Something to Do with Paying Attention
| Company type | Novella |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | April 5, 2022 |
| Founder | David Foster Wallace |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Novella |
| Owner | McNally Editions |
| Parent | Simon & Schuster |
Something to Do with Paying Attention is a novella derived from The Pale King and presented by The New Yorker as the last fictional work of David Foster Wallace. It was released on April 5, 2022, through McNally Editions with distribution handled by Simon & Schuster.
About the novella
The introduction is written by Sarah McNally, who served as both editor and publisher of the book. This novella originates from a lengthy monologue by the character Chris Fogle in Wallace's incomplete novel The Pale King. This passage, which is the most extensive in the novel, was extracted to form a standalone story. McNally characterizes it as "not only a fully realized narrative but also the clearest representation of Wallace’s later style, where serenity and composure take precedence over the elaborate techniques found in Infinite Jest and earlier writings."
Aware of the difficulties he faced in completing The Pale King and mindful of the long interval since his previous novel in 1996, Wallace contemplated releasing this portion independently.
Jonathan Russel Clark, in his review for the Los Angeles Times, remarks that McNally’s publication of this novella aims to welcome readers who might find Wallace’s broader work daunting, describing it as "an ideal entry point."
Background
The Pale King was assembled from a vast collection of notes and digital documents that Wallace gathered over roughly a decade following 1996. Jon Baskin of the New Yorker details an extensive archive consisting of papers, notebooks, binders, and floppy disks filled with hundreds of thousands of words—comprising notes, outlines, prose segments, character studies, and incomplete chapters.
Reception
In his 2022 review for the Los Angeles Times, Jonathan Russel Clark likens the novella’s pace to the ebb and flow of ocean waves along a shoreline, emphasizing Wallace’s talent for depicting intellectually intense Midwestern individuals who mirror aspects of his own life.
In 2023, Patricia Lockwood, writing for the London Review of Books, described the novella as "captivating," highlighting its mature sense of nostalgia that interprets childhood not merely as personal development but also as an interaction with bureaucratic systems—encountering queues, signage, and the tactile experience of waiting-room furniture.
Further reading
- Review: