Infinite Jest
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallaceby David Foster Wallace
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 122 novels by recommenders
People praise its idiosyncratic voice, prophetic take on media and rewarding structure, but its length and difficulty make it a big time commitment that some never finish.
People praise its idiosyncratic voice, prophetic take on media and rewarding structure, but its length and difficulty make it a big time commitment that some never finish.
31 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 26
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 84%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 10 years
Median of the 6 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 26 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Idiosyncratic, rewarding writing style
“Something I learn when re-reading is that you can bring so many interpretations and perspectives to this novel”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket” “My favourite thing about DFW is his writing style.”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket” “DFW's voice is so idiosyncratic and interesting.”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket” - Comment from 7 Apr 2026 in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”
Prophetic about media and entertainment
“The videophony chapter is also especially prophetic when you consider the prevalence of things like filters.”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket” “One whose author saw the direction of society towards numbing entertainment very clearly.”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket” “The main prophetic thing in there is the notion of people watching media until they die.”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket” - Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket”
- Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket”
Audiobook handles footnotes well
“I would recommend the audiobook because the print book is huge and you get the footnotes inline in the audiobook”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “The Essential Question: "What should I read next?"” “it interleaves the end note in the text at the point where the endnote is referenced (by number)”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “AI-generated videos to maximally drive a target brain region” “check out the 30th anniversary audiobook, it just came out a few months ago, very accessible”
Comment from 10 Jul 2026 in “AI-generated videos to maximally drive a target brain region” - Comment from 13 Jul 2026 in “How to Read More Books”
- Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket”
Footnotes essential to the reading
“I'd say skipping the end notes would be a disservice to the reader as they would miss so much.”
Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket” “the ping-ponging across the recursive footnotes is an intended and crucial part of the book”
Comment from 13 Aug 2026 in “The Essential Question: "What should I read next?"”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Long and hard to finish
“I finished it and thought it was overall good but I don’t know if I would say it’s good “bang for buck” in terms of what you get for the time commitment”
Comment from 1 Oct 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “almost universally praised, but which I have been unable to finish”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Two Ways to Draw Infinite Jest's Sierpinski Gasket” “Enjoying it so far, but the length keeps on killing me.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” - Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Characters and plot fail to engage
“he gives us nothing to care about”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “First, Make Me Care” “some parts just don't grip me”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Reading Without Limits or Expectations”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster WallaceThis page | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Atlas Shruggedby Ayn Rand | 23 | 31 | 43% | 7 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 51 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I finished it and thought it was overall good but I don’t know if I would say it’s good “bang for buck” in terms of what you get for the time commitment”
“it's not for me. did not finish.”
“the overall tone is so oppressively nihilistic I decided life's too short and put it down”
“IJ is actually really great sci-fi with some important questions for our time.”
“Took me a year. Loved it!”
“Enjoying it so far, but the length keeps on killing me.”
“One of IJ’s most important topics is the critique of the empty destructive postmodern cynicism”
“So far it’s surprisingly enjoyable, eerily relatable, and not nearly as difficult to follow as I was warned.”
“the ping-ponging across the recursive footnotes is an intended and crucial part of the book”
“it just felt like bad Bret Easton Ellis for the tennis plot”
“I would recommend the audiobook because the print book is huge and you get the footnotes inline in the audiobook”
“it was so unpleasant and annoying for me that I absolutely did not want to read any further”
“i preferred the audiobook incorporating the footnotes with a second narrator”
“it interleaves the end note in the text at the point where the endnote is referenced (by number)”
“check out the 30th anniversary audiobook, it just came out a few months ago, very accessible”
“I'd say skipping the end notes would be a disservice to the reader as they would miss so much.”
“before that, it felt like a slog”
“none of its echoes could compare to the original arrant thief”
“There are so many footnotes and back notes that the audiobook does it a disservice.”
“Try the audiobook, although I'm sure purists would consider it cheating.”
“One whose author saw the direction of society towards numbing entertainment very clearly.”
“I started realizing that, with very few exceptions, the more abstruse, boring, or frustrating the vignette, the more powerfully it ended”
“Erdedy's vignette is one of my favourite passages!”
“Infinite Jest is a useful, cautionary tale”
“The videophony chapter is also especially prophetic when you consider the prevalence of things like filters.”
“almost universally praised, but which I have been unable to finish”
“The main prophetic thing in there is the notion of people watching media until they die.”
“it kind of predicts the internet, but everything else”
“DFW's voice is so idiosyncratic and interesting.”
“the book is proving solidly prophetic”
“My favourite thing about DFW is his writing style.”
“What put me off it is it just kind of reads like a rambling stoner conversation.”
“Something I learn when re-reading is that you can bring so many interpretations and perspectives to this novel”
“I dare anybody to read Infinite Jest and not fall in love with it”
“convoluted but incredibly rewarding”
“he gives us nothing to care about”
“you’ll probably like “Infinite Jest””
“some parts just don't grip me”
“I'm currently reading and loving Infinite Jest”
“I will continue NOT recommending his novels to anybody”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.