At first, the employees of the Peoria, Illinois tax office seem perfectly normal to the new trainee David Foster Wallace. However, as he becomes more immersed in work processes that are so dull that new employees are entitled to boredom therapy, he increasingly wonders what kind of people feel called to work in the tax authority. "The Pale King" was published in the USA three years after Wallace's death and became a sensation. In it, David Foster Wallace showcases his full talent once again - the unparalleled originality of his subjects, linguistic precision, a dissecting gaze at the shortcomings of human society, and the ever-present humor.