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One of my top ten. (Reply to this comment)
by pageclot
Thank you for this, W. This is a book I regularly dip into at random, for the sheer joy of reading.
p
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Aug 05 '01
6:25 pm PDT
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What a strange-sounding book.... (Reply to this comment)
by NFP
...so compellingly reviewed. I hear you when you talk about different genres in one tome.
New to me, and I will keep an eye out for this one. LOVED the toast line.
Good pick and post, Urb.
nick
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Aug 06 '01
1:53 pm PDT
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Trust you, dear reviewer? (Reply to this comment)
by eplovejoy
Okay, I will.
White Noise sounds fascinating. Thank you for another exceptional critique that has added another to my list of books to read.
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Aug 07 '01
11:37 am PDT
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DeLillo's best (Reply to this comment)
by sundogg99
Or at least his most approachable, for all the reasons you so eloquently stated.
A great book. A great review.
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Aug 08 '01
2:51 pm PDT
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I'm not really sure... (Reply to this comment)
by Cloten
...about 'White Noise'. I own a copy which is currently lying under my couch, gathering dust and cat hair. I have never read it cover to cover, and know no one who has. I find that one's enchantment with this novel lasts about as long as a caffeine high; I've come to view it less as a novel than as a collection of more or less droll quotes and cutely post-modern scenarios - ideal source material for the production of an article on Literary Theory, c.1988.
Whether this is 'ironic' in any sense, considering the novel's elements of academic satire, is hard to say.
While I enjoyed your review, don't you think that the fact that you limit your quotes and comments entirely to the first thirty pages is (or could be taken as) an indictment on the other seven eighths of the book?
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Jan 06 '02
3:48 pm PST
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Re: I'm not really sure... (Reply to this comment)
by Urbanist
Re the ability to discuss the book based on the first 30 pages. No, I don't think that's evidence of the book's weakness, but of it's richness. You can open this book anywhere and find wonderful material, but I chose to quote from the opening to avoid explaining the whole plot.
I suppose you could accuse DeLillo of designing a plot that's just a skeleton on which to hang his drolleries, but if you actually read the book cover to cover, with attention, I think you'll find it's more than that.
Cheers
Urb
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Jan 07 '02
10:06 am PST
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... (Reply to this comment)
by WilliamJones
Recently you wrote a very nice, albeit somewhat critical, comment on one of my movie reviews. This was not a piece of writing I was particularly enamored with so please know that I appreciate very much your comment.
In that note you pointed me toward this book review as an example of how to not fall into the plot-summary trap.
I do agree with you that reviews that simply restate the plot of movies or books are inherently uninteresting. You mentioned Grouch and Mangiotto as two writers who don't misstep in this way. Believe me: I read both Grouch and Mangiotto with a studious eye.
David writes terrific metaphors and Walter has a tremendous store of film knowledge from which he draws wonderful comparisons (oh, how I envy them both).
This review, too, has something to be envious of. I especially like this:
Surely, finding all this in the first 30 pages, we can assume we are on the safe ground of academic satire, the well-trodden turf (overwatered, often reseeded, loudly and fragrantly mowed) of countless books on the absurdity of academic life. But no.
That's just terrific.
And I'm not just saying that because you added me to your WOT (thanks, by the way).
Regards,
Bill
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May 14 '02
2:41 pm PDT
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