution, gentlemen of the road, telegraph avenue eco. Is infinite jest really the last great postmodern novel. In fact, its take on the very nature of entertainment itself perhaps foresaw the age of vanity and social media, as seen through the prisms of tinder, facebook, twitter and instagram.
The maximalist novel has a very strong symbolic and morphological identity. W rt 2666 cormac mccarthys works tend toward the meditative side of violence and starting with i think all the pretty horses take place in mexicousmexico border. Here are the top10 books bought by millions readers over the last year. Gravitys rainbow by thomas pynchon, infinite jest by david foster wallace, underworld by don delillo, white teeth by zadie smith, the corrections by jonathan franzen, 2666 by roberto bolano, and 2005 dopo cristo by the babette factory. By my estimation infinite jest and 2666 have more differences between them than similarities. A multilayered postmodern saga of damnation and salvation. The second section is the first half of the second book, and so on. Steven asin infinite jest is the perfect book for the kindle paperwhite. This takes place alongside a discussion of catch phrases and jokes emblazoned on mugs, and how the man who used to work at the mug place was saddened by a change in the composition of the phrases. I should have read ij first but i am kind of clueless when it comes to what i should read.
If you want fiction to hurt you, to intensify and clarify the pain of being a member of a murderous species, read 2666. Shakespeares book of insults, insights and infinite jests by shakespeare, william and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Himalayas of literature online literature courses quantity. Himalayas of literature online literature courses book. Im about to finish 2666, and have realized that i really love this style of a sprawling narrative that consist of tons of different characters and the complex threads that connect them all. Sep 11, 2009 the parts about fate and about the crimes and a vast introductory digression in which i compare and contrast 2666 and infinite jest i left off from roberto bolanos 2666 in order to read david foster wallaces infinite jest along with a couple thousand other people in the infinite summer reading group project.
His second novel, infinite jest, wosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. All of your likes about 2666 are met with these books. Early on, we have morini reading an old cookbook which maria wrote about. These ten characteristics are common to all of the seven works that centre his discussion. Im still trying to make sense of infinite jest io9. Find books like 2666 from the worlds largest community of readers. Infinite jest, ulysses, karamazov, and other books you didnt. Foster wallaces infinite jest and roberto bolanos 2666. Infinite jest free pdf, epub, fb2, fb3 books library. We started out by reading and blogging about infinite jest, but then we kept on going with a few more books, mostly big bricks that are considered either classic or difficult. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, infinite jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. Infinite jest by foster wallace, david and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Are there any other books i could read like infinite jest or 2666.
Houston signed on to blog infinite jest for the original installment of infinite summer and had so much fun doing it that he decided to stick around and blog dracula as well. Infinite jest is a wellknown quantity at this point, a staple of book. The first section is the first half of the first book. There seems to be this tendency to group infinite jest with gravitys rainbow. Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
Infinite jest is intellectual, playful, and is big because it has lots of stuff crammed into it. Heres a missing comparison to wallaces infinite jest. Sep 10, 2016 its been a bit of a journey on this one. Infinite summer is over, but 2666 spring calls jacket copy.
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