10th Anniversary of Infinite Jest

[zenithblue]

Word on the street is that the 10th Anniversary edition of Infinite Jest is coming out pretty quick, which means I'll have to purchase yet a fourth doorstop. Perhaps I'll get rid of the British edition I purchased in order to make more space on the damn shelf. That leaves me my first edition copy, and my thesis copy (complete with embarrassing marginalia like "I <3 David Foster Wallace so fucking much!!!" on various pages). The 10th Anniversary edition is introduced by Dave Eggers, which I think is crap--Eggers was in diapers when Wallace was becoming a polyglot, the little upstart shit. But Eggers is sort of the watered-down inheritor of Wallace's whole genre, so I guess it makes sense.

I also recently discovered this site put together by a guy named Greg Carlisle at Morehead State University. I've barely scanned it but it looks promising. My Wallace-psychosis has been much calmer than it once was (writing a 100-page academic thesis on IJ more or less cured me of the worst parts of the sickness) but I can see myself disappearing into the clutches of Carlise's work in the near future. Considering I'm planning to submit part of the ol' thesis as my critical writing sample at whatever schools need it, and considering how obsessive I'm feeling these days anyway, you might be in for a month or two of totally passe literary commentary on a ten year old book. Sorry in advance. 

My thesis was a total piece of shit, but from time to time I wonder if I shouldn't have tried to clean it up and publish it. Considering there is a ravenous fan base for IJ, it might have been useful to someone. No money, but a bit of fan-girl street cred. Which is of course what us fan-girls live for.

Comments

[scribbleeso.livejournal.com]

I've always thought it would be great to read your thoughts on IJ. Also, I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only person out there who has three copies of this book, blush blush. : )

[zenithblue.livejournal.com]

My housemate sometimes threatens to send the really embarrassing copy of IJ to Wallace so that he can see all the scary margin notes. Eek.

It's funny, I spent so much time with the book that in some ways I exorcized the unshakeable addiction to the book. But at odd moments the quotes come back, or I blurt out "That makes me think of this one part in Infinite Jest..." I'm not quite insufferable at parties, but sometimes it's close. I don't want anyone to mistake my insane compulsion over the book with pretentious name-dropping. : )

[sliding-doors.livejournal.com]

I have yet to read Infinite Jest. I started once, and then stopped when I got fed up with the footnote that never ended. I do own the book though and I do want to finish it one day.

For what it's worth, the only person I met (in real life, I guess you're the second) who finished IJ was a Nurse in a psych ward. I found that utterly amusing.

[sliding-doors.livejournal.com]

oh and the new version is only $10. so it's prolly worth picking up

[zenithblue.livejournal.com]

I used to give that book to everyone, thinking everyone in the world had to love it. Then I realized that people panicked or looked bored or disgruntled when I asked them about it later. It was only a few years later that I read it again and realized how very "not everyone's cup of tea" it was.

I wonder, in twenty years, if anyone will still care about it. Reading it now parts of it are incredibly prescient, and parts are quite dated.