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Infinite Jest’ Turns 30, Prompting Fresh Guides and Robust Critical Defense

Critics seize the milestone to argue the novel’s difficulty repays patient, sustained reading.

Overview

  • Biblioklept marked the anniversary by reposting practical advice for first-time readers, urging patience, a dictionary, and close attention to the endnotes.
  • The guidance recommends reading to page 64 and consulting endnote 24, presented as a helpful early waypoint for newcomers deciding whether to continue.
  • Coverage reiterates the novel’s three interwoven strands—Incandenza family, Ennet House recovery with Don Gately, and Québécois plots—linked by an addictive film.
  • The New Dork Review spotlights Hermione Hoby’s New Yorker essay defending the book’s length and complexity, casting its demanding scope as a discipline against easy entertainment.
  • Hoby notes a 30th‑anniversary edition featuring a foreword by Michelle Zauner, as readers report renewed rereads and group reads that reveal added depth.