Thanks to favorable reviews and widespread reader interest, David Foster Wallace's posthumous novel "The Pale King" is available in advance of its scheduled April 15 release date.
Yep, the traditional Tax Day (it's April 18 this year because of the Emancipation Day holiday) was intentional.
Much of the book takes placed in a Midwesteran Internal Revenue Service office, the setting Wallace, who committed suicide in 2008, chose to address "an America so plagued by tedium, monotony and meaningless bureaucratic rules and regulations that its citizens are in danger of dying of boredom."
The novel obviously isn't for everyone. In recounting the tale of how Wallace's notes and journals were turned into the finished book, New York Times reporter Charles McGrath says:
"Some readers have pointed out, however, that in addition to passages of breathtaking brilliance, the novel, like the tax code, also contains sections so eye-glazing they ought to come with a warning advising readers to wait a while before driving or operating heavy machinery."
But if you're willing to give it a go, "The Pale King" will be on bookstore shelves on Friday. Or you can order it now from online sellers.
Related posts:
- A well-intentioned IRS agent … in a movie
- A tax lawyer's 'Date Night'
- Accountants exciting lives — on film
- 'Money Never Sleeps' and other entertaining money movie lessons
- Tax code growth, circa 2011
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