/lit/ - Literature

laughed a lot while reading this

the one section that really springs to mind is Hal on the phone to Orin talking about The Mad Stork's suicide, and how he ended up in a prolonged battle of wits and psychological study with his psychologist who just wouldn't take no for an answer when Hal was being pressed to open up about how the suicide made him feel, and how he eventually has to invent this guilt about the suicide by saying when he walked in the house and found his dead father's microwaved brains across the walls his first thought on opening the door was that something sure smelled good.

It was such a great build up between the two of them on the phone to the climax of that scene.

>>9232053
>What is the forced meme of literature

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace, is the worst science fiction novel ever written. The truth is it might be the worst novel ever written, or at least published, but given the fact that Wallace has stiff competition from the burgeoning spawn of PC Elitist writers, not to mention his own PoMo kith, such as Rick Moody, Dave Eggers, and that ilk, I think I’ll stick with just calling it the worst sci fi has ever produced. Granted, I am not one who has read all the depth of sci fi offerings, but I’ve read enough to know that this so far undershoots the rest that by mere extrapolation it would be a titanic achievement for another author to do worse. Yes, there are the sword and sorcerer riff-raff, the cyber-punk crapola, and the remanent dross of the Golden and Silver Ages of sci fi still hanging around, and even those who’ve produced masterpieces, such as Richard Matheson and Ursula LeGuin, have been known to write horrorshow books in terms of quality, but this dystopian novel by Wallace is worse than them all. His book, only a decade old, is more outdated than many Golden and Silver Age sci fi books specifically because of his slang’s sounding as relevant as John Dryden’s courtly verse. Unlike Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, the slang is based in the then-contemporary world, which makes it seem so 1990s trying to seem cool, rather than timeless. Even his use of emails, with outdated isp formats, seems to belie his lack of creativity. Not that his relentlessly PoMo use of product brand names, bumper stickers, redaction marks, and lengthy digressions on things as pointless as Hawaii 5-0’s relevance versus Hills Street Blues’, does not already belie his creative bankruptcy, but it’s worth noting. Of course, nothing comes of his discourses- they’re tossed in like olives in a salad, so Wallace can preen his learnedness to you, and dropped just as quickly- a habit that he too often indulges- bringing up and dropping things.

This reads just like a John Green book. or is it the other way around? How is this not YA?

- takes place at a school
- centers around a dysfunctional family
- socially awkward kids
- schoolyard fucking around
- DUDE WEED LMAO

Wow
Just wow

>>9122443

>prove that the length of multi-hundred paged novels are necessary for developing their themes.

I think the mere existence of this literally masterpiece speaks volumes (pun intended) on this issue

check and mate kiddo just so you know it was nothing personal

>>9106685

As of today, this book is old enough to purchase alcohol in the United States.

Why does Lit only praise a handful of authors and dismiss the rest as writing pulp? Even when those handful of authors write long winded and at times what the majority of people feel to be boring books? Pic unrelated but I always see this in lit, with a handful of individuals saying it took them forever to read, or they might as well not bother because they will not complete it.

Do you like to listen to music while reading? I've been listening to Young Thug while reading pic related for maximum effect

New to /lit/. Is IJ worth picking up? Ive seen some very strong opinions either way, but no arguments as to why

Is free will a thing, /lit/, or has everything already been determined beforehand?

Pic unrelated

God damn, I'm just trying to read about a burglarising drug addict over here, and I'm being told to flick to the footnotes at the back of the book every few lines!

>My internet friends like this book, its really good! Everyone should read it!

in 5 years people will read this and be like "what tv is?"

once tv goes extinct will there be any reason to read this? I haven't had cable for about 5 years now since I moved out.

Ok so when does he start the story?

What does it take for a book do be considered a meme?

hi /lit/

ive never been here before but i saw a banner for u guys, so i figured id come here and ask

im not much of a literature guy myself desu, but i picked this one up and now i read it on my commute to/from work

im enjoying it quite a bit so far. not that i care about any of your opinions (desu), but im just curious what the general consensus on this board is regarding infinite jest???

Just marathoned this, what am I in for?

Find a book that has a better representation of depression in it?
Spoilers: you can't

Read the Eschaton chapter last night, does it ever even come close to topping that?

Hey fellow Anons.

So I am coming up on one year of sobriety, and at my local AA group I am having a one year medallion ceremony. During the meeting I get to choose people to read a piece of prose or poem of my choosing. I was thinking about using a passage from Infinite Jest because it is what planted the seed for my sobriety. Was going to use “... That no single, individual moment is in and of itself unendurable.”

If you guys have any other suggesting that would be great:)

we've all been guilty of this

What would a film adaptation of Infinite Jest be like?