[stylist] Book Review: White Noise by Don DeLillo

Thu Aug 1 23:55:47 UTC 2013

Susan,

Thanks for the review. You should consider submitting it to Slate &
Style, NFB Writers' magazine. I happen to be the editor, so you can
email me at bpollpeter at hotmail.com, grin.

One thought: Explore the writing itself more thoroughly. You state you
enjoy the style, but what exactly is his style? How does he accomplish
this style? What about tone/voice? Can other literary devices be
discussed? Expand a bit more on the writing and detailing exactly what
you like and don't like. Not in great depth, but explore things a bit
more from a literary perspective.

Personally, I cringe when I discover a book I'm reading has a blind
character because 99.9% of the time, it's a negative description or
perpetuating a stereotype. Rarely do I come across a blind character
that has depth and is displayed as having the ability to do anything.
For this, I don't seek it out. Every now and then though, a blind
character does surprise me. In fiction and reality, ha-ha!

Thanks for the review though. It was insightful and interesting. I
always appreciate a good review on a book.

Welcome to the list BTW.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Adventures in Low Vision
Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2013 1:29 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] Book Review: White Noise by Don DeLillo

Hello All,

First time submitter! I'm Susan, I love writing, and I have low vision.
I joined NFB this year. For those interested, I review books on my blog
from time to time. I'm always looking for a good read.

Here's my review of White Noise by Don DeLillo:

*****

Routine gives us security. Routine keeps us busy. Routine allows us to
ignore the existential crisis: what does a life mean?

In *White Noise*, Don DeLillo constructs characters that embrace or shun
routine as much as they need to deny their fears. He weaves humor into
his description and dialogue to mock them. Jack Gladney, the father, the
published scholar who leads Hitler Studies at a university, still can't
speak German after years of lectures, so he "wore an academic gown and
dark glasses day and night whenever I was on campus." He hoped no one
would find out about his recent German language lessons, valuing
impressions over meaning.

Gladney's friend, Murray, lives in an opposite fashion. No secrets, no
fears. He relishes in the grocery store when he spots generic food
packaging, devoid of marketing. "This is the new austerity," he says.
"Flavorless packaging. It appeals to me. I feel like I'm not only saving
money but contributing to some kind of spiritual consensus."

I tend to look for blind characters in books now. DeLillo features Old
Man Treadway, a secondary character in the novel. He exists as a
distraction, to give Gladney's wife someone to help, someone to read
tabloid stories to, someone to check in on, and someone to search for
when she finds his house empty one day. When blind people are portrayed
as unable to find a way out from a kiosk in a mall for days, I pause.
That doesn't build an accurate portrayal of people living -with vision
impairments. I'll take the Treadway character as a joke and laugh
instead.

One day, a plume of black smoke rises into the air from a chemical spill
and wafts over the town. Gladney's family falls into shock, and he says:

"These things happen to poor people who live in exposed areas. Society
is set up in such a way that it's the poor and the uneducated who suffer
the main impact of natural and man-made disasters. People in low-lying
areas get the floods, people in shanties get the hurricanes and
tornadoes. I'm a college professor. Did you ever see a college professor
rowing a boat down his own street in one of those TV floods? We live in
a neat and pleasant town near a college with a quaint name. These things
don't happen in places like Blacksmith."

Bad things don't happen to good people like him. Until they do. As the
plot advances, DeLillo plays with tone. He flips from hysterical
conversation to mundane label instruction narration to contrast life
from the white noise.

One criticism. Gladney sees colored spots in the periphery of his
vision, conveniently at times when change occurs. Instead of noting the
urgency of this vision change, DeLillo uses it metaphorically. In real
life, vision changes aren't white noise.

I like DeLillo's writing style. I think I will pick up new things with
each reading of this book. I recommend *White Noise *for anyone
interested in human behavior, dark humor, or an ironic read. You might
notice yourself in some of the characters or routines.

Have you read *White Noise *or any other novel by Don DeLillo? What do
you think?

****

Happy Reading and Writing,

Susan
http://adventuresinlowvision.wordpress.com/
_______________________________________________
Writers Division web site
http://www.writers-division.net/
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