The Pale King Audiobook By David Foster Wallace cover art

The Pale King

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The Pale King

By: David Foster Wallace
Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
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The "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 Classics Literary Fiction Psychological Fiction Witty Funny Genre Fiction
Brilliant Writing • Profound Insights • Flawless Narration • Laugh-out-loud Humor • Mesmerizing Storytelling

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Glad I got past the opening segments— it’s not an endless narrative in that vein, rather a set a vignettes (so far) that made me laugh out loud.

The narrator is excellent- conveys the character behind the text. Really one of the best narrations I’ve heard, and even suits the locution of DFW’s speech.

Excellent Narration

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David Foster Wallace is one of the few writers that can pull you in so deep. as long as you can stay with ham and maintain focus when he goes hyper realistic you will be rewarded. That being said it is difficult to always maintain that Focus. also he tends to go dark and sad and bleak so if you're trying to be positive and stay happy not always the best author. it is amazing his ability to sum up complex subjects such as the American zeitgeist, politics, and culture in a way that is easy to understand and profoundly demystifying in a weird way. David was the man.

Amazing writing.

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Tedium, trivia and selfconsciousness as the essence of life. Drinian, the android/alien IRS examiner, is one of the most mysterious and compelling literary creations since...oh, don't know, something in Pynchon back when he was hitting all the marks, as is the agent he understands/misunderstans so well. Unfinished, tragically, Imbued with the strangness of the really real, undeniably. Not right or fair in the least that an incredible writer like Wallace is dead. Damn! Damn! Damn!.

Compelling Profound Book about Tedium

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Fascinating book and a pitch-perfect reading. I listened twice. Robert Petkoff's reading has both a flow and a level of detail that makes the book comprehensible and intriguing. I bought the hard copy and looking at it, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made it through. This is a gem.

A tour de force by the reader.

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Wallace’s finest work as a writer- and his most emotionally available writing. A beautiful portrait of gentle hum of anxiety in modern life

Breathtakingly Beautiful

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