Journal Entry 1 by Skyring from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Sunday, February 27, 2005

Oh Lord! This book is immense. I'd never be able to get through it in a month of Mondays. I'll send it off until it comes back to me when my Toberead pile reaches zero.

Some time in the future.

Now, who to lumber with this one...? 

Journal Entry 2 by CoffeeBron from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Colour me lumbered, Pete!! I have been looking out for this book for years because my friend George raves about it. At 981 pages + footnotes, I'm wondering if he was just playing a cruel trick on me by recommending this book, but I remain hopeful!!!

'Caught' at the Canberra Meetup at Tilley's Devine Cafe.

Thanks, Pete. 

Journal Entry 3 by CoffeeBron from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Tuesday, August 02, 2005

How on earth to render with words the experience of reading this book? I haven't even left myself the cowardly option of just typing out the blurb on the back!

Let's start with adjectives. It's big. It's complex. It's clever. It's harrowing. It's funny. It's perplexing. It's frustrating. It often left me wondering if the 'infinite jest' was at my expense.

I loved the characters, but was irked by the idiosyncractic, at times ungrammatical narration (which I hear was quite deliberate on David Foster Wallace's part). I was thrilled by the way the many threads of the story seemed to be coming together, and flabbergasted when the book simply ended about 150 pages before the resolution would/should have happened by my reckoning (after 980 pages, and almost 400 footnotes, another 150 wouldn't have hurt!!!). I learned an immense amount from the book, mostly about drug addiction, AA and high-end tennis, yet was left feeling out of the joke.

So how to evaluate it? The simple truth is, while I got a lot out of the challenge of reading Infinite Jest, and truly enjoyed the read, I'm not sure I understand it. There's every chance that at this point I am meant to be feeling as confused and frustrated by it as I am, in which case Foster Wallace has done very well. It's certainly an amazing novel, and he a powerful writer. I have a very strong feeling that I'll be reading it again one day - maybe then I'll get the joke.

Mailed to caldron, who I hope will be able to shed some light. 

Journal Entry 4 by caldron from Brisbane, Queensland Australia on Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Gratefully received (says he, hefting the tome back to his desk from the mail-room).

Perhaps the mere exercise of holding this book each time may shed some of the light CoffeeBron was looking for, but in the form of my seeing stars brought on by the physical & mental exertion necessary to read it :)

Thank you.
 

Journal Entry 5 by Skyring from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Tuesday, August 02, 2005

The depth (and weight) of CoffeeBron's generosity is immense! I'm personally surprised that she had the time to read this thing, what with all her other commitments. But she picked well with you - we're eagerly looking forward to your review in the early hours of tomorrow morning.