Junkie Suicide

Pages Read: 236

Pages To Go: 742

Footnotes: 81 of 388

Wow, this was a long and heavy section. Joelle Van Dyne attempts to kill herself via intentional overdose. Whether or not said attempt has been successful is still unclear.

We learned more about Joelle, including the fact that she and James Incandenza were not lovers (thanks footnote 80) and that she and Orin (the punter) may or may not have been. In either case, there’s a clear connection between Joelle and the Incandenzas, the full extant of which we are just beginning to learn.

What most stands out to me about this scene is the very detailed description of Molly Notkin’s medicine cabinet. The specific yet mundane details mixed with brand names and technical terms, which I think at this point we can safely say is the signature of DFW’s writing style.

The highlight is the tube of Monostat (actually should be Monistat; is this a mistake, or did he misspell the name on purpose???) which he describes as “not squeezed from the bottom.” Such a simple way to say so much.

Vocab Word: Bathetic producing an unintentional effect of anticlimax.

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