5 Minute Book Review (Part 3): Infinite Jest
Published: July 08, 2009
Addiction
The main character at Ennet House is counselor Don Gately, former Demerol addict (Percocet in long-term use aggravated the backs of his eyes too much. The evolution of addiction described by Gately is not one uncommon to many. Beginning at a young and impressionable age, marijuana, pills.
At Ennet House and other various, anonymous meetings, members fit their stereotypical roles of being slightly skeptical (putting it mildly) at first, then gradually listening to the wisdom of the folks who’ve been doing this road before. The so-called “crocodiles.” The picture painted is one of a group of salty old-timers, chain-smoking, knowingly nodding as they see the newbies pass through the various stages of resolving their addictions.
Hal’s addiction to marijuana (and subsequent cessation) results in severe depression, anhedonia, and anergia, the likes of which Hal has never experienced. It is thought that by reading the last part first, the marijuana withdrawals are what cause Hal to act up the way he does in the opening scene in the book. But as I’ve mentioned, I’m not brave enough to read it that way yet.
One of the characters, Gene Martinez, refers to addiction as “Spider” as in “feeding the spider” or “starving the spider.”
The titular movie is said to be so entertaining that anyone who watches it loses all desire to do anything but watch it over and over and over again. They become so obsessed with the movie they deny themselves food, nourishment, etc until eventually die. If that ain’t addiction, I don’t know what is.
Did someone mention marijuana?
One of my favorite moments was when the Ennet House kinda-hot young lady-acolyte who was there for weed or something tastes her first drink during a forbidden mission to a bar. Her reaction, I can’t remember it by heart but it was something like, “Why didn’t someone tell me about this!,” in a sloppy drunken slur, is absolutely classic.