Publisher, Hachette Audio (April 2011)

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A New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 selection

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.

About the Author: David Foster Wallace is the author of Infinite Jest, The Broom of the System, and Girl With Curious Hair. His essays and stories have appeared in Harper's, The New Yorker, Playboy, Paris Review, Conjunctions, Premiere, Tennis, The Missouri Review, and The Review of Contemporary Fiction. Wallace has received the Whiting Award, the Lannan Award for Fiction, the Paris Review Prize for humor, the QPB Joe Savago New Voices Award, and an O. Henry Award.

David Foster Wallace, 1962-2008

On those rare occasions that David Wallace visited our offices in New York City, execs lined up to clap him on the shoulder and shake his hand—one of the many forms of acclaim that made David very, very uncomfortable. He would deflect compliments firmly and turn the conversation to praising the editorial or publicity assistant he had most recently spent hours on the phone with.

Everyone who worked with David has used the word “kind” in describing him. He never failed to be kind, to acknowledge work done on his behalf—copyediting single-spaced manuscript pages, laying out pages with notes embedded in notes, booking tours for an ardent tobacco-chewer with particular needs. He wanted the people he met to know him for who he was, not as a scarily giant intellect or as a bandanna-clad lit phenom. He succeeded completely.

Among the most moving notes arriving here recently have been those from young editors and agents who wrote to say that David Foster Wallace’s writing was a beacon to them. The idea that they might one day have a hand in bringing work this original and mind-opening and exciting to readers inspired them and drew them to the book business. We will always be grateful that we had the extraordinary opportunity of working with him and knowing him. We will miss him very much.