[I51]⇒ Download Gratis David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest A Reader Guide Continuum Contemporaries Stephen J Burn 9780826414779 Books

David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest A Reader Guide Continuum Contemporaries Stephen J Burn 9780826414779 Books

Download As PDF : David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest A Reader Guide Continuum Contemporaries Stephen J Burn 9780826414779 Books

David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest A Reader Guide Continuum Contemporaries Stephen J Burn 9780826414779 Books

I bought this book hoping that it would help me read more deeply into Infinite Jest, a book I have read before and aspire to complete a second time. The reviews of Burns' book here suggested that it may or may not be helpful. With that vague summary I concur, in that for some patient and committed readers the reader's guide will be very useful, for others it will be irritating and not terribly useful. I place myself in the first category, although after working hard with Chapters 1 and 2, I was in the second.

There can be no doubt that Stephen Burn has studied David Foster Wallace's deeply, knows the works very well and recognizes that a writer as rich and profound as DFW is operating on many different levels, some of which are obvious, many less so. In that sense he should be, and indeed is, a valuable guide. Indeed one of his achievements is to offer in Chapter 3 an analysis of Infinite Jest which dissects a complex structure within the novel which makes good sense, but which is far from obvious. For that alone this book is well worth reading. This is offered in support of his general argument that DFW was a consummate master of structure and narrative and not just someone given to rambling and digressing and name-dropping, as is sometimes suggested by critics. I had already reached that view but it is good to hear it from someone with a deep appreciation of DFW's works.

At the same time Stephen Burn is an academic, and his prose is occasionally marred by the obscurity considered acceptable, even necessary as a sign of profundity in the academy. I can certainly deal with that, but some readers will be puzzled or annoyed. This is particularly evident in the first 2 chapters, but Burn does suggest that some people may wish to focus on Chapter 3.

I am assuming that this book was written for students of literature or people with an interest in the growing academic literature on DFW's work. There are plenty of courteous references to other scholar's work, and the bibliography appears comprehensive, although this is a slim tome. Additionally the chronology of Infinite Jest is unravelled, and this may help some readers through the gyrations of the novel. Indeed you could argue that readers should try harder to follow the chronology, rather than let some of the timing just slide by in a kind of blur - guilty as charged.

This book is fine achievement in its own right. Infinite Jest does not suddenly stand revealed as a fairly straightforward fable. It shows the extraordinary complexity of the task which DFW had set himself, forces one to think again and again about new themes and issues in the text, and above all encourages one to return to the novel. Indeed I found myself thinking about a third reading !


Tags : David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries) [Stephen J. Burn] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <DIV>This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular,Stephen J. Burn,David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries),Bloomsbury Academic,082641477X,General,American English,Books & Reading,English literature: texts,Infinite jest,LITERARY CRITICISM General,Literary Criticism,Literary Criticism: General,Literature - Classics Criticism,Literature: History & Criticism,Novels, other prose & writers: from c 1900 -,Wallace, David Foster.,Wallace, David Foster

David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest A Reader Guide Continuum Contemporaries Stephen J Burn 9780826414779 Books Reviews

It could indeed be the best of the "reader's guides" to IJ. My objection is to the terminology; I don't think it qualifies as a reader's guide. Perhaps "companion" or supplement" would properly describe it.
A proper epilogue of the alluding to Metaphysics.
What a great and comprehensive review.
I've been a fan of IJ since reading it in the summer of '96, but I've never read such a lucid and thoughtful analysis as this book provides. Burns has put enormous effort into analyzing Wallace's writing style, and avoids the simple analysis that Wallace is concsiously trying to undermine. Even though there are many subjects in the book that I would love Burns' opinion on, he is forthcoming about the limitations of the 'readers' guide' format, and has chosen his few topics for detailed analysis with care and skill.
I especially liked his understanding and analysis of IJ's literary context rather than simplistically comparing Wallace's work to Pynchon or DeLillo, as many have done, he explores the richer tradition of myth materials and 20th-century literature that informs Wallace's brilliant novel.
My only criticism is Burns' failure to comment on Wallace's sense of humor, which was one of the reasons I loved IJ so much, and why I find it worth re-reading from time to time. I've enjoyed other writers endorsed by Wallace, like Irvine Welsh and Dave Eggers, but some literary analysis of Wallace's effective use of different varieties of humor would have been helpful. Still, given the lucid and concise analysis Burns provides, this criticism should be understood as part of my wishlist, not any negative take on Burns' sense of humor.
Infinite Jest is one of those once in a lifetime reads that was simultaneously painfully aggravating and indescribably delicious. It took so much effort and concentration to read certain parts that I could feel the sweat popping out on my brow. To make matters worse, I could only figure out portions of the book, even after a couple of reads.
This study guide goes a long way toward answering lots of questions I had about the story, the plot, the characters, and how they interrelated. This was such a big help to me that immediately after finishing the study guide I started reading Infinite Jest yet again, only this time a lot more of it clicked, and made it so much more enjoyable. I only wish the guide had revealed more, but I suppose there's something sort of magical about not being able to figure the whole book out. It would be lots of fun to have more of these guides for great works of fiction!
Hi,
This is a wonderful guide to Infinite Jest.
It contains, in just a few pages, a valid summary of the book; a short biography of DFW and lots of hints to start a conversation about the great writer's masterpiece.
Nonetheless, IJ is such a broad subject that a short guide could never be sufficient to really master the text without reading it with patience and attention, maybe a couple of times.
Id est, you cannot take an exam on IJ without reading the book thoroughly before. This guide will re-create timelines, happenings, connections that might have been unclear to the reader, but the reader must well know what Mr.Burn is talking about.
I consider myself quite an attentive reader; however, Burn's guide made me realize that, amid the 1079 pages of the book, there were links between the sub-plots that had skipped my surveillance.
A Must-Read for those who have loved this book and want to know some new perspective.
Useful, and fun to read if you haven't gone back to the novel for a while.
I bought this book hoping that it would help me read more deeply into Infinite Jest, a book I have read before and aspire to complete a second time. The reviews of Burns' book here suggested that it may or may not be helpful. With that vague summary I concur, in that for some patient and committed readers the reader's guide will be very useful, for others it will be irritating and not terribly useful. I place myself in the first category, although after working hard with Chapters 1 and 2, I was in the second.

There can be no doubt that Stephen Burn has studied David Foster Wallace's deeply, knows the works very well and recognizes that a writer as rich and profound as DFW is operating on many different levels, some of which are obvious, many less so. In that sense he should be, and indeed is, a valuable guide. Indeed one of his achievements is to offer in Chapter 3 an analysis of Infinite Jest which dissects a complex structure within the novel which makes good sense, but which is far from obvious. For that alone this book is well worth reading. This is offered in support of his general argument that DFW was a consummate master of structure and narrative and not just someone given to rambling and digressing and name-dropping, as is sometimes suggested by critics. I had already reached that view but it is good to hear it from someone with a deep appreciation of DFW's works.

At the same time Stephen Burn is an academic, and his prose is occasionally marred by the obscurity considered acceptable, even necessary as a sign of profundity in the academy. I can certainly deal with that, but some readers will be puzzled or annoyed. This is particularly evident in the first 2 chapters, but Burn does suggest that some people may wish to focus on Chapter 3.

I am assuming that this book was written for students of literature or people with an interest in the growing academic literature on DFW's work. There are plenty of courteous references to other scholar's work, and the bibliography appears comprehensive, although this is a slim tome. Additionally the chronology of Infinite Jest is unravelled, and this may help some readers through the gyrations of the novel. Indeed you could argue that readers should try harder to follow the chronology, rather than let some of the timing just slide by in a kind of blur - guilty as charged.

This book is fine achievement in its own right. Infinite Jest does not suddenly stand revealed as a fairly straightforward fable. It shows the extraordinary complexity of the task which DFW had set himself, forces one to think again and again about new themes and issues in the text, and above all encourages one to return to the novel. Indeed I found myself thinking about a third reading !