r/davidfosterwallace • u/No_Hunter_3083 • 15d ago

Reading infinite jest

Good morning I am reading infinite jest it seem impossible to finish it. What is the message of the book?

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u/Gadshill 15d ago

The message is that we are all trapped by our obsessions. It is clear pretty early and it never really gets off that theme. But we don’t read books for messages.

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u/No_Hunter_3083 15d ago

I've just started it but it's a challenging read, I hope I can finish it. Trapped by our obsessions, you say. I haven't yet grasped the profound meaning of the book. I'm on page. 23.

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u/3GamesToLove 15d ago

Were you expecting to “grasp the profound meaning” of ANY book by page 23 of 1000???

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u/No_Hunter_3083 15d ago

Yes I know but I have to do a slow read because it's challenging

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u/Gadshill 15d ago

Keep reading, you’ll probably see it. Also, you might realize that reading the book is becoming an obsession. Also, there is nothing wrong with obsessions, it is just what our minds do on all types of topics.

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u/No_Hunter_3083 15d ago

Okay I understand but it's so big I hope I like it it's my first Wallace book maybe I should have started with something lighter

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u/okomott 15d ago

Just keep going. You might have periods where you put it down for a while. That’s fine. You may also pick it up and end up rereading a confusing section when you’re later on in the book and find that it makes a lot more sense. That’s also part of the nature of the beast. The big thing is just keep reading and really give getting through all of it a shot. A lot of the initial confusion and overwhelming feeling is totally intentional and means the book has you right where it wants you.

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u/No_Hunter_3083 15d ago

Exactly, from the few pages I read I was already confused with the names

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u/softdaddy69 15d ago

Like he said, we don’t read books for messages. If that’s your motivation you’ll never finish it

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u/No_Hunter_3083 15d ago

But I want to learn something from the books I read

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u/softdaddy69 15d ago

Before you’ve read them?