Im 70 pages into IJ and have no idea wtf is going on except some tennis boys and drugs. Honest advice, how far should i keep pushing before i seen enough to know whether ill keep going or put it down?
It never gets better.
>>8042114
is this your first post-modern novel?
i dunno why don't make the umpteenth IJ thread to find out, huh?
>>8042114
dude, it doesn't even belong in the trilogy. the real third book is the recognitions. go and give away IJ to a library, and grab a copy of The Recognitions, and you'll be much more satisfied.
>>8042114
You're 70 pages into a book that's over 1000 pages. What do you think?
>>8042117
Id say so, why? What was i suppose to start with? My recent reading list has been
Plato republic
Atlas shrugged
Animal farm
Brave new world
Notes from underground
one of the best chapters starts on page 200, if you don't like that part or aren't having an easier time after it you might safely drop it. but it does get better & easier to read after that point.
>>8042144
Thanks desu
>>8042140
The Mezzanine by Nicolas Baker
Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
those are probably better starting points, and also much shorter. if you're like me, long books can burn you out and feel like a chore.
>>8042114
Just read 500-600 more pages before you make a decision. Don't be so hasty.
>>8042114
But I love tennis boys and drugs
I'm currently on about page 230 and I really like it so far, maybe you should take some notes on what you're reading anon.
It really helps when youre getting into literature!
I'm 400+ pages in and I can say there are some really beautiful parts, but I don't quite get stuff like O.N.A.N.tiad or Incandenza filmography, is it supposed to be funny or what? It feels very overplayed, emoted.
I mostly enjoy E.T.A and drug addicts parts, and no idea what Poor Tony chapter is supposed to be about and how it relates to the plot. The line about Quebec separatists is just boring.
I also REALLY dislike that futuristic dystopian setting which seems to me too ridiculous.
Anyone care to seriously discuss?
>>8042287
No thanks
Behead All Satans
>>8042287
>It feels very overplayed, emoted.
>which seems to me too ridiculous
You're 400+ pages in and you can't tell how intentional these are?
>>8042114
You won't have even begun to see why people love it until like 300 pages in, when the narrative begins to make sense. Till then, read it like a collection of little essays or short stories. But definitely keep reading. It's a fantastic book.
>>8042272
Agreed, as long is it's your copy and the book merits it I just write in the ledgers, underline my favorite passages, bend pages, etc.
I know people are going to make fun of me for this but idc.
I was going to get the audiobook, and the endnotes audio. I have no problem focusing on audio. Is this /lit/ approved?
I'm going to do it any way, I just want to hear /lit/'s opinion on it.
I read 626 pages before dropping it. It has a few great moments. Most of it is just ok.
It wouldn't be memed here if he didn't kill himself.
>>8043003
>didn't finish the book
>thinks he knows why it's memed on here
>>8042566
Barthes said that intentions don't matter.
>>8043036
>Barthes
>not Beardsley and Wimsatt
>>8042287
I'm only getting to page 200, but I have no idea what he means by E.T.A. I keep on saying estimated time of arrival in my head.
What does he mean by this, its used in so many different contexts that I cant infer.
>>8043089
enfield tennis academy
>>8043106
My god, thank you. Im glad I came into this thread. Not only that clarification, but some general knowledge about this book.
I picked it up at the bookstore because it was surrounded by good books; after perusing through that section I chose IJ because the dialogue made it seem pretty interesting and then I came on /lit/ and found it to be meme-status.
Happy to hear a good chapter starts around 200, and that the book takes its shape soon.
>>8042972
>Is this /lit/ approved?
No, it's incredibly lazy. How are you going to make notes in the margins? How are you going to flip back and forth when you notice a connection separated by five-hundred pages? How are you going to mark important passages?
Just sit the fuck down and read it. It's not an impossible or difficult book; it's just unnecessarily long.
>>8043022
keep lying to yourself because you want to fit in
>>8043211
Sorry man, but you're the one lying to yourself. Try reading it again in a few years or just accept that it was too challenging.
>>8042144
Seconded.
It'll make more sense as the book goes on.
If you're 300 pages in and still not getting it then you cancheat and look up charts on the internet.
>>8042114
Don't worry man, the novel isn't even written chronologically, so you'll find out whats going on soon enough.
>>8043140
As I've read elsewhere, bookmark pg 223, it will be your calendar of sorts. Helped me a bit.
You got properly memed OP lmao
