ABSTRACT
Taking as its point of departure Leslie Jamison’s testimony that she faithfully read Infinite Jest as a discipline while in recovery, this chapter raises the question “can reading such a novel make one better?” Better in two senses, at least: freer from the bondage of life as characterized by addiction and morally better, able to act with regard to and on behalf of others—a better person. Informed by the work of Henry James, Wayne Booth, and Martha Nussbaum, the chapter relates Infinite Jest to questions regarding the ethics of fiction, or if and in what ways fictional narrative might have consequence in the world of the reader. It considers Wallace’s own views on the purposes of fiction, namely: that writing is communication, that it provides an anodyne against loneliness, that it seeks to convey what it means to be a human being, and that it is redemptive, demanding, and loving. Further, it situates Infinite Jest in terms of the “New Sincerity,” as well as perspectives that connect narrative and empathy. Lastly, it discerns the rhetorical task of the novel: if it is to succeed in making its readers better, it may also have to fail as an entertainment, a tricky proposition for a novelist.
