Back in 2013, I think it was, I joined an online reading group to read Infinite Jest. David Foster Wallace’s 1996 novel that blew the minds of readers and critics alike. It’s still doing that! The Infinite Jest is now more than ever. Because I’ve been seeing YouTube videos from many BookTubers claiming the novel is one of the hardest books ever, to, it’s not that difficult. It makes many readers’ lists’ of one kind or another. I think it’s being picked up again because the book’s themes’ seem to be so relevant to what’s happening today–with technology and entertainment. Additionally, with mental health and addiction.
Anyway, I made a video encouraging group members (some 500) to not give up. [click the link to watch] We had an online group chat, back-in-the-day. At the time, that was my second reading of the novel. And, I was also teaching a creative writing class. It was so fun for me, yet many of the group were becoming discouraged–for one reason or another. In the video I talk about the why of that–becoming discouraged. Which was Wallace’s point. The irony is he did–become discouraged. He hung himself in 2008 at the age of forty-six.
Why Now?
Why now is a legit question. Because, I think, a lot of smart people are on the verge of giving up. In different ways. There is a mental health crisis going on. Additionally, a loneliness epidemic. Some say romance is dying, if not dead. Reading and writing is being ruined by AI (artificial intelligence). No doubt we the people are under assault.
People are discouraged, and some desperate. Moreover, are dying from all manner of means. Alternatively, choosing not to have children. Intentional childlessness, it’s called. That’s against our nature. Which causes an approach-avoidance conflict within the psyche. Not only that, many men are Incels, or involuntary celibate. All told, we here in the Western World are not reproducing enough to keep the population stable. This causes all kinds of additional problems. [Of which is beyond the scope of this post.]
Many people are afraid of intimacy. Notwithstanding the lure of online “community” promising connection. It’s a false hope. An illusion. A magic trick. Our body, our cells, our soul knows this. So we get sick.
“They” (Those People) are happy to feed us the cure–for all manner of pain. Physical, psychological, emotional, social, economic, whatever. They do this by way of advertising. Now mostly via the Internet–the great entertainment that we can’t turn away from. The entertainment, the cure, comes to us by way of algorithms on smart phones and smart TVs. And pills!
Season four of the TV series Goliath (2021) tackles this subject. As does season five of BOSCH (2019). Ironically, by the way. Because we sit on the couch. or in our Lazy Boy chair, and watch gripping shows about that which is killing us – binge watching, binge eating, binge drinking. All of which fosters isolation and disconnection. Wallace warned of this in Infinite Jest. It was one of the main themes–the addiction of entertainment. Nevertheless – here we are.
Conclusion
The Infinite Jest is now more than ever. For five reasons.
- It describes what’s happening today.
- The book provides the antidote.
- Reading and writing is thinking!
- Thinking is the remedy for artificial intelligence stealing our minds.
- Our minds evolved the way they did because thinking, specifically thinking ahead (and being right!), engenders survival.
So put down the remote, put away your phone and go outside, take a hike. Get in the game. Pick up a book. Write your own story. Be a player. Then talk to someone, face-to-face.
I know, easier said than done. I’m guilty. Like Wallace, I have trouble heeding my own counsel. Looking at the video I made those years ago – I’ve aged a lot. I’m not that person anymore. I’ve been on the verge of giving up, too. Living is not easy.
The Infinite Jest is here now.
PS
Should you read it? Yes.
That was a while ago. See my picture of President Obama on the wall behind me? That was then, I was a delegate for him. I’ve changed my mind. Some things change, others don’t. The sun also rises. Cheers, hang in there. Have you read the book? What’d you think? Let me know in the comments.
Just about to go on a cruise, and you hit me up with another must read? Yup… sounds about right! Will do sir!
Thanks Rich, I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can email me if you’d prefer that. Wallace was not depressed; but poorly/badly treated by the health care system. IMO. He was, like myself, “Intellectually Lonely”.
I hope you have a great cruise! If you read the book (a real book) sitting in a deck chair – that’ll turn heads. Many people by the book, put it on their shelf, and don’t read it. It became a prop Wallace wrote a long essay, “A supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again” about his taking a cruise. It’s pretty funny. It’s almost a book – 100 pages, He wrote it in 1994 and was published in Harper’s. Safe travels 🙂
Well, I just had to pick up my copy of “A supposedly fun thing I’ll never do a again.” Talk about addictive – that’s Wallace’s writing. Absolutely incredible. And the way his mind worked. Without doubt, he was a creative, truth-telling genius – who saw a world the rest of us missed.