Date: October 28th, 2026 4:48 PM Author: a lawyer who posts on the internet
it's wild how if you live long enough you see the conventional wisdom swing around 180 degrees from "oh wow I'm so cool and cultured because I performatively love DFW" to "oh wow I'm so cool and cultured because I performatively hate DFW" which is why I don't recommend it (living) (DFW agrees)
Major prole tell to try to appreciate DFW by starting at page 1 of IJ. Just read his short stories and watch his presentations/interviews. He's brilliant and inspired me to wear a white paisley bandana around 50% of the time.
Date: October 29th, 2026 9:20 AM Author: Quarterzip
As i noted in another thread:
I can’t get through Infinite Jest because it is a relic of a time when smoking marijuana was Not Prole and DFW spills a lot of ink giggling self-indulgently about how cool he is to be writing about Dude WEED lmao
Date: October 29th, 2026 9:31 AM Author: Fracture in the Maidenhead (gunneratttt)
I love his short stories and journalism. I haven't even attempted IJ because all the biggest readers I know reported only getting halfway through, so I know I don't stand a chance.
Date: October 29th, 2026 11:23 AM Author: young Boasthard
I'm a pretty big fan. Read all the short nonfiction pieces, they're digestible and fun and insightful, and the voice is great. Read Infinite Jest a couple of times and really enjoyed it, though unlike the above poaster I actually think the tennis academy + Incandenza family stuff is way better than the other parts of the book. Broom of the system is interesting but not as good as IJ. LOL at getting through the publishing apparatus today as a white guy, there's no real reason to bash DFW when we'd be in 1000x better shape fiction-wise if people like him were allowed to publish
Date: October 29th, 2026 11:29 AM Author: great moniker
forgot to mention, oddly enough Aaron Schwartz's biggest legacy is actually the "What was the real plot ending of Infinite Jest" essay everyone reads online when theyre done. not reddit. ljl.