It's late. I've done it. I knew I wouldn't be getting to bed tonight until I finished The Pale King. You know the feeling... close enough to the end and suddenly swept up in a flurry of words that makes it near impossible for one to stop reading.
I don't want to ruin anything. All I'll say is that the more familiar you are with David Foster Wallace's body of work, the more I think you'll get out of this unfinished novel. It's part of an arc that I thought ended with his death and has miraculously been extended beyond it. I wrote previously about my initial thoughts / first impressions and they haven't changed now that I'm done. In fact the maturity of emotion and refined (even muted) style delivers some of the best writing of DFW's career.
The Pale King is a catalyst for reflection and celebration, not mourning. We all have much to learn from the contents of this book.
David Foster Wallace, thank you.
(And now it's time for bed)
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