Update on Infinite Jest

I certainly haven't been writing about it to the extent I wrote about Ulysses as I haven't really felt the need for a chapter-by-chapter analysis on the blog, especially as there are many more chapters. So, before I get too ahead of myself, I thought I'd update. At the moment, I am about 30% of the way through the book, I'm not sure, but I believe I've gone past the part I got to the last time I read. This time I am making copious notes about the different characters, which has helped a great deal. I can't always remember in what context each character has popped up before, so it makes sense to check on it. 

Wallace's plotting is intricate in the extreme; I can't think of another book I've read that works in the same way with each character fitting together. Its like a big puzzle giving out clues all the time. In some ways, I wish I'd left 'subsidzed time' as a mystery until it was reveled, but never mind, the rest of the book has been a spoiler-free zone so far. 

Even though it's difficult at times, it's an enjoyable book to read, particularly the incidences of black humour and absurdity. I particularly enjoyed the story of Poor Tony stealing the woman's heart, somehow you don't know whether to laugh or not. 

Difficult parts include a bit too much tennis and AA meetings, Clenette's narration and the history of Quebecois separatism, which is no walk in the park. 

Themes so far include appearences and the eternal struggle between freedom and responsibility. This final theme is revealed through the Ennet House Drug and Alcohol Recovery House [sic] parts, which is in turn mirrored by the drug taking that takes place in the Enfield Tennis Academy. It seems no-one can escape the consequences of absolving responsibility, and the Separatist Operatives have an interesting discussion about having enough responsibility to be able to be free. Even though there are serious points to be made, I haven't found the book to be that 'preachy' about it. 

The trouble with a book like this is that sometimes, it spoils you for other books. I want to carry on reading something that I can feel is doing something good. I want to find out what happens, but at the same time I don't really want it to end. 

Just a brief word about reading the e-book version. So far, I've found it okay. Using the footnotes in the book is good, but I've used a physical notebook and a pencil to make notes. I haven't really got to grips with bookmarks on the Kindle as yet, so I've had to scan around to find James's filmography and probably will when Separatism becomes vital to the plot. I think the main benefit to reading on Kindle is not ending up with a wrecked copy from too much bookmarking, note-taking and flipping back through different sections!