Pale King by David Foster Wallace

I now have a chance to read the above book. Although I really like David Foster Wallace, fiction and non-fiction, there is a part of me that holds back given his penchant for weavng depressive themes into his complex books(I need a bit of inspiration as of late).

Funny enough, his non-fiction is funny and has a catchy journalistic style that is nothing like his complex fiction works.

So, has anyone read Pale King? Views? Did you find it humourous? Oddly uplifting?

I am always a little surprised that he does not come up more on this forum, then DFW and his books were complex to say the least.

Humourous? Definitely. And now that I think about it, there was something oddly uplifting about it... as someone who works in an office, I was quite moved by DFW's search for meaning, spirituality, and ethics in a world often filled with drudgery and boredom. And I would not say that it deals as directly with depression as Infinite Jest, but it is certainly saddening to think of what the book would have become had his life been longer. I'd definitely recommend it to any fan of his other works.

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Originally Posted by rootinghog

Humourous? Definitely. And now that I think about it, there was something oddly uplifting about it... as someone who works in an office, I was quite moved by DFW's search for meaning, spirituality, and ethics in a world often filled with drudgery and boredom. And I would not say that it deals as directly with depression as Infinite Jest, but it is certainly saddening to think of what the book would have become had his life been longer. I'd definitely recommend it to any fan of his other works.

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Thanks for that. As someone who also works in an office, I just want to ensure it doesn't make me feel (more) negative about such an Dilbertian environment.

I thought Infinite Jest was brilliant and quite funny. Strangely, his non fiction is simply the best. It's witty, funny, and intelligent but with a linear conventional style. His cruiseship story, State fair, and the McCain stories are all iconic.

The complexity in DFW sometimes is too much for me. His books are not works I read in one go, I always need small portions somehow. But I really like ewhat I've read so far, and Pale King is my next one on the list.

I just finished The Pale King about a week ago. I mostly enjoyed it, but obviously it was a bit disjointed and felt incomplete (I wish DFW could have continued to work on it). It still felt very much like Wallace's writing, but it was much more toned down compared to the often hyperactive Infinite Jest. I think part of that is a conscious reflection of the subject matter (tedium and routine in TPK vs. stimulation and entertainment, among other themes, in IJ). But I also think the difference in tone reflected DFW evolution as a writer. He was less interested in displays of virtuosity as he got older.

Without giving anything away, there were two long sections that just riveted me (anyone reading TPK will know which ones I'm talking about). Wallace had this amazing ability to write at great length while making you forget just how long what you're reading really is. He's almost never boring. It reminds me of a great hour-long symphony that still manages to sound concise. (Although it occurs to me now that there are a few parts that were probably intended to be boring.)

After finishing TPK, there's no more of Wallace's published fiction left for me to read, which makes me quite sad.