I've just finished this book. It's the fifth DeLillo I've read. Would love to chat about it.

It reads like the confessional of a paranoid drug addict. I suppose that's what it is. The extremist group focused on restoring true privacy to the world intrigued me. I get the impression Don spent a lot of time alone in his small apartment as a young writer. And this book is those experiences manifested on paper.

I enjoyed the inclusion of Fenig, the author living above the protagonist. And the twist at the end, realizing most of the events of the book were part of a preplanned conspiracy by this "Dr. Pepper" character was neat.

Definitely a paranoid book. But also one that has only gotten more relevant. Hard to get through at times, especially the beginning. But there are classic bits of beautifully constructed DeLillo prose throughout. Not my favorite, but a clear example of brilliance in early work.

I've just recently done a collation of "Pafko" in Harper's and the novel version of the Prologue (called "Triumph of Death). There are at least a couple dozen differences (clauses/sentences added, subtracted, etc.), the most obvious being the first and last sentences. The "Pafko" that's published as a standalone novella is not the "Pafko" that appeared in Harper's, but is virtually the same on that appeared as the Prologue in the novel. Just letting everyone know in case they want to read the Harper's version at some stage to see the differences. Some DeLillo readers prefer the Harper's original to the novel's Prologue.

Just an FYI - Park is the author of Personal Days (I've not read) and Same Bed, Different Dreams, which I've started but not finished. He's going to publish an essay/review on the novel now that it is being re-issued in November by Simon & Schuster

I bought The Names at my local barnes and noble recently and didn’t realize until days later when I was branding it that my copy was a complete misprint. B&N was kind enough to order me another copy, but I’ve never found a misprint of this caliber before, especially not at a major store like that. I was wondering anyone else has run into this peculiar hiccup when trying to purchase their copy of The Names.

Here ‘tis! Great to read this as a stand-alone novella sometimes, without feeling like you should absolutely keep going for 750+ more pages…

I've discovered that remaking dustjackets as accurately as possible in Photoshop is one of my favorite things to do. I take measurements of the book and start a blank file, clean up/straighten any of the graphics, find the correct author photo, and try to identify the exact fonts (or as similar as possible). Then I overlay the cleanest photos of the dustjackets I can find, and type over the text to get the right kerning, justification and line spacing for the text on the flaps and blurbs.

It's probably easier to just buy one from one of the sites that scan the authentic ones, but I enjoy spending my free time doing this, so why not.

Bonus photos of when I did White Noise, because I found an absolutely brutalized first edition for 20 bucks (someone highlighted and marked up nearly every page, but I couldn't ignore that kind of deal). That one was a learning experience and I probably should have left a larger margin on the top and bottom for the extra trimming I ended up having to do, but I'm having fun either way.

does anybody have a pdf or scan of DeLillo’s 1989 essay silhouette city? can’t seem to find it online anywhere

Spotted this in another sub and don't think it's been posted here for a bit so just doing that.

So embarrassingly i always thought White Noise was the source material for the 2005 film of the same name starring Michael Keaton, and as that genre has never stuck with me, i turned Don Delillo OFF in my brain.

Then i heard about Underworld, but had the wrong idea about the storyline and turned him off again because of length (which oughta be understandable...?) and the misconception of baseball as a major plot point.

Still the name Delillo keeps popping back up. I vaguely research books because there are so many spoilers out there, but i read that the a baseball is what drives the novel over a span of decades as if its a motif, and now im really interested. I too think the time period it covers is fascinating.

So here i am asking, where to start with Delillo? Both Underworld and White Noise seem interesting, yet i know nothing of Libra...

Is starting with Underworld too great an endeavor? Do you recommend any of his other works above that? Especially for a 1st timer?

I have a BA in Literature, so i am fine with complex and Im currently reading a 750p book so length is not always an issue.
Just wondering what his fans think.

Thoughts?

Ratner's Star occasionally receives appreciation here, but it is discussed rarely enough I thought I would share my appreciation of it.

It will not be among most fan's favourites. The plot tends to drift as much as or more than any of Delillo's most cryptic novels.

But I find the mixture of paranoia, confusion, and humour incredibly engaging and rewarding. All the greatest aspects of the later books that are more acknowledged as masterpieces are fully developed here.

The book I return to again and again is The Names. But apart from that and Underworld, Ratner's Star is the Delillo I return to the most, and I find it full of new surprises every time.

Hi,

I started reading DeLillo's second novel, End Zone, and have been loving it. It's rougher around the edges but you can see the foundation of his later works. I can see the DNA of White Noise taking shape. I also cracked the late great Football coach Bill Walsh's The Score Takes Care of Itself book on leadership.

It's amusing jumping from Delillo's postmodern jumble of collegiate football and nuclear warfare into the straight laced world of motivational platitudes presented by Walsh. Heightens the intensity of both reads and especially the absurdity of End Zone.

I'm enjoying both books. DeLillo knows his craft and Walsh clearly knew his way around a football team. What do you guys think of End Zone?

I will probably continue to add

Just checking

I’m in decluttering mode. The plan was to finally read the books that I have been accumulating for years and donate them. I’m pretty sure I had this book for more than 20 years and rarely keep novels after I’ve read them. I decided to start with the thickest books.

Underworld was a wonderful read. I placed markers in sections. I finished it in early June and keep thinking about it. Copied a couple pages of and sent to my dad.

So sorry Friends of the Library, at least for time being this one is staying on my shelf.

I want to read more of his novels, but I am determined to clear the shelves first so it may be while.

Did it trigger your anxiety further and/ or was it a difficult read? Or did its humour and at times absurdity (from what I understand) cushion the experience somehow?

Thanks in advance for commenting / sharing your experience

(I haven't read it yet so no spoilers please)

A Video from a young man in Gaza who documents day-to-day life there. Reminded me of Mao II.

This is the first part where the narrator is
NAMED. I’m a little confused if this description is of Thomas or Tap, the son?

He turned on a light. I’d arrived expecting him to be changed in appearance. He’d always seemed vaguely delicate to me, small-boned. I thought the open life would transform him physically. There might be something of the wild boy about him. The sun and wind would crack his skin a little, mark up the tidy surface. This unpremeditated life of theirs would break him out of his containment, I thought. But he looked about the same. A little darker, that was all.The essential Thomas Axton now stood before me.”

Excerpt From
The Names
Don Delillo
This material may be protected by copyright.

Just finished this novella. I thought it was pretty average, but unmistakably Delilo. He questions definitions of words and reassigns their meanings at will. At one point he chooses to include two tenses of a word, sort of breaking down the space between published work and stream of consciousness. After reading Cronenberg’s “Consumed”, they really seem to both be obsessed with filmmakers and the hyperrealism that fictional narratives in movies suggest of the human experience.

Still the weakest of what I read, but by god it’s a D Delilo book

I find my experience with Delillo difficult to describe. Certain passages in his texts enrapture me and are crystal clear in my mind while reading them. Then other times it feels like I’m reading entire chapters and coming away confused or empty.

He’s great at picking apart aspects of society that often aren’t discussed with nuance. He has this cold, calculated way of describing really dark ideas that make me feel a particular feeling of like sterile dread that I don’t really get with other authors. But I also feel like none of his characters are all that memorable or even totally realized. I feel like the value I get from reading his work comes from the process of dissecting the hazy central themes of the novels. Like in Mao 2 he discussed terrorism, authorship, art, photography, idolism, art, symbolism, worship, society/crowds/culture, among others. I don’t know if I came away from that novel with a changed perspective but certain moments in the book made me think about these concepts in a way that I rarely do in my daily life.

I really don’t even know if I care for Delillo’s writing and I remember really struggling to love underworld, which I know sounds blasphemous. I feel like there’s often two sides to his works which are 1. Complicated, dark ideas about the contemporary world, viewed through a postmodern lens and 2. Intentional prose laden with metaphors, alliteration, symbolism and other literary devices. I can tell he’s an extremely intelligent and observant person who has read a lot of high quality fiction. I think I would enjoy having a conversation with him more than I enjoy reading his works. Sometimes it just feels like he’s going “now I will use alliteration, now I will introduce a central theme, now a will use a metaphor, now I will introduce a central theme”.

I feel like I haven’t fully explained all of my thoughts or feelings towards his work but I just was curious if anyone else felt the same way.

First I read Libra, then Mao II, then White Noise, then Zero K. Now I’m onto Underworld, a little more than a quarter of the way through, and I fucking love it. But here’s the problem. My dog ate my first copy. And the binding split on the second copy. What does it mean? I need to write Don himself and ask! See pictures for proof!