Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
My rating: 5/5 cats
this book…
i think it is time to write a proper review for this book, as it is one of my all-time favorites and deserves way more than two words. back when i was a junior in college, i was at the nyu bookstore, trying to sell back some textbooks before going away for winter break. the person in line in front of me was trying to sell back infinite jest (where was i when this class was being offered?? ) and of course, they weren’t taking it back because nyu is a stingy fucking school. she turned around to me and said “you want this??” and i said “yes,”cuz i don’t say no to free, and she said “merry christmas,”and kinda just thrust it at me. and it was the best present i ever got. a true christmas miracle. i was on my way to see my then-boyfriend in italy for the start of a european jaunt, and i missed out on a lot of european cities because i could not put this book down. i read it on planes and trains and a gondola, in restaurants and bars, by canals and in a cafe on top of the alps. fuck cathedrals, i had this book. i am a truly bad traveler, but i am a committed reader. as soon as i finished the book, i started right over. and since then i have read it a total of seven times. it is the most glorious collection of words that has ever been published. it is everything – it is funny and sad and creepy and disturbing and completely absorbing and brilliant. and he was just a gem of a man. the first time i got to meet him, i dropped this book in front of him – by now all tattered and smooshed, and he seem surprised that “someone has actually read their copy.” and then i gave him a card that had been a thank you card, but i crossed out “thank” and wrote “fuck” in its place and said “fuck you for writing the great american novel before i got the chance to.” this is the kind of thing i think is charming because i am deeply flawed. but it worked, and he called me and it was really nice – he was a great man who was truly kind and courteous to his fans. i ended up getting a proper thank you card from him because he is more traditionally charming. and now i am sad just thinking about this. so the review ends here because it has served its cathartic purpose for me and i guess if anyone is reading this you just got a free glimpse into the softer side of karen. it happens.
