So I posted one of those “how well do you know Motormouth” quizzes on Facebook, and every single person who has taken the quiz has answered that Motormouth thinks Infinite Jest is the one novel that everyone should read. I'm intrigued by that answer, because it's incorrect: I think everyone should read the Sebastien Japrisot novel A Very Long Engagement.

Why?

Well, don't get me wrong: Infinite Jest is a phenomenal work, a blow-your-balls-off novel, a combination of pathos and humor the likes of which we just don't see anymore. David Foster Wallace was a master of the English language (and, apparently, pharmacology), which adds up to a tremendous novel. It also paints portraits of addiction that are both tragic (Hal) and uplifting (Don). So yeah, I recommend it.

BUT…

Infinite Jest takes a major commitment on the part of the reader. The edition I read is 1,079 pages long. The last 96 pages are endnotes, so you're constantly flipping back and forth (finally, I secured two bookmarks: one to mark my place in the text, and the other to mark my place in the endnotes). Plus, it's really heavy and not very portable. These are important things to think about when you're also toting a couple of kids and a diaper bag and a bottle of water. You don't need to be reading a book that makes you feel even more like a sherpa.

Whereas…

A Very Long Engagement comes in around the 200-page mark, and so much is packed into those pages that every time I read it, I notice something new. It is the only book that ever made me cry before page 100. It is a phenomenal testament to the power of dogged investigation, and it's beautifully written, and we all should strive to be a little like Mathilde. Plus, you won't throw your back out if you carry it around.

Highly, highly recommended. xo, Motormouth