I Just Read About That…

Five years ago, can it really have been five years? a group of people did a summer read of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest.  I thought it was a hoot to closely and slowly read the book which I had read about a decade earlier.  Now, a similar group of folks are doing a summer read of DFW’s posthumous, unfinished novel The Pale King.  I read TPK when it came out and I enjoyed it, even as I wished there was more.  I anticipate that it will be fun to re-read the book in a more slow fashion this time around.

As with my past group reads, I’m going to endeavor to summarize what I read and maybe offer some insights into what I think it’s all about.  Those who want in are welcomed to post here.  And of course, any inspired thoughts are welcomed.

I ‘ve included the schedule and, below the fold, a brief breakdown of each of the sections of the book.

July 14: Sections 1-9, pp. 3-85
July  21: Sections 10-21, pp. 86-153 [67 pages]
July 28: Section 22, pp. 154-252 [98 pages]
August 4: Sections 23-26, pp. 253-316 [63 pages]
August 11: Sections 27-34, pp. 317-386 [69 pages]
August 18: Sections 35-45, pp. 387-443 [56 pages]
August 25: Sections 46-47, pp. 444-516 [72 pages]
September 1: Sections 48-50 plus, pp. 516-575 (end) [59 pages]

The Pale King – Section Guide from SimpleRanger.Net

[Page numbers refer to the US edition hardcover.]

§1 – p. 3 – “Peoria” prose poem thing
§2 – p. 5 – Sylvanshine on the plane
§3 – p. 25 – short dialogue about masturbation and tits
§4 – p. 27 – newspaper article about dead guy found at his desk
§5 – p. 29 – perfect boy (Steyck)
§6 – p. 36 – Lane Dean contemplates abortion (“Good People”)
§7 – p. 44 – Sylvanshine in an ice cream truck
§8 – p. 53 – Toni Ware is poor
§9 – p. 66 – Author here; DFW character’s intro & background

§10 – p. 86 – Bureaucracy is not a closed system
§11 – p. 87 – internal memo re: examiners’ syndromes
§12 – p. 89 – Steyck as an adult being overly friendly
§13 – p. 91 – David Cusk sweating as a boy
§14 – p. 100 – IRS documentary video, 14 interviews
§15 – p. 118 – Sylvanshine, fact psychic
§16 – p. 122 – Lane Dean smoke break (“A New Examiner”)
§17 – p. 127 – IRS men as heroes monologue
§18 – p. 128 – desk names are back (on camera)
§19 – p. 130 – 1980s politics/civics lesson
§20 – p. 150 – Toni Ware’s dogs; “I’ll kill you”
§21 – p. 152 – Audit/fraud investigation

§22 – p. 154 – Chris Fogle, wastoid novella

§23 – p. 253 – dream: rows of faces & boredom
§24 – p. 256 – Author here, arrival in Peoria, Self-Storage Parkway, the mixup
§25 – p. 310 – everyone turns pages
§26 – p. 314 – examiners phantoms & ghosts

§27 – p. 317 – Rotes orientation; Cusk sweating it
§28 – p. 346 – 10 Laws of IRS Personnel
§29 – p. 347 – dog shit stories; Fat Marcus sits
§30 – p. 356 – internal espionage dialogue
§31 – p. 371 – Shinn on surveillance
§32 – p. 373 – The Exorcist on the speakerphone
§33 – p. 376 – Lane Dean, bored at work (“Wiggle Room”)

§34 – p. 386 – jargon about the Alternative Minimum Tax
§35 – p. 387 – Manshardt’s fierce infant (“The Compliance Branch”)
§36 – p. 394 – The boy kissing his own body (“Backbone”)
§37 – p. 408 – awkward conversation at restaurant (Rand?)
§38 – p. 410 – Author here; technical explanation of identity mixup
§39 – p. 415 – Band-saw accident
§40 – p. 423 – Cusk’s fears, at the psychiatrist
§41 – p. 425 – Cardwell is demented, a loon
§42 – p. 426 – Rescue Rangers meth binge in college
§43 – p. 431 – possible terrorist event; Glendenning’s management style
§44 – p. 437 – The key to bureaucracy is dealing with boredom
§45 – p. 439 – Toni Ware’s mom; catatonia

§46 – p. 444 – Meredith Rand’s story (with Drinion the levitator)
§47 – p. 510 – Toni Ware incident at the convenience store

§48 – p. 517 – Someone dosed the iced tea (or knives?) at the picnic
§49 – p. 527 – Fogle is debriefed by Sylvanshine and Reynolds
§50 – p. 537 – You become aware of the body; it is nothing like sleeping