In the end, it was Bibilioklept’s comment, “The fight scene at the halfway house. That’s all I’m saying…”,  that drew me back to Infinite Jest, with renewed enthusiasm. I reread the chapter introducing Madame Psychosis, this time finding it irresistible.

On the DFW theme, Biblioklept’s review of Pale King concludes, “… it is [still] a marvel of heart and intellect.”

Morgan Meis considers Pale King and concludes:

Looking at it this way, you could also call The Pale King David Foster Wallace’s version of an 11th step. According to the literature of AA, the 11th step is when members of AA “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” The earlier steps in the 12-step tradition are largely about clearing away the bondage of self, learning to reintegrate oneself into the “stream of life.” The 11th step is about formalizing that process into a daily practice. It is, in DFW’s language, about creating habits for simple attention, awareness. It is about finding ways to worship.

The article above links to a powerful piece on DFW that I had not read before.