It's a Marathe chapter

>he didn't get it

>it's a +25 page tennis match

> It's a drug related endnote

>wardine be cry

this. I just scanned them for bits of juicy comment (like the one about medicament classes, the weakest of which is "as potent as a kiss on the forehead from mom")

You should read it again and maybe read some of the explanations on the internet then.

this, I felt the same way until I realized that Gatleys skull dream isn't meant to be some sort of symbolism.

I think that's a considerable part of why he wrote them.

I enjoyed reading Steeply's half of those chapters, but he should have chucked that Québecois fucker off the hillside.

ENDNOTES WITHIN ENDNOTES MOFO

You can trace Soma Richardson (Levy (O'Byrne (Chawaf)))'s continuous adultery if you're attentive. That was pretty interesting.

>it's yet another chapter that starts out innocuous enough, and devolves into circlejerking about tennis

Im not saying there is no conclusion, im saying there is no closure. Hal in the YoG reminiscing about digging up Himself's skull with Gately raises more questions than answers. The novel just sort of ends....

It goes beyond that, think about what orion did and what the relation to his mother and father is. Orion plays a rather large role in the overall plot.

Here's a short explanation:

aaronsw.com/weblog/ijend

Genuine question: did you guys understand this while reading or did you need that online explanation to get it? I just felt the ending was incredibly frustrating despite absolutely loving the rest of the book.

>ending right before the AFR assault
>ending with Orin's fate in question
>ending with Gately on the beach

I understand why DFW ended the story the way he did. Leaving Gately in flux makes sense to show addiction never truly ends. And after reading that online explanation, it is certainly poetic that Hal finally gets to interface with his father at the Whataburger Finals.

I'll get torn apart for not being clever enough to pick up on all this from the first read, but holy hell didn't you guys find the ending frustrating from a closure standpoint?

The only parts of the book I disliked (though relatively, not absolutely) were madame Psychosis first few chapters and a few of Orin's.

Goddamn I want to read the Eschaton match again.

> Genuine question: did you guys understand this while reading or did you need that online explanation to get it?

No I didn't. I didn't even try to think about it. I just went online and looked for an explanation and honestly it was a mistake. I should have spend a bit of time to figure it out by myself since that would have been way more satisfying. Especially since it's not that hard to figure out, well, except the Orin thing.

I feel like that DMZ on toothbrush is leading too much into it I might be wrong about that though

I always thought it was Hal's marijuana withdraw causing his sickness

>discography

But isn't marijuana a drug that numbs feelings? Contrary to DMZ (as far as I recall similar to LSD) that amplifies feelings.

Oh damn, I didn't read that you wrote withdraw.

im probaly wrong because DMZ does't play another role in the story irrc and he never included things just for fun

Hal chapters are by far the worst

So, does it ever get better or am I in for an infinite jest? So for it's just alright, but I wouldn't be reading it if it weren't forced so hard here.

The sections with the addicts and whenever Pemulis is memeing are all good. It's been a few years since reading it but the section with Randy Lenz going hunting with his trash bags have stuck with me as phenomenal stuff. I really didn't give a shit about Hamlet with tennis rackets, though.

How far are you in? I think the start is pretty shit because of how many characters you meet

Once you get to a certain point it won't get much better

I like the marijuana withdrawal as an explanation for Hal's emerging feelings much more so than Himself dosing Hal's toothbrush with DMZ. But simple marijuana withdrawal wouldn't account for the beastly reptilian noises mid-interview and his facial tics. It's probably a mix of the two.

The DMZ makes it impossible for him to communicate with others and facilitates expression with JOI while the withdrawal makes him "present".

Just my guess

>marijuana withdrawal

did you read the book? He has like a bunch of chapters talking about marijuana withdraw and how the physiological addiction along with the fact people don't respect its addiction make it rough

i have a friend who smoked 3-5 grams a day, she went cold turkey and was completely bonkers for months.

>clearly have never read the book
>clearly have never ritually used marijuana

>it's a Pemulis chapter

the consensus here seems to be page 200 is when it gets good.