There’s a curious knot that binds novelists and terrorists

October 18, 2023 3:49 PM

On the one hand, a universal nostalgic dream of America (even for Americans with no such memories to be nostalgic for; even for people who have never been to America, have seen it only in pictures); on the other, a bloody nightmare then without precedent, the predatory logic of war breaking out in the absence of war, devoid of politics, without warning, utterly irrational and random. DeLillo recognized in these transmissions, these sense impulses, the poles of an emergent reality. from Shocks to the System
posted by chavenet (7 comments total)

So is the hero in Cosmopolis the rat-currency rioters or the disgruntled lone gunman?
posted by es_de_bah at 4:33 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Love DeLillo, especially love Underworld, so thanks for this.
posted by blue shadows at 11:43 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Never heard of DeLillo ... or Book Forum for that matter, poking around I found review of Sam Lipsyte's DIY PI, which will prob be a rare novel I end up buying, and half-way thru. DeLillo is mentioned.
posted by unearthed at 2:13 AM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

I'd start with Libra.
posted by clavdivs at 5:41 PM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

This is probably the best thing I've read about DeLillo. I've read him on and off for decades and not made half as much sense out of what he's doing.
posted by newdaddy at 6:33 PM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

(it's very sad those LoA editions don't appear to have ebooks...they're so inconsistent about that!)
posted by mittens at 5:07 AM on October 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Speaking in Tongues: On Don DeLillo (N+1)
posted by chavenet at 11:18 AM on October 26, 2023