I think it&#x27;s an incredibly challenging book, but also a masterpiece.  It&#x27;s really hard work to get through in places, and some chapters are much, much better than others.  Some parts of it are astonishingly and gleefully excellent, some parts work less well (I was more interested in tennis than in Quebec separatism, to be honest).<p>For me, it bears comparison with <i>Ulysses</i> in that both are works of epic length and a singular uniqueness.  Sometimes when I read a book I can conceive, even without being a writer myself, of how it came into being; with <i>Infinite Jest</i> I just can&#x27;t even begin to imagine how that book appeared.