“…this flamboyant novel is also one of the most down-to-earth
books you will ever read.  At its very core, this book is a critique of
flashiness and attitude, and argues for a healthy distrust of irony and
intellectualizing.  Here is my verdict:  Infinite Jest has a heart of
gold.   The viewpoints it presents with the greatest vividness are so
simple that, at times, they come across as truisms and clichés. But,
again and again, our author forces the dead cliché back to life—
which may be one of the most difficult tasks any author can face.
Wallace’s ability to marry this austere and unadorned core of his
vision to the grand superstructures of his interlinking tales is one of
the most compelling aspects to a novel that is rich in things to
admire.”

– Ted Gioia, in The New Canon