Sipped Ink vol 1 issue 9

Infinite Jest pp5__-6__

Today was the day I came roaring back. I should have kept a count of how many pages I covered, but rest assured: you would have been proud of me. I’m not quite back up to speed, but I’m within touching distance of it, which is much better than the ~120 page deficit that I was labouring under previously.

Today’s been a bit of a blur. I’ve been all over the place, checking in with almost all of the major characters, and starting to see some of the novel’s major turning points revisited from different angles: eg. Hal and the mould, as recounted in an endnote by Orin this time.

One particular thread I’m keen to get to the truth of is the disfiguring of Joelle von D. It’s hinted at up to the point I’ve reached, but not explicated. I had thought I’d started to piece together some of the truth of The Entertainment as, in one scene, we hear Joelle explain her adoption of the veil by stating ”I am so beautiful I am deformed”, and at another point we get a glimpse of the film’s opening scene recounted as containing Madame Psychosis’s veil lifted by a breeze. Wallace is obviously playing with the idea, introduced when we knew Joelle simply as PGOAT, that she is beautiful enough to render people helpless. This, alloyed to the ideas Marathe is constantly espousing around the USA desire for passive entertainment… I thought I had it figured out. At least where I’ve reached right now the jury’s still out on what’s really behind that veil.

Don Gately has become more interesting over the last 100 pages. I now find myself a little scared of him, and yet enthralled - such a great character. I’m also excited to see what Wallace has in store for him, though the last time I saw him he was bleeding out in the street.

What am I doing writing this? I should be reading on to find out what happens to these people. I’m almost back with you. Four weeks of reading to go!