Infinite Jest #4

Entry Four

Guys am I a bad person for thinking this book is difficult? Am I not smart enough? The dialogue flows much easier than the descriptive prose but each page takes me three minutes to read and it's a little frustrating. I'm definitely not getting this book finished on time (going on vacation -- which was amazing -- didn't help) but also maybe I shouldn't be thinking about finishing it in any sort of time frame. Like, maybe part of this experience is accepting that it's going to take some indefinite amount of time to complete. Do you even "complete" Infinite Jest?

I bought a new hardcover copy on Amazon today because I'm going to display it and yell at strangers about how I triumphed over it.

Anyway, I'm on page 200 after not touching it for four days (due to the aforementioned vacation; shout out to J.) and it's still really good. Highlights:

1. Students at the E.T.A take piss tests four times a year, which has spawned a black market for buying and selling the younger kids' urine. It is described (the urine) as "piping hot." I giggled.
2. Himself's dad's tirade about tennis, how to open a garage door, how to handle a flask, how to put a book on the ground, Himself's grandfather, how Himself's dad ruined his knees (and tennis career), his (Himself's dad's) alcoholism, etc. Wow. Really good.
3. Inman Square shout out.
4. Hal makes a documentary about how to survive the E.T.A training regiment.
5. Transcripts of drop-in hours at the Ennet House were dope, too -- the lawyer in particular.
6. Jesus Christ that goddamn radio show with Madame Psychosis. As you'll remember from that many-page endnote detailing James Incandenza's filmography, MP starred in several films back in the day. I do not understand her show, but Mario loves it.
7. A description of the lot on which the Ennet House sits. It's next to a dispensary for workers with stress disorders, a methadone clinic, and a VA hospital, as well as the Enfield Tennis Academy. Not an ideal location for a halfway house.
8. The E.T.A boys lift weights and it is all very homoerotic.