Has anyone on /lit/ actually read this book?
All memes aside, I thought it was an excellent, albeit lengthy, novel when it came to conveying the atmosphere of elitism and consumerist society that has fostered the widespread depressive, amoral, and nihilistic attitudes in this generation.
I don't see why people shit all over this book, even if a few chapters are just one-sentence rambling of drug addicts.
What do you think of this book?
>>7782449
It's for plebs who want to feel smart. Trash.
>>7782449
>the atmosphere of elitism and consumerist society that has fostered the widespread depressive, amoral, and nihilistic attitudes in this generation.
confirmed for not understanding the book
>>7782453
If you supposedly understand it so well why don't you refute my interpretation of it with a more sensible one? Unless, of course, you didn't read it
>>7782464
I would refute it but I don't think you'd understand. Life is too short for me to uselessly expend my energy like that.
>>7782449
best book written since its publication... people just shit on it because its the most accessible of the meme trilogy, but its a meme for a reason. Plenty of good books are accessible,.
>>7782473
>Life's too short for me to support my argument
>Spends time in the first place shitposting on a Peloponnese Sail-Weaving Forum
Nice cop-out, bud
>>7782452
Try to read any portion of this novel to your average person and they would need a dictionary to even begin to understand what is going on.
Your perception of average intelligence is highly skewed, maybe you should spend less time trip-fagging and more time going outside and talking to people.
>>7782479
Can you explain why it's a meme though? Do people on /lit/ just recommend it to waste people trying to get into reading's time? I don't understand why that would be the case if it's a legitimately interesting and thought-provoking book.
I read it. I think it's to simple to be a meme. It should be taken out for the tunnel in the meme trilogy.
>>7782620
If you don't see how recommending any of the meme trilogy books to someone who comes to /lit/ saying the last book they read was Catcher in the Rye in 8th grade isn't trying to waste people's times, you're a very good person.
>>7782449
im 40 pages in and i think it's just beyond me. if im honest i dont like reading dense books and this book is really screwing me over. im not getting any of it. very strange writing but im only 40 pages in so whatever. maybe im not supposed to get whats going on yet.
good dialogue though. even if its hard to keep track of.
>>7782653
Wtf is there to not get? This book is so fucking simple. I really don't understand why it's in the meme trilogy.
>>7782653
That's how it was for me when I started it, but it got easier for me the longer I stuck with it. The frequent shifts in narration/perspective also help keep things fresh, although I agree that some parts are difficult to follow.
If you can't handle dense reading however, you probably shouldn't have picked up IJ in the first place.
Also, fuck this guy >>7782657 trying to act like its some dolt-level reading. DFW may not be a Nietzsche, but its definitely not something any buffoon could pick up and read
>>7782657
i dont know i feel like im supposed to be getting something from all this descriptiveness and absurdly long textblocks. maybe im not?
maybe its just about a genius tennis player, marijuana addict, and lazy arab.
those are the characters ive been introduced to so far.
i just started though so ill be back later when im further into the book.
>>7782675
im definitely out of my league with IJ but im pressing on. hopefully ill get something out of it even if im a pretty juvenile reader.
>>7782678
It's really nothing to get or understand. It's all written as plain as day. Until you get closer to the end with the dmz. That's probably the hardest part.
Any book that takes more than fifty pages to become interesting is a bad book.
Even fucking Lord of the Rings manages to get the hobbits out of the forest within fifty pages.
I think.
>>7782709
For me it's interesting in the very beginning, then after the opening chapter becomes dull.
>>7782498
I read it as a freshman in highschool. You are definitely exaggerating.
>>7782449
I have the audiobook for this book but it mentions that the annotations are not included. How important are they? Will it hinder the experience?
>>7782735
You will definitely miss out on many explanations of unique acronyms, obscure chemical compounds, and backstories that would greatly enrich your understanding of the novel. With this said, I wouldn't consider them a dealbreaker.
>>7782481
>Spends time shitposting on a Tungusic Axe-throwing forum
This is my favorite meme. ;)
>>7782760
But I was instantly gratified. Thanks for feeding me Dave.
>>7782707
I'm not quite sure if I agree with this. Even from the beginning the perspectives of the drug addicts, whether they were the degenerate junkies or the hopelessly stagnant but functioning pot-smoker, conveyed the patterns of thought surrounding life that seemingly plagued DFW's own life. While not the most intellectually challenging, I found these sections valuable insights into those with depressive mindsets.
>>7782473
Confirmed faggot
>>7782792
Yeah but those parts aren't hard to understand.
Dfw was addicted to watching TV. Reading IJ is literally like watching TV for 24 hours and flipping through/between channels every ten minutes and some channels are playing reruns of one show in no particular order
>>7782812
Just because it wasn't difficult to comprehend from a literary perspective doesn't mean you can't glean useful knowledge from them. Surely it is more intellectually fulfilling than mindlessly watching television for hours on end?
>>7782759
The only proper response to a shitpost is a meme, my friend.
Sent ;)
>>7782473
> life is too short yo write one or two extra sentence but not too short to reply to begin with.
Truly wondrous.
>>7782834
But hey maybe you changed the channel to A&E or discovery (old discovery) and learned a little bit. He was spot on about a lot of things. Especially depression. But what I'm saying is that it isn't a difficult read. There isn't any crazy hidden meaning you might miss if your not smart enough or something. Everything is given to you at face value.
>>7782925
Alright I believe I understand now, thank you for that clarification. With this said, however, what do you suppose the deeper meaning DFW was trying to get at in the later parts of the novel was, if any? It may have been my poor interpretation of the novel but I really only gained an abstract idea of DFW trying to convey the futility of entertainment as a mere distraction from death and a corrupting outside world. What do you suppose he was trying to say?
>>7782951
I think he was just fucking around trying to waste our time.
>>7782972
Fair enough, but is it really time wasted if you can enjoy the journey? I had a lot of fun reading through much of it, although the Tweaker chapters were admittedly nauseating
>>7782987
Yeah it was fine. I liked it. I just don't think it's complex enough or retarded enough to be a part of the meme trio. I think the tunnel should take its spot.
>>7782994
Did you actually read the tunnel? I've only read the synopsis online, is it worth the time?
>>7783030
Lmao just Google pictures of pages of the tunnel and you will find out if it's worth reading or not
