A Reader's Companion to Infinite Jest

by Robert H. Bell, William Dowling

A Reader's Companion to Infinite Jest is a guide for readers who have heard about the literary genius of David Foster Wallace's huge and sprawling novel but have been put off by its length and narrative complexity. Composed by two distinguished literary scholars, the Companion is designed both for general readers and for college students taking courses on postmodern fiction. Along with an detailed overview of narrative structure, the Companion includes a synopsis of plot, a compendium of major characters, a directory of minor characters and real people, a short dictionary of slang and idioms, and a section listing and explaining Infinite Jest's acronyms.

Genres: Nonfiction

318 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2005

Reviews

[Warwick]

[The first part of this review can be found here.]

WARWICK: I call... (dramatic pause) … David Foster Wallace!

Pause.

PROSECUTOR: I hate to break it to you, but....

WARWICK: Look, if you can drag my wife on to the stand, then I can sure as hell get a dead author to appear.

JUDGE: Oh for goodness sake...fine. Call David Foster Wallace!

Enter DAVID FOSTER WALLACE in regal bandana. The crowd genuflect.

PROSECUTOR: You are David Foster Wallace, are you not?

WALLACE: And so but then but so yes, I am.

PROSECUTOR: Would you describe the accused as an intelligent reader?

WALLACE: No, I would describe the accused as a dick.

PROSECUTOR (to defendant): Your witness.

WARWICK: Right. Er…Mr Wallace, is it true that when asked to name your favourite writers in literary history, you reeled off a list that included ‘Keats’s shorter stuff’ and ‘about 25 percent of the time Pynchon’.

WALLACE: I think you know that’s true.

WARWICK: OK, so leaving aside the fact that this is pretty fucking rich for someone who’s attempted a wholesale rip-off of Pynchon’s approach – doesn’t this tone, this attempt to sound discriminating, go to the heart of my problems with Infinite Jest?

WALLACE: You tell me, brother.

WARWICK: I mean, am I wrong in connecting this quote to your problems with dodgy research and sloppy editing? Isn’t it all the sign of some kind of larger underlying problem – a writer who is basically feeling insecure and out of his depth, and who tries to cover all this up by overwriting – by trying to appear much more intelligent and well-read and knowledgeable than you really are, and in the end didn’t it all just get too much for you to control? Or are my thoughts just being coloured by what I know happened to you twelve years after you published it?

DAVID FOSTER WALLACE rubs his beard.

WALLACE: Maybe you’re right. Maybe there is some insecurity behind it. Maybe I was too ambitious for my own good. Is that, like, a crime? You know, some guy once said that all novels are just volumes of a writer’s autobiography. This is mine. And you know what, maybe somewhere inside, I hoped that this insecurity, this loneliness, this crippling psychic fucking pain that you’ve so brilliantly picked up on, would actually speak to somebody. Would actually touch somebody, make them feel like they weren’t alone. Someone who was reading it and who thought they were the only one. That it might make them feel better, just for a moment. Isn’t that what this book’s really about? Isn’t that what all literature is really about?

Silence in court.

WARWICK: …Well fuck. I just feel bad now. You know what, David Foster Wallace? You’re right. You really are. I do admire your ambition, and I wish I liked your book more. Too many people I like and respect have loved this book for me to dismiss it. What happened to you is absolutely awful and I wish you’d stayed around long enough to have another go.

DAVID FOSTER WALLACE bows and throws his bandana into the public gallery. GIRL in crowd spontaneously orgasms. MAN in crowd throws off his crutches and walks.

WARWICK: The truth is, I can see why some people like this book very much. I just find it hard to understand why so many people my age think it’s the novel of our generation. Infinite Jest to me reads like a fascinating first draft. I feel about it something that a lot of people often say in reviews but that I’ve never really felt about a big book before: that it desperately needs editing. And although a lot of people talk about how good the writing is, there are very few examples of what they mean – I find a worrying lack of close reading in the most enthusiastic reviews, but again this could be personal preference because I happen to like reviews that pin their opinions to the text. If nothing else, your honour, I hope I have given enough examples to show that my aversion to this book is not down to contrariness or disrespect, but just insurmountable problems in my reaction to the writing.

JUDGE: No, you haven’t. In view of the wanton, reckless nature of the crimes committed, I have absolutely no hesitation in finding you guilty. You’re guilty, guilty! Guilty as a man can be. (donning a black cap) You are hereby sentenced to be clubbed to death by a hardback copy of Infinite Jest. And may God have mercy on your soul.

The PROSECUTOR starts handing out pitchforks to the crowd.

WARWICK: I wish to appeal the sentence, m’lud!

JUDGE: There is no higher authority than Goodreads.

WARWICK: On the contrary, Judge Chandler! I wish to appeal...(dramatic pause)...to Amazon!

CROWD: Gasp!

Enter AMAZON REPRESENTATIVE in suit. His pockets bulge with money and banknotes protrude from his sleeves and trouser-cuffs.

AMAZON REP: We at the Amazon corporation – er, I mean the Amazon family – hereby grant the defendant’s appeal. If he were killed, we would no longer be able to profit from his compulsive Amazon buying habits.

PROSECUTOR: You mean—not only does he not like Infinite Jest, but he also shops at Amazon!?

MAN IN CROWD: He killed my local bookstore!

WOMAN IN CROWD: He’s literally Hitler!

ALL: Get him!

WARWICK: Uh-oh. Time to scarper! (Exit, pursued by cast. And a bear.)

Curtain.


EPILOGUE

(from ‘James O. Incandenza: A Filmography’)

The ONANtiad. Year of the Whopper. Latrodectus Mactans Productions/Claymation action sequences © Infernatron Animation Concepts, Canada. Cosgrove Watt, P. A. Heaven, Pam Heath, Ken N. Johnson, Ibn-Said Chawaf, Squrye Frydell, Marla-Dean Chumm, Herbert G. Birch, Everard Meynell; 35 mm.; 76 minutes; black and white/color; sound/silent. Oblique, obsessive, and not very funny […].

RETURN TO REVIEW (please leave any comments/abuse at original review)

[Leonard Gaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Dante ventured into the infernal pit, he didn’t go there alone — Virgil took him by the hand and escorted him down. Journeying into David Foster Wallace’s masterpiece isn’t very different. Infinite Jest is a massive, fragmented, decomposed, messy novel, bursting with characters, ideas, locations, lingos, false bottom compartments, dizzying switches and U-turns, impenetrable descriptions, strings of clauses that go on for page after endless page. And suppose you go in there half-asleep, equipped with just your happy-go-lucky cuppa. You will probably get bitten by intellectual burnout, bookish suffocation or literary nausea, especially within the first few hundred pages.

I picked up this Reader’s Companion as I was past two-thirds of the way into this beast of a novel. I guess reading this little book at this juncture is probably not as beneficial as it would have been at the start when my confusion and bedazzlement at DFW’s prose was at its peak. Bell and Dowling are two American scholars who wrote this little guide for their lit students, it seems, with no prior knowledge of Infinite Jest. It includes an explanation on the settings, a description of characters, a brief synopsis and a couple of considerations on themes and narrative devices. Nothing groundbreaking though, but it is indeed a pretty good lead-in. At the very least, it was a relief to read it and observe that I hadn’t gone completely insane!

So but so another option would be just to read slowly and mindfully, or also read along and share notes with other people (on here for instance). In any case, the bottom line is: find yourself a Virgil.

[Oriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tantalizingly smart but woefully incomplete companion is co-written by my favorite professor of all time ever, which is so cool but also kind of a bummer that it's self-published? That feels deeply disrespectful.

In any case! It's super helpful but is also very self-conscious about "spoilering," which is a weird look for a reader's companion. So I suppose it's more a collection of short smart essays on various access points, themes, etc., than an actual guide. But it definitely helped direct my thinking and filled me in on myriad small details that I would never ever have figured out on my own.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have three "helpers" to Infinite Jest, each purchased at different readings of the great novel:

-- this one by Bell & Dowling
-- Elegant Complexity: A Study of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, and
-- David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest: A Reader's Guide, 2nd Edition.

Each one has good material, but for an overall or first read of the book, I think this is the most useful, specifically because it has The Basics: a compendium of characters, the plot in paragraph-length chunks that simply remind you where you were when you last read and a basic "here's what happened."

Also included are definitions of slang & idioms, keys to real life people mentioned, and a bunch of basic helpful information. Not all of it is necessary, and there's a lot more than the basics in this book, but if it's your first time reading IJ, I'd recommend this one. If nothing else, it could prevent a false start or giving up.

Elegant Complexity - mentioned above, lists both of the others as references and mentions Bell/Dowling in the text. That one is really for a deep read, I think, or if you're writing a book about IJ yourself. It's masterful, but it wouldn't walk you through the book or allow you to quickly find some meaning you need whilst reading on your own. It's probably great in a classroom or with a group, and it offer some good "further inquiry" ideas, but if you need to understand the novel or remind yourself of something, Elegant complexity will not help on that score.

Finally, Stephen Burn's 2nd Edition of "A Reader's Guide" does a lovely job of summing up in broad strokes a theory of David Foster Wallace's complete work - as well as tons of other things written about it. I like that book because of the way it opens doors to other parts of Wallace and Wallace's place in literature writ large. That one's a worthwhile, if academic, read all on its own.

Of course, these days you can do a really deep dive into heavier criticism, but if all you want to do is read and understand IJ, this is - for my money - worth the price of admission.

However, if you just want to read Infinite Jest, this is the first best place to start, especially if you're reading on your own and feel a little shaky. It never hurts to have a companion to any novel that has over a thousand pages.

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

While many smart things are written in this book, I claim that "Companion" is a misnomer. The first chapter on the opening scene (as well as the first paragraph on the Subsidized Time) was actually really helpful in pointing the reader in the right direction and preventing the reader from throwing in their towel too early (as I did with my first attempt to read IJ years ago). After those first few pages of this guide, I didn't even dare to continue reading it in fear of spoilers. Once I actually finished the novel, I went back to this book to get a learned perspective on characters and themes and really appreciated how it connected some dots that I have missed as a first-time reader.
Thus overall a good job on offering an interesting perspective but I picked it up in hopes of a real companion on the journey through IJ. Turns out I didn't really need it after all since DFW does a brilliant job taking you where you need to go.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book suggests from its beginning that it intends to be a hand-holder for those readers who are on the verge of giving up Infinite Jest because of its complexity and difficulty, I'd recommend slapping this hand away and toughing out your first time through IJ on your own. For one, the reading of a difficult book is its own reward. For two, way too many spoilers, way too early in the structure of this reader's companion. It's like they just can't help giving it all away at the earliest possible moment. For three, this type of comprehensive summary, makes infinitely more sense after you have already read IJ. It's a great companion and sparring partner for your second reading.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled to come up with what to say in this review. This book is about a book, so how much one will enjoy it depends entirely on how much you enjoy Infinite Jest, which, famously, not everyone does.

I rate it very highly because it is, without exaggeration, the only reason I made it through David Foster Wallace's magnum opus. Without it, I would have quit, frustrated and confused. But with the guidance found here, IJ is much more accessible.

I took one star off because the work could have been more polished and contained more about the characters, especially Don Gately and Hal Incandenza. Regardless of this quibble, if you read IJ, you will want to read this alongside.

[Dona · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a companion book, I thought this was competently written and easy to follow. A couple of the essays are a little dated--alas, there is really no need to convince readers of the validity of creating the cartoonish Johnny Gentle the Presidential Crooner. And that whole chapter about the sinister nature of the smiley face--well, um, yeah. I did appreciate the plot breakdown of each chapter and the thoughtful essays about reliability of various narrators as well as the character analyses. This book is useful and interesting.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite helpful. I.J. has a lot of abbreviations and this guide tells you what they mean. A great help in that way. It also has a description of each character which is also very helpful. I also really enjoyed the additional commentary about the themes in the book. Overall, I'm very glad to have had this book as a companion to I.J.

[Willy Sydenstricker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this to be super helpful. Although, I wonder how much of this content has changed/evolved as we are more removed from the tragic death of Wallace. It would be interesting to see another addition to see if there has been more information to in it.

[Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good companion if you'd like to keep things straight when reading Infinite Jest. The character reference is invaluable on its own, and saved me the time of doing the same exercise.

[John Thieme · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just read DFW's novel slowly. Take notes if you have to. Read a few book reviews. While this is an informative companion, it's a waste of time reading Dowling's companion if you really take your time with the novel.

Dowling's writing is just as boring and as pedantically enervating as one of his lectures, and the result is somnolence and tedium.

(I took one of his classes years ago, passed with a B, but it was a grueling ordeal to stay awake and interested...this book is more where that came from)

[Chris Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reading a literary work like Infinite Jest we may enter into kinds of pain and suffering and enlightenment that our own experience would otherwise never have made available to us. When this occurs then we are entitled to say that certain modes of "merely" symbolic experience are every bit as immediate as our ordinary experience. Beneath the comedy and slapstick action of the Eschaton episode lies, in the end, a point about literary experience, and ultimately about Infinite Jest itself as a literary work. - p. 90

[severyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uh, kind of odd to read something so overtly pedagogic, particularly compared with, for example, wallace-l@waste.org.
Not as good as reading the novel, I'd say.