New Dutch translation of Infinite Jest surfaces
A new Tzum headline reports a second translation, but the publisher, translator and publication date have not yet been publicly confirmed.
According to the new headline in the service handover, a second Dutch translation of Infinite Jest has appeared under the title Oneindige dwaasheid. The editorial team could not link the report to a verifiable public source containing bibliographic details.
What is established is that David Foster Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest first appeared in Dutch in February 2026 as Eindeloos vertier. The translation was produced by Robbert-Jan Henkes and published by Koppernik. The book runs to 1,176 pages and appeared thirty years after the English original.
Tzum wrote about the lengthy preparation and the choices surrounding the title when that first edition was published. ILFU also included the translation in its overview of notable Dutch translations. The novel is regarded as a substantial and linguistically demanding work, with many footnotes, indexes and shifts in style.
The new report points to a second attempt to make the same novel accessible in Dutch. This could be relevant to readers and translators, because a different translation may make different choices for wordplay, cultural references and Wallace’s many stylistic registers.
The available public sources do not, however, answer the key questions. It is unclear who produced the second translation, which publisher brought it out, whether it is a complete translation and precisely when the book entered the market. The editorial team was also unable to find an independent catalogue listing.
We are therefore treating the new title as an unconfirmed report, not as an established bibliographic fact. The first Dutch translation can be verified; the second can only be described fully once a publisher, bookseller, library or the translator involved makes the details public.
A second translation would be unusual in the Dutch book world. It would give readers the opportunity to compare translation choices, but would also make it necessary to state clearly which edition is meant. Until then, the main confirmed fact is that Infinite Jest has been available in Dutch since 2026 as Eindeloos vertier.
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The confirmed first translation and its bibliographic details are well supported. The report of a second translation remains uncertain and has been explicitly qualified in the text.
- confirmed Eindeloos vertier appeared at Koppernik in February 2026. — Confirmed by Koppernik and ILFU. source
- confirmed Robbert-Jan Henkes translated the first Dutch edition. — Mentioned by Koppernik and Tzum. source
- uncertain A second Dutch translation entitled Oneindige dwaasheid has appeared. — The claim appears in the supplied RSS headline, but could not be confirmed through a public publisher, bookseller or library source. source
- confirmed Infinite Jest was originally published in 1996. — Mentioned by Tzum and in the publisher’s information. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: There is a second Dutch translation of Infinite Jest on the market.Now: A new Tzum headline reports a second Dutch translation, but public bibliographic confirmation is lacking. (The claim could not be checked against a sufficient number of freely available sources.)
Editor's note
The first translation has been confirmed. The new RSS report about Oneindige dwaasheid could not be verified using public bibliographic data; the article has therefore been limited and its status is insufficient_sources.Sources
- Tzum over de Nederlandse vertaling van Infinite Jest — Tzum
- Eindeloos vertier — Uitgeverij Koppernik
- Schwob-overzicht Nederlandse vertalingen — ILFU
- Tzum — Tzum
More on this in Dutch media
- NU.nl — „infinite jest”
- De Telegraaf — „infinite jest”
- AD — „infinite jest”