Needless to say, Infinite Jest was daunting. Every time I picked it up I felt like I was dumping a glass of water into a river. Some of the pages literally took me 10 or 15 minutes to read. When you look up and you have been reading for over an hour and you have only read 7 pages, you may begin to feel like life has passed you by in your attempt to read this book. That being said and having read the novel's cautionary forward, I would like to read it at some point. Moments of it had me cracking up, while others left me simultaneously intrigued and bewildered-a sensation that I definitely have an urge to satisfy. Infinite Jest just wasn't the recreational read I needed as this quarter came to a close. That in no way discounts it from being a book I run to in the future, just not right now.
The next novel we face is Snuff by our beloved Portland neighbor, Chuck Palahniuk. I think that we all have read at least one or more of his novels and have some idea of what to expect. That said, and maybe it was because I put down Infinite Words and turned to Snuff, my initial reaction is that it is no where near as complex and clever as some of CP's previous works. As prior novels offered insight and, to some extent, revelations, Snuff offers a lot of creative porn titles and euphemisms for penises and masturbation. While funny, you will likely read this book quickly and feel like he is trying to use sex in a shocking way that seems like a stretch. I've said too much! Don't let my opinion sway you at all! I would love to hear what others think. Enjoy.
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