Dan’s Comments (group member since Mar 02, 2009)

Dan’s comments from the fiction files redux group.

Patty wrote: "Thanks for this, guys. I'll feel less anxious about reading it myself, now that you've checked under the bed and in the closet and given the all-clear."

Glad we can help!

I finished The Pale King this morning and in spite of what I said above, after reading the notes at the end of the novel it became clear how unfinished the book was. Within a few pages of my previous post I read the chapter about the fierce baby in the office that nearly had me doubled over with laughter.

I am not sure I can describe this book any better than Hugh did above so I am just going to quote him:

Hugh wrote: "In some ways, with some of the clear presentation of characters I think this book may be better that IJ. Few writers can balance the laugh-out-loud moments with an insight into some broken-ass aspect of what it means to be a human being. (The interrogation of a man who was at the IRS summer picnic when the Kool-Aid was spiked with acid is hilarious in the way he captures the voices of everyone in the room.)"

So I am approaching page 400 and getting sad that it's going to end. This book feels a lot less unfinished than I expected and has many wonderful and hilarious scenes (eg. the story of college face-sitting). The detail in the descriptions and thoughts of some of the characters is also bewildering (profuse sweating). I am (as I always seem to be) in awe of DFW's writing.

Here is a little quote from Esquire's review:

"If it keeps you up at night, it won't be because you've got to know what happens next. If you're up, you'll be up because D.F.W. writes sentences and sometimes whole pages that make you feel like you can't breathe. You'll be up because again and again he invites you to consider some very heavy things — like what it means to consider heavy things and how we go about deciding what's worth our consideration. The Pale King asks you, for instance, why it is that you haven't spent more time considering the morality of our tax code. It asks what it means to be a citizen of Grand Rapids, Michigan, or Beloit, Wisconsin, or Peoria, Illinois, and whether being an American really means anything at all."

Link to the review: http://www.esquire.com/fiction/book-r...

So how's everyone coming along?

It's not really an easy question to answer. In fact both responses so far have listed more than one character.

What is it that makes for a memorable character? Is it the character himself? The journey she/he undergoes?

Is there commonality that makes a character great?

In an effort to stir up some conversation I've stolen this somewhat basic thread topic from another Goodreads group. I am sure that in the original or second iteration of the Fiction Files we had a thread like this, but that was years ago and things may have changed.

So who's the most memorable fictional character you've encountered?

Jcamilo wrote: "I have always a question when people get stuck in the middle of Moby dick... when you were kids, didnt you have fun reading encylclopedias about animals, etc? Or watching Walt Disney wild life docu..."

I loved that sort of stuff as a kid however this is sort of twisted. It's like an encyclopedia on animals that talks about whales every fucking page. Page 4, 18, 285, 443. Whales, whales, whales. Shut the fuck up already where's the goddamned plot?

That being said, I finished the book and I even liked it. Especially when we got to the plot and the last 20 chapters or so. There were so many great and weird scenes (like chapter 108, where it suddenly feels like a play we're reading) but I feel like i'd have gotten the same, or perhaps a more enjoyable, experience if the book were 65% shorter. But maybe it's because I'm an idiot.

I finished the book the other day and I gotta say I liked it more than I expected to. Sabbath's panty diving shenanigans continues throughout most of the book and sometimes it's pretty unbelievable. Overall I think that Roth keeps it believable enough.

So I've been sick most of the week and have gotten a good deal of reading done and I've finally made some more progress with Moby Dick.

I've fought through bucket loads of boring stuff and it has paid off because it's getting interesting again. Starbuck and Ahab have it out, Queequeg makes up his coffin then gets his junk together and gets in it.

Sorry I've been so bad about this one Chris, but I won't lose a leg to this white whale.

Keith wrote: "man, i just find the last few lines of chapter 2 + the first line of chapter 3 to be the absolute essence of roth. there is so much LIFE in those lines, my god, i wish i could write like that. he P..."

You are absolutely right Keith, those lines standout more than any others I've read from this book so far. I'm about 250 pages in and Sabbath introduces himself in a most hilarious way:

""Good Day," said Sabbath and formally bowed to them. "I am the beneficiary of Roseanna's nest-building instinct and the embodiment of all the resistance she encounters in life. I am sure that each of you has an unworthy mate--I am hers. I am Mickey Sabbath. Everything you have heard about me is true. Everything is destroyed and I destroyed it. Hello, Rosie.""

I just find this so spectacular as it fits Sabbath's personality perfectly. Roth really has fully realized Sabbath as a character.

I'm guess it's impossible for Franzen not to have been influenced in some way by Roth. Shortly (with in 5 pages) after typing my previous comment I ran across Drenka's son again and it made perfect sense in this crazy book.

I agree with you about the third chapter illustrating the bad relationship business. At this point I am pretty sure that I don't like any of the characters in the book. They all seem to me to be sick people, though it's not stopping me from reading.

I've made it to the second part of the book, has anyone else gotten there yet? I can tell you that it's not any less sick though no one has masturbated on a grave for at least 30 pages!

Elizabeth wrote: "I trust that Roth is going to flex something else besides the third leg."

I too am hoping this to be the case considering the novel's length.

That's a great question Martha, why is there that focus in Drenka's son. I am guessing he will show up again at some point in the novel. I am betting that Sabbath seeks him out much as he conversed w/Drenka's husband a few month's after her death.

The more the merrier!

Well I've hit the ground running and have quickly blown through the first 40 pages. I get the sense I am going to like this book.

So let's talk about chapter one a bit, what do you make out of the first 35 or so pages? The set up of Sabbath's relationship with Drenka and how the chapter ends?

I don't want to say more until I am sure some of you have gotten a chance to read it.

I'll start it today after work!

I too am in agreement with Patty it is most likely the loss of common ground but in many ways I can see that as a good thing. I know I've read a lot more outside of the canon as a result of this group.

I'm also fond of R.A.'s comments on culling and the need to sometimes pick up something more trashy. I think I need to find something that fits that bill right about now.

So I've made it over 400 pages into this book and I am losing steam, and the ability to further care about the book. I am actually enjoying the discussion far more than the book itself.

Am I alone in feeling this way?

I'm sure most of us have heard of and know a little about the idea of cloud computing. I came across this article about the death of "content ownership" which is a pretty disturbing notion. It will probably be something at some point in the future we will all be forced to get over. regardless of that this article offers an interesting glimpse into what the future might hold.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,...

Yeah, join us! I've got to plow through a few books first (including the last third of Moby Dick), but I have Sabbath's sitting right here on my shelf waiting for it's turn!

Here's two posts about being well read, I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about being considered well read.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/20...

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/...