Those three major plot strands are the tragic saga of the Incandenzas (familial) the redemptive narrative of Ennet House Drug and Alcohol Recovery House, with Don Gately as the primary hero (socicultural) and the the schemes of the Québécois separatists (national/international/political). That plot develops around three major strands which the reader must tie together, with both the aid of-and the challenge of-the novel’s discursive style. There is a compelling plot behind the erudite essaying and sesquipedalian vocabulary. Infinite Jest is very long but it’s not nearly as difficult as its reputation suggests. With this in mind, I’d suggest that first-time readers need only a dictionary and some patience. While I’ve read many insightful and enlightening commentaries on the novel over the years, my intuition remains that the superabundance of analysis may have the paradoxical effect of actually impeding readers new to the text. Many of the online analyses and resources for Infinite Jest are created by and targeted to readers who have finished the novel or are rereading the novel. The abundance of (or excess of) guides and commentaries on the novel can perhaps have the adverse and unintentional consequence of making readers new to Infinite Jest believe that they can’t “get it” without help. David Foster Wallace’s 1996 novel Infinite Jest poses rhetorical, formal, and verbal challenges that will confound many readers new to the text.
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