White Noise

by Don DeLillo

Book Overview

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER - An "eerie, brilliant, and touching" (The New York Times) modern classic about mass culture and the numbing effects of technology.

"Tremendously funny . . . A stunning performance from one of our most intelligent novelists."--The New Republic

The inspiration for the award-winning major motion picture starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig

Jack Gladney...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140077022
• ISBN13: 9780140077025
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

One of the worst books I’ve ever read

There really is no story line - more like random ideas that the author had and threw together in a book

Lots of extras

De Lillo's White Noise is a modern classic. What I especially like about this edition (Viking Critical Library) is the extra material: articles and critical essays on the novel. Reading it was like taking a small course in cultural studies, or something... recommended!

Great novel for English classes

White Noise by Don Delillo was a book that should be read by all ages. It's basic concepts that were brought out were the acts of consumerism and death. There was also some sex involved in there too. As you can see, a perfect book for the growing college student. I also liked how Delillo brought in some humorous moments when they were during his grocery shopping and watching television. This novel basically describes the typical American family and shows how this family is just as normal as the rest of us, but shows the side we never really see. I particularly like how Delillo displays Jack as this bizarre man who really focuses on death. He can't help but think about it. I really liked him in this novel because he reminds me of myself as I walk around and think "outside the box" if you know what I mean. This book constantly made me laugh, especially when the father fights with his son. That whole argument is hysterical! The book throws some good twists to American society that most of us never see. My basic thoughts on this novel are that you should read this because it will really make you laugh, and make you think about your typical day of work and life.

Post-Modernist and Funny as Hell

In "White Noise" DeLillo proves himself to be the Balzac of the contemporary era, particularly that of america suburbia. Very basically it portrays the negative effects of technology on our society. Overwhelmed by information, we become anesthesized to our environment....we must filter out some the data that bombards our system, and indeed we filter out most of it. Our systems so burdened by the information that we treat all things with indifference....except for our own death, which remains the one thing we would like to filter out of our consciousness but dont seem able to do so.Now, this all recalls the dry writings of Heidegger or Baudrillard, but instead DeLillo will have you laughing til you cry with certain passages. We have a Professor who is head of the "Hitler Studies" department (one thing about information overload is that people specialize in minutiae). His colleague, Murray, who philosophizes over food labels, wants to start an "Elvis Studies" department. The concept of the "hyperreal" is evoked. For example, there is a tourist site near the college. It has no other appeal than the fact that it is the "most photographed barn" in America. Throughout the book we see the characters, just like many of us, concentrate on image rather than substance.I have noticed that there is a review below by a man that claims that neither he nor his "brilliant" wife the engineer found anything of interest in "White Noise". I, too, am an engineer and know, by the way, that most engineers find themselves (often victims of self-deception) "brilliant". I speculate that the reason they could not understand this book is that they are too submerged in the "white noise" world of consumerism and information. In addition to that many engineers are afraid to address the issue of the dark side of technology.

BLEAK, FUNNY, SHOCKING: ONE OF DELLILLO'S FINEST MOMENTS

White Noise is probably one of the best books I have ever read. It does not serve as entertainment; you don't pick this up for a read on the train. Instead, it serves as a slap in the face, disposing traditional conventions and giving way to his admirably ironic and philosophical view of modern day consumerism and death. It is vitamins for the brain. This satire about modern day society poses thought provoking questions. Our obsession with pop-culture is peerlessly examined and the results are enlightening. And why are we afraid of death? Delillo shows us the way to our graves and gives us a chance to attempt to understand demise and doom. White Noise is so sad, so full of eloquence and so deep. I read this book nearly a year ago and to this date it remains fresh in my mind. It is so well written and artful. There are so many piercingly shocking observations into modern day America. The idiosyncracies are so lovable yet disturbing and they ring true. The narrative is fresh and powerful, overwhelming and explosive; the main character and his family so eerily familiar, the dialogue so evocative and perplexing. Every chapter shines in its brilliance, every sentence has words carefully chosen for maximum psychological impact. The plot itself borders the line of being ridiculous and shallow, so people who want their thrillers and mysteries, you might wish to look elsewhere. But those of you who want something more challenging and rewarding, look no further. White Noise is a mind blowing trip to the finish. You will never look at life the same way again.

DeLillo's Anti-Apocalypse

Harold Bloom has said that the common theme of great American novels -- from Moby Dick to Gravity's Rainbow -- is apocalypse. Don DeLillo's genius is turning the American literary tradition on its head with tales of anti-apocalypse. Whether it's the Cold War that never runs hot in "Underworld", the Kennedy conspiracy that masks the true national decay in "Libra" or the "airborn toxic event" in "White Noise", DeLillo is a master of building fear, taking it away, then showing how the disaster distracted us from the things we should fear most."White Noise" is a book about death -- more specifically, our fear of death -- and how we have created a consumer infotainment paradise to distract us from our inevitable demise. But that description hardly does the book justice. There's more brilliance on any page of "White Noise" than I could hope to write in a lifetime.DeLillo has a knack for finding deep meaning in common things -- like a supermarket. Characters are described as much by their postures and gestures as they are by words. Most of the important meanings of the book are left for readers to think on their own.If you need a plot and lots of A-B-C action, please don't read White Noise. It's a book for people open to seeing the world in a different light. "White Noise" proves that there is nothing more reassuring than a disaster, and nothing more terrifying than the banal.