My expectation on what a novel can do may be forever altered after reading Infinite Jest. I’m lacking words to describe the reading experience, and so I default to describing the mechanics of what one should expect: massive page count, 388 footnotes, three bookmarks required for easier reading, exhaustive cast of characters requiring a cheat sheet and blind guess to the importance (or lack thereof) of each character, nonlinear format with a plot that’s hard to pin down, voluminous vocabulary, switching voice, unprecedented syntax/writing style and unresolved conclusion (maybe). Began on 5/10 and finished on 9/12, one week early per the infinitesummer.org online reading group timeline. The story of a youth tennis academy, an addicts’ halfway house, a bizarre family and a mysterious video that’s circulating with national security implications. That doesn’t even begin to truly explain it, but that’s the beauty of this book. Wow.