A
paperback copy of The
Pale King
has been sitting on the table by my reading chair for several months
now. After several tries of being faced with run-on sentences and
“stream-of-consciousness” type writing with which I never do
well, it occurred to me that it might not be worth the effort it was
going to take to complete the 545 page tome. Therefore, I stopped to
go in search of reviews. Bolstered with the thought that better
thinkers and readers than I have given this piece superb
recommendations, and that it is possibly Pulitzer material I
soldiered on. Also the Kennedy Library book group in Muncie, Indiana
was scheduled to discuss it this month and wanting to go I decided it
would be good to finish it before attending. I have to say that now I
am very glad I did. That being said this is probably a book that if
it ever gets recommended by me it will be with trepidation. This
piece has some brilliant writing, enthralling plot lines, and
wonderful characters. However, it is very difficult to read for
several reasons.
First
of all this book is referred to in most reviews as “unfinished”
due to the untimely death of the author, and in reality it does feel
fragmentary and chaotic. Also the average reader may not have enough
understanding of what the IRS does and of tax code to follow some of
the plot and dialogue. There is no set plot line, not much exciting
action, and many characters. Finally, the interjection of the author
himself into the story via ponderous footnotes apparently is also
off-putting to many readers.
When
I got to book group there were only two of us that had finished the
book and all, to a person, had basically the same impression of the
book being too fragmentary and rambling. Knowing ahead of time that
it was published posthumously did nothing to excuse what some felt
was a disservice to the author. We discussed whether better editing
could or should have resulted in an arrangement of the vignettes that
comprised the chapters into a piece that made better sense. As it is,
it remains very hard to follow. This is a novel-in-stories. Every
chapter is different; in perspective, style, theme and even the font.
Some chapters are monologues or dialogues, some are third person
vignettes, some are in the past and some present tense. Sometimes the
reader will be several paragraphs or even pages in before it is clear
who is talking or whether the chapter is in the present or the past.
I so much longed to have the chapters titled with at least the name
of the character whose thoughts we were examining. I have to confess
I wrote the names in my book as soon as I figured out who was
talking.
An
acquaintance told me that probably one could skip the whole beginning
and just start with chapter nine and be better off. Well, knowing
that could not be right I didn't follow his advice. He was spot on.
After reading the whole book and suffering through those first eight
chapters I do wish I had simply skipped them. Chapter two is Claude
Sylvanshine's musings and wonderings while being captive on an
airplane. He switches from mundane daily observations to the
recitation of accounting problems that are going to be on the exam
that he is on his way to take, and which will be very important for
advancing his position at work. I think as a reader we are supposed
to understand that Claude has no control over a constant data flow
that runs through his mind. The second paragraph
of this chapter is
ten pages long,
which must be the longest paragraph I have ever read. However, in
this paragraph Claude remembers his roommate, Reynolds telling him
that, “Reality was a fact-pattern the bulk of which was entropic
and random.” Therefore one simply needs to figure out what “facts”
are important. That I took to be indicative of this whole novel and I
decided to simply read it fast and try to remember the parts that are
relevant.
Trying
to encapsulate the premise of the novel I will say this, it is about
a bunch of IRS employees who are each unique with stories to tell of
their lives and travails. While you are privy to their tales you also
will struggle with them in their jobs while working to set up a new
IRS office in Peoria, Illinois sometime in the 1980s. There are some
great characters here. I loved the Toni Ware chapters and wanted more
about her. Her childhood was sad and often very scary but she is
smart and strong. Leonard Stecyk is and always was a true selfless
nerd who seemed so “good” no one could ever stand him and yet he
becomes an inspiration to others. Lane Dean has been a devout
Christian but is questioning his beliefs. My favorite chapter is
Chris Fogle's life story most of which takes place in the 70s. It was
fun for me because there was a lot of 70s slang and reminiscing about
things that went on then. The death scene of Chris's father is
bizarre and so vivid. I still think about.
There
is a lot here and a lot to think about. One other thing I did not
like at all was the interjection of the author into the story
including many annoying and useless footnotes. My friend Mike says
this is a horrible piece of drivel and he would never recommend it to
anyone. I do not agree. There is much here to enjoy and I can see in
the future many excerpts of this book being included in college
anthologies for study. I would love to discuss this book with someone
else who sees its value. I may go back and make notes in my own book
telling anyone who reads it after me what parts to skip which could
end up being half of the piece.
As
I said before there is in this novel much great writing, many
beautiful thoughts, witty and interesting language. I think my
favorite line is on page 438 in chapter 44, “To be, in a word,
unborable.... It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to
boredom, there is literally nothing you cannot accomplish.” the
very reason I may like it so much is because when my own children
were young and complained of being bored I always told them, “Only
boring people get bored.” which is my way of saying that the secret
to success is to be immune to boredom as apparently also thought David Foster
Wallace.
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