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Infinite Jest

A 1996 encyclopedic novel by David Foster Wallace.

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Infinite Jest is a 1996 novel by American writer David Foster Wallace, often considered his magnum opus and categorized as an encyclopedic novel due to its unconventional narrative structure and hundreds of extensive endnotes, some with footnotes of their own.[1] The novel has sold more than a million copies worldwide since its initial publication.[2]

Making and release

Wallace began Infinite Jest several times between 1986 and 1989, with more productive efforts in 1991–92 leading to a working draft by the end of 1993.[3] Steven Moore notes that Wallace began working on his second novel in the fall of 1991, the outgrowth of an essay he wrote that season.[4] Wallace's working title for Infinite Jest was A Failed Entertainment.[5] Between early 1992 and the book's release, periodicals such as Harvard Review, Grand Street, Conjunctions, Review of Contemporary Fiction, Harper's Magazine, The Iowa Review, The New Yorker, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine published selections from Wallace's evolving drafts.[6]

Little, Brown and Company's Michael Pietsch, who served as the novel's editor, first received approximately 150 pages of the beginning portion from Wallace's agent Bonnie Nadell in April 1992.[7][8] Although Pietsch offered proposals and advice, Wallace retained final authority over all editorial choices.[7] The title derives from Hamlet's Act 5, Scene 1 speech where the prince, holding Yorick's skull, describes him as "a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy."[9][10] A substantial promotional campaign for Infinite Jest included a 10-city author tour and a heavy schedule of media appearances for Wallace.[11]

What the cited sources add

Steven Moore, who read the first draft manuscript on December 3, 1993, reports that the novel originally began with Hal's interview with his father disguised as a "professional conversationalist."[4] Moore describes the main narrative style as "both casual and complex, slangy and erudite, a kind of slacker mandarin with comically manic specificity of detail."[4] Moore notes that Infinite Jest consists of numerous "anticonfluential" episodes set in years with corporate sponsors, such as the Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment.[4] The Mikael Agricola Prize was conferred upon Valkonen in 2021 for his translation work.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Infinite Jest" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Burn, Stephen J. Abstract. "At the edges of perception": William Gaddis and the encyclopedic novel from Joyce to David Foster Wallace. 2001, doctoral thesis, Du (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Infinite Jest" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Holub, "Infinite Jest, 20 years later"; Winter, "Michael Pietsch Interview", 2016-04-06; "Jest Fest", LA Weekly; "Exclusive: New Fan-Designed Cover of 20th Anniversary Edition of 'Infinite Jest' Plus a Brief Interview with Michael Pietsch", The Millions, 2015-12-23; Zauner, "Never mind the lit-bros: Infinite Jest is a true classic at 30", The Guardian, 2026-02-07 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Infinite Jest" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Burn, Stephen J. "'Webs of nerves pulsing and firing': Infinite Jest and the science of mind". A Companion to David Foster Wallace Studies. 58–96; Steven Moore, "The First Draft Version of Infinite Jest " (2003 ), in Moore's My Back Pages: Reviews and Essays (Los Angeles: Zerogram Press, 2017), 684–712. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Steven Moore, "The First Draft Version of Infinite Jest " (2003 ), in Moore's My Back Pages: Reviews and Essays (Los Angeles: Zerogram Press, 2017), 684–712.. facts only, no text reused. thehowlingfantods.com
  5. Wikipedia, "Infinite Jest" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lipsky, "The Lost Years & Last Days of David Foster Wallace", 2008, p. 6 of 11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Infinite Jest" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wallace, "How Don Gately Found God (Excerpt from Longer Work-in-Progress", Harvard Review, Spring 1992, p. 95–98; Wallace, "Three Protrusions", Grand Street, April 1, 1992, p. 102–114; Wallace, "From "Quite a Bit Longer Thing in Progress"", Conjunctions, 1993, p. 223–275; Wallace, "From Infinite Jest", Review of Contemporary Fiction, Summer 1993; Wallace, "The Awakening of My Interest in Annular Systems", September 1993, p. 60–73; Wallace, "It Was a Great Marvel That He Was in the Father without Knowing Him (II): Winter, 1962: Tucson AZ", en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Infinite Jest" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pietsch, "Michael Pietsch: Editing Infinite Jest", infinitesummer.org, July 3, 2009 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Pietsch, "Michael Pietsch: Editing Infinite Jest", infinitesummer.org, July 3, 2009. facts only, no text reused. infinitesummer.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Infinite Jest" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Shakespeare's Hamlet Act 5 Scene 1 – Alas, poor Yorick! The grave-diggers' scene", www.shakespeare-online.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "Shakespeare's Hamlet Act 5 Scene 1 – Alas, poor Yorick! The grave-diggers' scene", www.shakespeare-online.com. facts only, no text reused. shakespeare-online.com
  11. Wikipedia, "Infinite Jest" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Aubry, Timothy. Reading as Therapy: What Contemporary Fiction Does for Middle-Class Americans. University of Iowa Press, 2006. 120; Kalfus, "Wish You Were Here", The New York Times, May 30, 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Infinite Jest" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: SKTL:n vuoden 2021 käännöspalkinnot Tero Valkoselle ja Jussi Palmusaarelle. Suomen kääntäjien ja tulkkien liitto 9.4.2021. (In Finnish.) (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Infinite Jest (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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