All of that dull Gately-centered, beauracratic Ennet House stuff was worth it. Entirely worth it.
The scene I just read is on a level with the Eschaton game. Except, with Gately at its centre, the situation's chaos is channelled and controlled. Wallace definitely had a style that lends itself well to a wild brawl.
Particularly, his noting that the events and internal processes described take seconds to list though they happen almost instantly. Just having this notion at hand makes the scene so much more climactic.
Yet, I might also have some discussions with the friend who leant me Infinite Jest to thank for this effect.
Randy Lenz gets chased by the owners of his latest victim, and it looks like he has a good chance of being demapped. But, I know he still has to reveal a piece of non-plot information and so he must make it through. Knowing that Lenz survives this encounter I was free to wonder how he does it, to come up with theories as I read, and to excitedly watch if any of them play out.
The question though, is would I have experienced this scene in the same way had I no knowledge of Lenz' surviving?
Further, is it possible to spoil miniscule details in other books to gain the same effect, or is Infinite Jest one of the few books dense enough to allow such positive spoiling?
No comments:
Post a Comment