Infinite Summer

And IF we haven't met him before (I realize I may well be missing a connection here), why do you suppose DFW felt we needed to make his acquaintance 23 pages before the end of the book, when we were all racing to find out (ha!) what happened to Hal, whether Gately was going to live, and whether or not Joelle was still perfect under that veil? Among a dozen other major questions.

From Elegant Complexity:

Mikey is “blurred a bit through the linen [veil, cf. p. 220]”, which presumably means that this section is presented from Joelle’s perspective and that she has decided to attend this meeting rather than enter the House while the sheriff’s car was outside (cf. previous section). It is “another of these round-robin-speaker deals”, like the meeting Joelle described to Gately . . . (cf. pp. 856-7), except that this meeting is held at “lunchtime” rather than at night.

Although here at the end of the novel the reader is likely paying more attention to the stories of Hal and Gately, it is important to note that the cycle of addiction and recovery continues everywhere and for people to whom we are not paying attention.

Thank you, Greg. That makes sense and is very well put.

I noticed the reference to the linen veil, stopped for a moment in confusion to wonder if the speaker was a member of UHID, and then got so caught up in his tale I forgot about it!