Comments on: the germ of everything

By: cynthia

cynthia — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:27:08 +0000

Lisa-I love the writing! Re tearing apart to put in chronological order, I figure I’d have to have 3 copies: 2 for the tearing up b/c of backs of pages belonging to other parts and then 1 to keep the way it is. Maybe one day.

Walt-Of course you would see such a project as art! Or miles and miles of graffiti on a wall… I did read the chronology in Elegant Complexity, but that didn’t do it for me. After the post I just wrote, I have a somewhat better sense of chronology. So I suspect that the second time through, that would be easier to grasp. Was it for you?

Emily-Thank you! I know some of the sadness at finishing IJ has to do with length of time spent with the book and characters and also with trying to grasp what it is in fact that I have finished. But reading your comment, I wonder if it also has to do with the group read coming to a close as well. Interesting.

Sarah-Yes, it is fun when I’m writing to put in different layers for people to discover. It adds to the writing and to the reading experience. Thanks for your comment!

By: Sarah Laurence

Sarah Laurence — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:50:24 +0000

That’s a fun joke in the opening, but it would be hard to catch. I sometimes write in little jokes figuring only some people will get them, but they’ll enjoy them all the more. As long as it doesn’t confuse the reader who isn’t in on the joke, it’s fun to have a book work on several levels.

Your excerpts give a sense of the book, but I don’t think it’s one for me.

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:32:34 +0000

I'm loving your posts on Infinite Jest. I so relate to the feeling of needing to process about a book ending - even though I finished 2666 months ago, and even though the same group of people and I are moving on to another shared read, I still feel some sadness that the final group posting on Bolaño's tome is coming up at the end of September. It's been a great ride! I've been avoiding Infinite Jest for years - not because of the length, but because I have past issues with alcohol & drug stuff myself, and haven't felt up to re-opening that can of worms. But the beautiful posts by you and others are making me reconsider. So thanks! I'll probably pick it up one of these days. :-)

By: Walt Pascoe

Walt Pascoe — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:44:01 +0000

A torn up and re-assembled copy would be a lovely bit of book art…conceptual project…tempting! Greg Carlisle included a section in “Elegant Complexity” (p.493) that rearranges parts of IJ and establishes a chronology of sorts.

By: Lisa Kenney

Lisa Kenney — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:41:40 +0000

Yes! I was acutely aware of structure after I’d been reading for a while and at one point it did occur to me that I’d love to tear the book apart and rearrange everything so I could see it in a more linear fashion. I’m so glad you chose to show so many examples of the great writing in the book. There is so much to Infinite Jest that I sometimes think that we almost take the writing itself for granted.