Infinite Jest is a 1996 novel by American writer David Foster Wallace. The lengthy and complex work takes place in a North American dystopia, centering on a junior tennis academy and a nearby substance-abuse recovery center. The novel touches on many topics, including addiction and recovery, suicide, family relationships, entertainment and advertising, film theory, United States-Canada relations(as well as Quebec separatism), and tennis. The novel includes 388 endnotes that cap almost a thousand pages of prose, which, together with its detailed fictional world, have led to its categorization as an encyclopedic novel.[1]
In 2005 it was included by Time magazine in its list of the 100 best English-language novels published since 1923.[2]
Infinite Jest is a literary fiction bestseller, with 44, 000 copies sold by the end of its first year of publication.[3] The book has continued to sell steadily and attract critical commentary. As of 2016, worldwide sales of Infinite Jest have exceeded one million copies.[4]