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jbradney's review against another edition
challenging
funny
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
megbroache's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
loujoseph's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly I'm a little shocked how much I liked this. I didn't like Infinite Jest when I tried to read it- didn't even like the idea of it, but thinking back I may have been too young? Whatever- this was great, especially the long parts about boredom, and the idea that if you can tolerate boredom you can do anything... I may have felt differently had I read this as a book, but reading/listening to this at work, while doing basic tasks, added to this in some way.
aquint's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed parts of this book immensely and others not so much. I'm sure if he was able to finish this it would have been a vey different novel. Also, I need to do my taxes.
nfassino's review against another edition
challenging
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
booccmaster's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mlnx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
johnthecrow's review against another edition
3.0
Conceptually, writing a novel about boredom seems like an incredible hurdle to overcome. How do you make boredom interesting? It's like describing color to a blind man. DFW comes close to achieving it but doesn't quite get there.
There are some outstanding bits but they're mostly just flourishes, e.g. it's casually mentioned that one character literally levitates when they achieve deep levels of concentration. It's only mentioned briefly and never explained because the author understands that shining too bright a light on it would spoil it. Also generally great is DFW's hilarious realistic-but-stylized dislogue.
The subject of taxes may be impossible to make interesting. An attempt is made in the form of meta prose. Much of the book talks about taxes and tax returns, so the prose itself is styled almost like tax forms, e.g. § and ¶ are used in place of the words "section" and "paragraph," respectively. It's interesting conceptually but doesn't quite make it to interesting *actually.*
If DFW had lived this may have eventually been a brilliant novel. As is it's an interesting unfulfilling read. Only worth it if you're a big fan and have already read all his other stuff.
There are some outstanding bits but they're mostly just flourishes, e.g. it's casually mentioned that one character literally levitates when they achieve deep levels of concentration. It's only mentioned briefly and never explained because the author understands that shining too bright a light on it would spoil it. Also generally great is DFW's hilarious realistic-but-stylized dislogue.
The subject of taxes may be impossible to make interesting. An attempt is made in the form of meta prose. Much of the book talks about taxes and tax returns, so the prose itself is styled almost like tax forms, e.g. § and ¶ are used in place of the words "section" and "paragraph," respectively. It's interesting conceptually but doesn't quite make it to interesting *actually.*
If DFW had lived this may have eventually been a brilliant novel. As is it's an interesting unfulfilling read. Only worth it if you're a big fan and have already read all his other stuff.
slichto3's review against another edition
4.0
Confusing and clearly unfinished, but still manages to create some incredibly interesting characters and scenes and make some very poignant observations.
calicokingdom's review against another edition
4.0
“Both dogs had the same name but knew without fail which one she was calling.”
fuck david foster wallace but god i love maximalism, and this book was great. i learned way more about the irs then i would ever care to know. it was interesting to read this knowing it wasn’t very edited as i could see what parts probably would have been cut if he had been able to clean up the draft.
will people unfollow me if i read infinite jest, let me know below!
fuck david foster wallace but god i love maximalism, and this book was great. i learned way more about the irs then i would ever care to know. it was interesting to read this knowing it wasn’t very edited as i could see what parts probably would have been cut if he had been able to clean up the draft.
will people unfollow me if i read infinite jest, let me know below!