And, in fact, is actually really remarkable! Usually, I end up needing to take a cold shower and maybe even shed a few bitter tears of dissatisfaction after reading a novel by this particular titan of post-modern literature. Really, without fail, this happens every time. I'm always incredibly off-put by the seeming inability on DeLillo's part to give his characters voices that are at all distinguishable from each others, the fact that human characters seem to take a back seat to the discrete bits of information that Don DeLillo seeks to wow you with in his attempt to show you just how well he understands The Times We Live In, and frequently gag when reading sentences that seem to constantly be saying, "See what I did there?". So, imagine my surprise and delight when I didn't experience any of these things in his new, short novel!
The novel is only 117 small pages, with moderately large font, and the economy of words really suits DeLillo well (as opposed to say, the sprawling smugfest that was Underworld). The book is about three people in an isolated house in the desert in California, having conversations, both directly and subtextually, about the absurdity of human concerns in the context of geologic time and space, as well as the growing prevalence of a societal death drive. The novel calls to mind Cormac McCarthy a bit, which I suppose is just a result of the remarkable fact that McCarthy seems to have a patent, these days, on existential themes presenting themselves in barren landscapes.
All things considered, I'd say this was one of the top three novels released last year, that I read (Along with Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, which is the clear number one on this list, and in fact the best book of fiction of the young millennium, according to me, and Nicole Krauss's Great House.) You really won't regret picking this up. And if you do regret it, it will only have taken up around two hours of your life! So there's that.
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