Infinite Jest

This book is so epic, so well-written, and so thought-provoking that it may be the Odyssey of the millennial generation. The rich satire, creatively manufactured vocabulary, and exceptionally obscure but exceptionally human character development is enough to make any English major (or word-lover, book-lover, David Foster Wallace lover) drool. While not for the faint of heart (the book is over 1,000 pages including footnotes, has sentences that stretch over several pages, and a lexicon that would have even the most erudite Harvard professor scratching her head), it is more than a worthy read. It provides a lens straight into the darkest parts of the human psyche and exposes the addict that lives in all of us.

A fascinating commentary on our media-driven society, this book is so strange and fantastic and deeply sad and hilarious and so poignant that I would recommend it to anyone who might consider taking it on. This is definitely a text that will only continue to unveil itself with each reading, so I plan to keep it with me for a lifetime.

I'm both sad and relieved to be done, but already looking forward to the next time in my life I decide to pick this up to re-read, for all else I will uncover.

Note - especially pleasurable if you've ever lived in Boston. The Beantown satire is SPOT ON.