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leelee_draws_pictures 's review for:
The Pale King
by David Foster Wallace
I anticipated this book for literally years after DFW's heartbreaking suicide, and wasn't disappointed.
I don't recommend this as a first DFW book, because it's long, and tedious -- on purpose. The book chronicles the histories and current lives of a group of IRS agents. It spends a lot of time discussing boredom and going in-depth into the bureaucratic ins and outs and laws of taxes. The point of this, from what I understand, is not to harm or confuse the reader, but to bring the reader in so they can experience the tedium the characters suffer firsthand. Which sounds like it sucks, but there are trademark DFW chapters, most notably the back-stories and portions that entirely unattributed conversations, that are laugh-out loud brilliant. Nerdy, and immersive, and a wonderful conclusion to DFW's work.
I don't recommend this as a first DFW book, because it's long, and tedious -- on purpose. The book chronicles the histories and current lives of a group of IRS agents. It spends a lot of time discussing boredom and going in-depth into the bureaucratic ins and outs and laws of taxes. The point of this, from what I understand, is not to harm or confuse the reader, but to bring the reader in so they can experience the tedium the characters suffer firsthand. Which sounds like it sucks, but there are trademark DFW chapters, most notably the back-stories and portions that entirely unattributed conversations, that are laugh-out loud brilliant. Nerdy, and immersive, and a wonderful conclusion to DFW's work.