xiao shan’s Reviews > Infinite Jest > Status Update
xiao shan
is 28% done
PLS STOP TALKING ABOUT DRUGS AND TENNIS
thoughts (825/2962 p. in)
i love DFW as an essayist. the thing is that IJ feels like many mini essays stitched together - like patchwork, like Pulp Fiction. don’t get me wrong, i love PF - it’s in my ltbx top 4, and i have been recipient to many PF-themed gifts. but some chapters are better than others, and i am stuck on (yet another) one about drugs and tennis, is all.
— May 21, 2026 05:32AM
thoughts (825/2962 p. in)
i love DFW as an essayist. the thing is that IJ feels like many mini essays stitched together - like patchwork, like Pulp Fiction. don’t get me wrong, i love PF - it’s in my ltbx top 4, and i have been recipient to many PF-themed gifts. but some chapters are better than others, and i am stuck on (yet another) one about drugs and tennis, is all.
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xiao shan’s Previous Updates
xiao shan
is 44% done
something something the freedom to choose something something the right to be entertained
— Aug 25, 2026 06:27PM
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there are passages that are so great and profound, and so vividly written. and then there are chapters where nothing happens
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it occurs to me that i don’t really care that much about drug-dependent depressives, but like sisyphus and his boulder, i intend to keep reporting for duty
— Jan 11, 2026 08:05AM
xiao shan
is 17% done
9/1/2026:
i am excited to announce that i am 17% done with this book! i will be reviewing this book as i go, as a form of accountability, as it goes. i would liken the experience of reading this book (so far) to channel-surfing on cable after coming home from primary school, by virtue of how the chapters are all fragmented but semi-related segments. maybe this is as foster wallace intended.
— Jan 09, 2026 07:06AM
i am excited to announce that i am 17% done with this book! i will be reviewing this book as i go, as a form of accountability, as it goes. i would liken the experience of reading this book (so far) to channel-surfing on cable after coming home from primary school, by virtue of how the chapters are all fragmented but semi-related segments. maybe this is as foster wallace intended.