When you read truly great novels that are thematically complex and yet also feel cohesive and tell a discernible story... I just feel like books like Infinite Jest feel a bit... fraudulent I suppose!? Like DFW was using the shorthand of formal experimentation to make it sound and look clever. But the themes themselves are no more intelligently explored than you might find in another more enjoyable and readable novel. That doesn't mean they aren't intelligently explored to some degree in IJ but there is a lot of extraneous material that just feels unnecessary.
I acknowledge that it's kind of down to taste as well like maybe there are readers who really genuinely enjoy this style and get something out of it. Novels come in many forms, after all.
But there will undoubtedly be *other* readers who feel they *should* like it because it's supposed to be good and feels difficult to read. Are people scared that if they enjoy a book it can't possibly be good literature!? I think there's a degree to which DFW and writers like him flourish in that kind of insecurity in what we think we should admire vs. what we actually admire. But I maintain that actually telling a good story *and* providing readers with complex theming, marrying form and content, and writing beautiful prose is just as difficult (if not more difficult) than whatever DFW does with IJ. I suppose rather than taking away from whatever he achieves with IJ, I'd also like us to better acknowledge the value and skill required in that other form of novel. Books like this one get my back up a bit more for just how high the pedestal is. Otherwise I wouldn't mind so much something like this existing in the world lol
I LOVED your Infinite Jest review!! Trying to unpick a book with such a high literary status can be so intimidating (it's how I felt when reviewing TSD). Fascinating to read how horrific it is at parts, and how that ties in with the discussion about the separation between author/narrator. I think anyone who loves books as much as us always feels really compelled to 'try' books like Infinite Jest, like The Savage Detectives, because they are considered to have such high literary merit. But I always find more often than not, they are not as good (generally) as their accolade suggests. Which always makes me think about why and how these books stand the test of time, garner so much praise when linguistically, technically and morally they feel very very weak. I haven't read many reviews of IJ generally, but the few I have read have not mentioned the bigotry you have - WHY?! It won't be because it went unnoticed, but perhaps because of its status people feel they can't, or don't want to criticise it. Which is such a failure imo, a book growing in status as the decades pass, never quite being criticised appropriately because it feels untouchable? Which is all to say, love the nuance, criticism and perspective you positioned the review in.
This also operated as a very timely reminder for me to read more Yuri Herrera. I went all the way back into my archives of December 2023 which I read transmigration of bodies to remind myself of what I thought - I remember wanting a bit more but generally being very impressed by his writing, the world he created in such few pages. While I hate this word to describe books/writing, the vibes (lol) that Herrera creates is brilliant. I am going to read Signs Preceding next & should get a copy of Season of Swamp!
Looking forward to the upcoming NL about literature and the predictive brain!!!! Sounds epic.
Yes it can be totally hit and miss to read lauded books like this one! There’s definitely a bit of posturing going on with some of them, especially if they are long and difficult to comprehend for some reason (sunk cost fallacy? if I got this far it must be good?). But (said delicately) I think if you read a lot of great literature which is both interesting and readable and doesn’t necessitate this kind of self-conscious performance of intellectualism it does seem silly to raise this one over others. He does explore some themes in an interesting way! The form seems chosen for a particular reason! Fine! But so do countless other novels/novelists that are also more successful at communicating than this, that are more perfect wholes. Why do books like this get singled out? It definitely irritates me haha. Not least because perhaps there are people feeling bad about what they actually enjoy reading when maybe they like a novel to do what a novel is supposed to do, actually!
I definitely felt similarly about Herrera on first read that maybe there was something more he could’ve given. But the more I read the more I discover in the details. So good!
I love your description of 'feeling safe in her hands' when it comes to Louise Erdrich's writing - that sense of trust with an author is such a gift! I've only read a few of her novels (including The Mighty Red) but I already feel that trust and am excited to dive into more of her backlist. (On a side note, I was able to visit her bookstore in Minneapolis last year and thought it was an absolute gem!) Thanks for your thoughtful reviews!
It really is such a gift! Whenever I read interviews with her I think: this woman was born to write novels. I remember in the extra material in my copy of The Round House she described how she would do a lot of her thinking while driving and then would have to pull over to scribble something down in her notebook. I think you can really tell that she has that all-consuming love of writing and that's probably why she's on her nineteenth novel! My favourites of hers so far are The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse and I think The Round House, too. I hope to start the Love Medicine series from the top later this year when I can unearth my copy.
And so hope I can visit her bookstore one day! I thought the Bev's Bookery material in The Mighty Red was a lot of fun and she's clearly drawing on some of her experience. Like when Hugo is possessed by the bookseller's need to be helpful to Gary despite being at personal odds with him—very funny!
Ha! Yes, so funny - and relatable, for book lovers! :-) I do appreciate the levity she weaves into her books, which she seems to do seamlessly right alongside more serious and thought-provoking issues.
Her IRL bookstore is such a unique, beautifully curated little shop - I definitely enjoyed my time there! I shared a photo back in December (in my top ten fiction of '24 article, along with brief thoughts about The Mighty Red since it made the list!) if you're interested. The more we chat about her, the more I think I need to read another of hers sooner rather than later!
I hope your April has been filled with excellent reads!
“Why do we equate ‘infuriating to read’ with greatness?” Well said! I think about this all the time lol
When you read truly great novels that are thematically complex and yet also feel cohesive and tell a discernible story... I just feel like books like Infinite Jest feel a bit... fraudulent I suppose!? Like DFW was using the shorthand of formal experimentation to make it sound and look clever. But the themes themselves are no more intelligently explored than you might find in another more enjoyable and readable novel. That doesn't mean they aren't intelligently explored to some degree in IJ but there is a lot of extraneous material that just feels unnecessary.
I acknowledge that it's kind of down to taste as well like maybe there are readers who really genuinely enjoy this style and get something out of it. Novels come in many forms, after all.
But there will undoubtedly be *other* readers who feel they *should* like it because it's supposed to be good and feels difficult to read. Are people scared that if they enjoy a book it can't possibly be good literature!? I think there's a degree to which DFW and writers like him flourish in that kind of insecurity in what we think we should admire vs. what we actually admire. But I maintain that actually telling a good story *and* providing readers with complex theming, marrying form and content, and writing beautiful prose is just as difficult (if not more difficult) than whatever DFW does with IJ. I suppose rather than taking away from whatever he achieves with IJ, I'd also like us to better acknowledge the value and skill required in that other form of novel. Books like this one get my back up a bit more for just how high the pedestal is. Otherwise I wouldn't mind so much something like this existing in the world lol
Really enjoyed your review of Infinite Jest and DFW, very interesting.
I LOVED your Infinite Jest review!! Trying to unpick a book with such a high literary status can be so intimidating (it's how I felt when reviewing TSD). Fascinating to read how horrific it is at parts, and how that ties in with the discussion about the separation between author/narrator. I think anyone who loves books as much as us always feels really compelled to 'try' books like Infinite Jest, like The Savage Detectives, because they are considered to have such high literary merit. But I always find more often than not, they are not as good (generally) as their accolade suggests. Which always makes me think about why and how these books stand the test of time, garner so much praise when linguistically, technically and morally they feel very very weak. I haven't read many reviews of IJ generally, but the few I have read have not mentioned the bigotry you have - WHY?! It won't be because it went unnoticed, but perhaps because of its status people feel they can't, or don't want to criticise it. Which is such a failure imo, a book growing in status as the decades pass, never quite being criticised appropriately because it feels untouchable? Which is all to say, love the nuance, criticism and perspective you positioned the review in.
This also operated as a very timely reminder for me to read more Yuri Herrera. I went all the way back into my archives of December 2023 which I read transmigration of bodies to remind myself of what I thought - I remember wanting a bit more but generally being very impressed by his writing, the world he created in such few pages. While I hate this word to describe books/writing, the vibes (lol) that Herrera creates is brilliant. I am going to read Signs Preceding next & should get a copy of Season of Swamp!
Looking forward to the upcoming NL about literature and the predictive brain!!!! Sounds epic.
Yes it can be totally hit and miss to read lauded books like this one! There’s definitely a bit of posturing going on with some of them, especially if they are long and difficult to comprehend for some reason (sunk cost fallacy? if I got this far it must be good?). But (said delicately) I think if you read a lot of great literature which is both interesting and readable and doesn’t necessitate this kind of self-conscious performance of intellectualism it does seem silly to raise this one over others. He does explore some themes in an interesting way! The form seems chosen for a particular reason! Fine! But so do countless other novels/novelists that are also more successful at communicating than this, that are more perfect wholes. Why do books like this get singled out? It definitely irritates me haha. Not least because perhaps there are people feeling bad about what they actually enjoy reading when maybe they like a novel to do what a novel is supposed to do, actually!
I definitely felt similarly about Herrera on first read that maybe there was something more he could’ve given. But the more I read the more I discover in the details. So good!
I love your description of 'feeling safe in her hands' when it comes to Louise Erdrich's writing - that sense of trust with an author is such a gift! I've only read a few of her novels (including The Mighty Red) but I already feel that trust and am excited to dive into more of her backlist. (On a side note, I was able to visit her bookstore in Minneapolis last year and thought it was an absolute gem!) Thanks for your thoughtful reviews!
It really is such a gift! Whenever I read interviews with her I think: this woman was born to write novels. I remember in the extra material in my copy of The Round House she described how she would do a lot of her thinking while driving and then would have to pull over to scribble something down in her notebook. I think you can really tell that she has that all-consuming love of writing and that's probably why she's on her nineteenth novel! My favourites of hers so far are The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse and I think The Round House, too. I hope to start the Love Medicine series from the top later this year when I can unearth my copy.
And so hope I can visit her bookstore one day! I thought the Bev's Bookery material in The Mighty Red was a lot of fun and she's clearly drawing on some of her experience. Like when Hugo is possessed by the bookseller's need to be helpful to Gary despite being at personal odds with him—very funny!
Ha! Yes, so funny - and relatable, for book lovers! :-) I do appreciate the levity she weaves into her books, which she seems to do seamlessly right alongside more serious and thought-provoking issues.
Her IRL bookstore is such a unique, beautifully curated little shop - I definitely enjoyed my time there! I shared a photo back in December (in my top ten fiction of '24 article, along with brief thoughts about The Mighty Red since it made the list!) if you're interested. The more we chat about her, the more I think I need to read another of hers sooner rather than later!
I hope your April has been filled with excellent reads!