Infinite Jest

E77986

Infinite Jest is a sprawling, postmodern novel by David Foster Wallace known for its complex structure, extensive endnotes, and darkly comic exploration of addiction, entertainment, and contemporary American life.

Aliases (1)

Statements (64)
Predicate Object
instanceOf literary work
novel
postmodern novel
author David Foster Wallace
considered one of the major American novels of the late 20th century
countryOfOrigin United States
criticalReception acclaimed
dedicatedTo his parents
explores contemporary American life
substance abuse and recovery communities
the culture of entertainment
featuresCharacter Avril Incandenza
Don Gately
Hal Incandenza
James O. Incandenza NERFINISHED
Joelle Van Dyne
Mario Incandenza
Orin Incandenza
featuresConcept Subsidized Time
the Entertainment (lethal film cartridge)
followedBy The Pale King
follows The Broom of the System
genre encyclopedic novel
literary fiction
postmodern literature
satire
tragicomedy
hasAdaptation stage adaptations
hasNotableFeature complex narrative structure
dark humor
extensive endnotes
footnotes and endnotes as narrative device
multiple narrative voices
nonlinear timeline
hasSetting Enfield Tennis Academy
Ennet House Drug and Alcohol Recovery House
Greater Boston area
near-future North America
includedInList TIME magazine’s 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005
influenced contemporary American fiction
isbn10 0316920045
language English
mainTheme American consumer culture
addiction
depression
entertainment
entertainment as control
family dysfunction
free will
loneliness
pleasure and pain
recovery
spectacle and media
narrativePerspective third-person limited
narrativeTechnique shifts in point of view
stream of consciousness
originalMediaType print
pageCount 1079
placeOfPublication Boston
publicationDate 1996-02-01
publisher Little, Brown and Company
setInPeriod late 20th century
titleOrigin Hamlet by William Shakespeare
titlePhraseFrom “Alas, poor Yorick” speech in Hamlet

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
David Foster Wallace ("novel "Infinite Jest"")
knownFor
David Foster Wallace
notableWork
Little, Brown and Company
notableWorkPublished

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