• Infinite Jest Part III: The Endnotes

  • By: David Foster Wallace
  • Narrated by: Sean Pratt
  • Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (170 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Infinite Jest Part III: The Endnotes  By  cover art

Infinite Jest Part III: The Endnotes

By: David Foster Wallace
Narrated by: Sean Pratt
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.49

Buy for $19.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

"Pratt is a startlingly good narrator, dry and expressive, with the kind of vocal control that evokes dozens of characters with only slight but very distinctive variations of accent and affect.... Pratt hears the humor in Wallace's work, and lets you in on the joke without resorting to overheated wackiness. His control and stamina are impressive." (John Schwartz, The New York Times Book Review)

Publisher's summary

These are the endnotes to David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, a gargantuan, mind-altering comedy about the Pursuit of Happiness in America. Set in an addicts' halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwed-up family to come along in recent fiction, Infinite Jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives; about how our desire for entertainment affects our need to connect with other people; and about what the pleasures we choose say about who we are. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, Infinite Jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. It is an exuberant, uniquely American exploration of the passions that make us human - and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do.

©1996 David Foster Wallace (P)2013 Hachette Audio

What listeners say about Infinite Jest Part III: The Endnotes

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    122
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    117
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    110
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    7

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Approaching the Infinite Life Hack

First, props to Hachette Audio for hearing the cranky, howling DFW Fantoids and releasing the Endnotes. Now to figure out a workable audioHACK to listen to Infinite Jest w/ the separate Endnotes.

1. Flipping back and forth on my iPhone between Infinite Jest and Endnotes works, but ends up being a tad painful (I started drinking quinine-rich tonic water HEAVILY after the 88th switch to keep my thumb from cramping into some square bend hook).

Like with tennis, I am noticing my muscle memory is starting to take over. I can now jump back and forth between books on Audible without even looking at my phone's screen, which makes driving back and forth between Boston, Canada, and the Great Concavity that much safer.

2. I've also tried to parallel two different phones, each phone in a separate pocket, an earbud from each in my two ears. That way, I'm just alternating pauses between the narrative (TEXT) and the endnotes (NOTES). I can do this with either by finger pausing on the phones individually, or with the right earphone set, I can just walk around grasping the mic/remotes. While aesthetically, unpleasing, it is dynamically much better. I've also found it helps to set the TEXT in my left ear at 1.5x speed and the NOTES in my right ear at 2x speed. Since Pratt narrates both the NOTES and the TEXT, this is one easy way to distinguish the endnote narrator from my narrative narrator (Pratt is best listened to at 1.5x - 2x speed).

Also, If you have a pony tail, you can also use the two spare earphone cords to tie back your hair. It also helps if your earphone cords are two different colors, since once you become used to having 2x Pratt (NOTES) in your right ear and 1.5x Pratt (TEXT) in your left ear, your brain will have a hard time adjusting to any deviation or changes.

3. You can also do 1 and 2 above with the actual TEXT and NOTES in front of you. This is doable, and with some NOTES preferable, but you are now approaching a tipping point/Omega point with DFW. You are saturating yourself with DFW on three sides. This is best left to those who are used to eating, playing video games, and having a conversation with their cat at the same time. Don't start doing this. Work your way there over a couple chapters and notes. And whatever you do, don't have someone scratch out DFW quotes on your back while doing #3.

Good luck with the AudioHACK.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

137 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Includes notes to footnotes!

…one would hope so, lest we're marketed a "part IV: The Endnotes' Endnotes"

Anyway, not much to report but that you should know what to expect when you get this… and the meta-conclusion that we're - here on Audible.com, in a state-of-the-platform sorta way - clearly still not yet at a point of having the infrastructure to support the listening mode of reading with ease, as Darwin8u's review highlights (see http://www.audible.com/listener/A1E0I33LNHX65?asin=B00C2D0B4S& ).

Linear listening would, I expect be disorienting. And, if you're like me, you'll have already consumed the footnotes while following along w/ the initial Audible release of Infinite Jest on a text copy. So, as my self, acquiring "the endnotes" was to review these longer footnotes - one of which, I'm sorry to report, suffers some strange recording error. Note 321 - which in print spans four pages - is only eleven seconds long and is comprised of only the last few lines of its content and so isn't even announced as note 321.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Masterpiece Butchered by Presentation

Infinite Jest is legendary for its 100+ pages of endnotes. Audible decided to split this titanic volume into two audiobooks. That's okay--this is 2-3 times the length of an average audiobook, and I'm not opposed to paying a corresponding amount.

The trouble is that the formatting of the main audiobook and the endnotes is terribly suited to actually listening to them. The endnotes follow this formula:

Fifteen this is the contents of endnote fifteen sixteen this is the contents of endnote sixteen seventeen this is the contents of endnote seventeen, etc.

There are no pauses between the endnotes. They flow into each other as if they weren't even the end of a sentence. That means the only way to listen to Infinite Jest with the endnotes to is have your finger hovering over the pause button, switch to the endnotes audiobook, hit play and hover your finger over the pause button, listening for the exact moment the endnote ends.

This kind of active engagement is exactly why people are listening to an audiobook rather than sitting down and reading it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Why am I reviewing Endnotes?

What made the experience of listening to Infinite Jest, Part III: The Endnotes the most enjoyable?

They are important to the novel, which is a great audio performance/

Who was your favorite character and why?

James

Which character – as performed by Sean Pratt – was your favorite?

He did a great job with all

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, I had an extreme reaction to Infinite Jest, and the endnotes are part of the novel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I had mixed feelings about the book, but found...

... listening to this captivating and hypnotic. I think it's because, well, it's just so weird. Facts, tangents, back stories, footnotes with footnotes.... Whether they enhanced the novel or not, I can't say, since I listened to this after I listened to the book, but it left me in awe of the mind that wrote this stuff.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Super helpful!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! If you're used to the audiobook of Infinite Jest, the transition to the audio endnotes is ideal. It would have been annoying to pull up a PDF each time

What other book might you compare Infinite Jest, Part III: The Endnotes to and why?

N/A

Have you listened to any of Sean Pratt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you could take any character from Infinite Jest, Part III: The Endnotes out to dinner, who would it be and why?

N/A

Any additional comments?

Buy this! If you want to experience Infinite Jest fully, this will help. Overall it proved to be one of my favorite books (with the endnotes)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Everybody says it's necessary to read the endnotes...

I wouldn't necessarily agree. I read them with the book, but upon further reflection on the novel this strikes me as extremely helpful for fleshing out the world, but all information necessary to understanding the book is in the actual book. Ever seen the Lord of the Rings extended editions? This kind of reminds me of those. I would get them, though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

perfect solution

Not one continuous recording. Each endnote is a chapter. You can't lose your place. A dropdown menu lists the chapters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Crowning Genius

David Foster Wallace was a crowning genius when he wrote the Endnotes (footnotes) for Infinite Jest. We lost a great giant when he stepped down from the throne. If you already listened to the novel, you are obligated to get the Endnotes. They are the most important part of Infinite Jest.

DFW is sorely miss.

"And you're being evasive about the dread about the disabled. The like rolling stalkers."

That is the best line in the entire book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash

trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash bad worst horrible absolute utter bad wow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful