Unendlicher Spass

I read the paperback edition in German. And I do not know if this was an “Infinite Jest”, since the book has 1600 pages, printed in an unusually small font, and is just very thick and heavy – almost impossible to hold in your hands. Moreover, I had a time-limit: I wanted to read it during my vacation. I went through it with high pressure, and I think this is the wrong way for such a monumental novel. My advice: if you dare to read it, do it in small pieces as secondary lecture.
It is so monumental that is is not worth to give a summary, just a few unordered pieces. “infinite Jest” is the name of an unofficial movie, that has a devastating effect on its viewers. One the watch it they get absolutely absorbed and want to see it all over again forever. They refuse to eat and drink until they die of dehydration an hunger. A few interested groups want to get the master copy of it. The novels deals with the topical problems of our modern societies: our polluted environment, extreme pressure to over-perform even for kids, blind belief in self-regulating markets, the dominance of advertising in our daily lives, drug abuse, terrorism, political messianism, and the role of the modern communication and entertainment technologies. The text alters between hilariously funny in its absurd inventions and painful when it describes in great detail: drug trips, drug addiction in its final stages, involuntary and voluntary drug withdrawal. The novel is full of bizarre characters. The author takes us into the stream of consciousness of a few protagonists. That is very well crafted in the face of the pure volume and the numerous persons that are interconnected. If you need help you will find network plots of the book’s characters in the internet. I think it can be pretty useful. Surprisingly, this time I did not need it. For Russian novels I always need such a list.