{"product_id":"the-pale-king-9780316175296","title":"The Pale King","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eA PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA hilarious, fearless, and original story about IRS employees confronting boredom, bureaucracy, and the strange difficulty of paying attention in everyday life, from the bestselling author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eInfinite Jest\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e. \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\"breathtakingly brilliant\" —\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Pale King\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Pale King\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e is by turns funny, shrewd, suspenseful, piercing, smart, terrifying, and rousing.\" —\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSalon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Little, Brown and Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67909691277490,"sku":"9780316175296","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0536\/7418\/0786\/files\/9780316175296.jpg?v=1793963040","url":"https:\/\/shop.hachettebookgroup.com\/products\/the-pale-king-9780316175296","provider":"Hachette Book Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}