The Pale KingThe "breathtakingly brilliant" novel by the author of Infinite Jest (New York Times) is a deeply compelling and satisfying story, as hilarious and fearless and original as anything Wallace ever wrote. The agents at the IRS Regional Examination Center in Peoria, Illinois, appear ordinary enough to newly arrived trainee David Foster Wallace. But as he immerses himself in a routine so tedious and repetitive that new employees receive boredom-survival training, he learns of the extraordinary variety of personalities drawn to this strange calling. And he has arrived at a moment when forces within the IRS are plotting to eliminate even what little humanity and dignity the work still has. The Pale King remained unfinished at the time of David Foster Wallace's death, but it is a deeply compelling and satisfying novel, hilarious and fearless and as original as anything Wallace ever undertook. It grapples directly with ultimate questions -- questions of life's meaning and of the value of work and society -- through characters imagined with the interior force and generosity that were Wallace's unique gifts. Along the way it suggests a new idea of heroism and commands infinite respect for one of the most daring writers of our time. "The Pale King is by turns funny, shrewd, suspenseful, piercing, smart, terrifying, and rousing." --Laura Miller, Salon |
From inside the book
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... highway below disappeared and then sometimes reappeared at a spot Sylvanshine had to squash his cheek right up against the plastic inner window to see, then as the rain recommenced and he could tell they were beginning descent it ...
... highway below disappeared and then sometimes reappeared at a spot Sylvanshine had to squash his cheek right up against the plastic inner window to see, then as the rain recommenced and he could tell they were beginning descent it ...
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... sometimes even handwritten attachments required to explain unusual or specific C - deductions like this , whereas were Sylvanshine to pay the fare and the tip and perhaps even a certain amount in advance on account so as to help assure ...
... sometimes even handwritten attachments required to explain unusual or specific C - deductions like this , whereas were Sylvanshine to pay the fare and the tip and perhaps even a certain amount in advance on account so as to help assure ...
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... sometimes writes academic publishers about possible errors of category and/or syntax in their textbooks. Let's not even mention spelling bees. He can make over twenty different kinds of admiral, cowboy, clerical, and multiethnic hats ...
... sometimes writes academic publishers about possible errors of category and/or syntax in their textbooks. Let's not even mention spelling bees. He can make over twenty different kinds of admiral, cowboy, clerical, and multiethnic hats ...
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... sometimes really haunt you later on down the line in adulthood, citing one or two journal articles the attackers might have a look at if they wanted documentation on the long-term psychological effects of self-recrimination—and, in the ...
... sometimes really haunt you later on down the line in adulthood, citing one or two journal articles the attackers might have a look at if they wanted documentation on the long-term psychological effects of self-recrimination—and, in the ...
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... Sometimes when alone and thinking or struggling to turn a matter over to Jesus Christ in prayer, he would find himself putting his fist in his palm and turning it slightly as if still playing and pounding his glove to stay sharp and ...
... Sometimes when alone and thinking or struggling to turn a matter over to Jesus Christ in prayer, he would find himself putting his fist in his palm and turning it slightly as if still playing and pounding his glove to stay sharp and ...
Contents
Chapter 22 | |
About the Author | |
Title Page Copyright Editors Note Epigraph Chapter | 1 |
Chapter | 2 |
Chapter | 3 |
Chapter | 4 |
Chapter | 25 |
Chapter | 26 |
Chapter | 27 |
Chapter | 28 |
Chapter | 29 |
Chapter | 30 |
Chapter | 31 |
Chapter | 32 |
Chapter | 5 |
Chapter | 6 |
Chapter | 7 |
Chapter | 8 |
Chapter | 9 |
Chapter | 10 |
Chapter | 11 |
Chapter | 12 |
Chapter | 13 |
Chapter | 14 |
Chapter | 15 |
Chapter | 16 |
Chapter | 17 |
Chapter | 18 |
Chapter | 23 |
Chapter | 24 |
Chapter | 33 |
Chapter | 34 |
Chapter | 35 |
Chapter | 36 |
Chapter | 37 |
Chapter | 38 |
Chapter | 39 |
Chapter | 40 |
Chapter | 41 |
Chapter | 42 |
Chapter | 43 |
Chapter | 44 |
Chapter | 45 |
Chapter | 46 |
Chapter | 47 |
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Common terms and phrases
actually administrative Anand Singh audit aware complex corporations Cusk David Foster Wallace David Wallace desk door Drinion says employees Examination Center Exams eyes face fact father feel felt Fogle front girl Glendenning going Group hand happened head Hovatter Infinite Jest inside Internal Revenue Service Jarvis Brown kind knew Lake James Lane Dean Lehrl Libertyville Lindenhurst look Martinsburg mean Meredith Rand says mother never Obetrol Olive Borden Pale King pay attention Peoria person Personnel Post pretty problem progressive tax Regional remember returns revenue Reynolds rote seemed Service Service's Shane Drinion shit shoes side Singh sitting slightly someone sometimes sort sound Stecyk sweat Sylvanshine talking Tantillo tell there's thought totally trying turns type of thing understand watching wigglers window word World Turns