Set in the near-future, this swirling comedy/epic revolves around a tennis academy, a residence for recovering substance abusers, a tight group of Quebecois-separatist terrorists, and "Infinite Jest", a film so funny that it literally kills. Perhaps one of the most ambitious attempts to capture the spirit of the age, Wallace's pervasive theme is the oceanic sadness and loneliness of an American society that is spiritually vacant but tirelessly and relentlessly addicted to its various addictions; addicted to capitalism and consumerism, addicted to entertainment, addicted to drugs, and addicted to competition and success.