[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 23 KB, 324x500, 41dKF2mzdeL._AC_SY780_.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
21608211 No.21608211 [Reply] [Original]

When does it get good?

>> No.21608213

>>21608211
On page 1.

>> No.21608218

>>21608213
What is page 1 about? You have 30 seconds.

>> No.21608221

>>21608211
when a girl sees you reading it and asks you to fuck her

>> No.21608494

>>21608211
realistically about page 200. If you get to 300 and still hate it just drop it.

>> No.21608500

>>21608218
Nta, but page 1 is about Hal being crazy because his dad drugged him with the toothbrush. Himself possess the boy Hal will play against and father and son will have a conversation the only way they know how - through tennis. Great book 10/10

>> No.21608521

>>21608500
>t. plotfag
Work on that subtext, anon.

>> No.21608883

>>21608521
Care to elucidate me? One of the best things about ij for me was figuring out the plot

>> No.21608920

>>21608211
Book by a chudcel, for chudcels.

>> No.21608993

>>21608494
This

>> No.21609050

>>21608883
>One of the best things about ij for me was figuring out the plot
Then I won't spoil it for you and just give you a few clues so you can continue on having fun figuring it out. You did not figure out the plot, the toothbrush thing is unsupportable and pure conjecture.

>Plot and theme are intimately tied and support each other, and that includes the missing year/what happens to Hal
>Hal is not crazy in the first chapter.
>Pay close attention to the Incandenza family history.
>Take a notes on the personal history of the characters.
>Find the parallels between the characters, they all share a few very important things in common.
>Find the parallels between ETA and Ennet/AA, there are loads including toothbrushes.

What happens to Hal is mostly spelled out directly throughout the novel but is scattered about with a sentence here and a sentence there just dropped in and they are very easy to miss. The stuff above provides enough to get damn close and will help you find those scattered sentences.

It is a fun book to spend time with figuring out.

>> No.21609089
File: 9 KB, 250x226, 1664997344196478.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
21609089

>>21609050
fuck I'm almost finished with the book and I haven't been paying attention to most of this shit. I'm guessing the ending doesn't really resolve much (if there even is one)

>> No.21609104

>>21609089
The book is structured in a way that makes a second read effortless and kind of intended. The last 200 pages actually say a lot...
The only thing that still filters me is whatever the fuck was the point of including Orin other than DFW having some sort of beef with normalfags.

>> No.21609117

>>21609104
I always thought each character (or at least some of them) was loosely some form of addiction. Marthe has fanatic love (country and wife), Gately ect. more literally and that Orin's character was basically about sex addiction

>> No.21609179

>>21609050
Thanks, anon. You motivated me to read it again.

>> No.21609214

>>21608211
I use this book to cum on. It fits the content.

>> No.21609231

the book was good from page one, you just don't know it yet. keep reading.

>> No.21609283

>>21609089
You are not going to get it all in one read anyways, he is very subtle about the important details that pull the plot together, like in those last few hundred pages time jumps around but is almost linear for any given plot line, you only get subtle clues that it is off, like the weather or a random observation by Mario.
>>21609104
Orin is needed for the perspective on Himself but also some other odds and ends, Orin and Himself talking about the porno is a fairly important bit. Orin is not really a normalfag, he is DFW football playing giving up on tennis self reworked some to suit the needs of the novel. A lot of the characters are thinly veiled versions of his past selves.
>>21609117
Addiction is a symptom but it is not always addiction, it could be tennis or AA or just about anything. This all has to do with the chasing of various carrots, performance and the role one plays in society.

>> No.21611070

NO SPOILERS PLEASE

>> No.21611119

Should I read it a second time immediately or shortly after finishing it the first time? I've got about 50 pages left and haven't picked up on much of >>21609050 but still enjoyed it and found it very relevant to where I'm at in life (coming off many years of drug and alcohol problems). A second read is definitely warranted but I'm worried about reading other stuff and waiting too long to read it again.

>> No.21611189

>>21611119
Just read The Pale King before your second taste of Infinite Jest. It'll make you remember most of what you need.

>> No.21611224
File: 24 KB, 225x335, Jonathan-franzen-freedom.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
21611224

>>21611070
I have been avoiding them.
>>21611119
Picrel is pretty much Franzen rewriting IJ in his own style, he adds in his own thing but it is built around IJ and follows its lead. Really good and would be a good followup for someone who wants more.

>> No.21612423

>>21608213
Fpbp