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Larry WatsonLarry Watson, the author of Montana 1948 and many other fine novels, has just published Let Him Go, his latest foray into literary fiction. Let Him... Continue »
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    Let Him Go

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White Noise

by

White Noise Cover

ISBN13: 9780140077025
ISBN10: 0140077022
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Jack Gladney teaches Hitler studies at a liberal arts college in Middle America where his colleagues include New York expatriates who want to immerse themselves in "American magic and dread." Jack and his fourth wife, Babette, bound by their love, fear of death, and four ultramodern offspring, navigate the usual rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism.

Then a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives, an "airborne toxic event" unleashed by an industrial accident. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladney family — radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmurings — pulsing with life, yet heralding the danger of death.

Review:

"It is in documenting such epidemic evasiveness and apprehension, such lack of connection to the natural world and to technology, such bewilderment, that White Noise succeeds so brilliantly....White Noise offers no answers, but it poses inescapable questions with consummate skill." Jayne Anne Phillips, The New York Times Book Review

Review:

"The most adventurous and original fiction in recent times." Chicago Tribune

Review:

"One of Delillo's funniest novels to date....Eerie, brilliant, and touching." The New York Times

Synopsis:

Jack Gladney teaches Hitler studies at a liberal arts college in Middle America where his colleagues include New york expatriates who want to immerse themselves in "American magic and dread." Jack and his fourth wife, Babette, bound by their love, fear of death, and four ultramodern offspring, navigate the usual rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism.

Then a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives, an "airborne toxic event" unleashed by an industrial accident. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladney family--radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmerings--pulsing with life, yet heralding the danger of death.

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About the Author

Don DeLillo published his first short story when he was twenty-three years old. He has since written twelve novels, including White Noise (1985) which won the National Book Award. It was followed by Libra (1988), his novel about the assassination of President Kennedy, and by Mao II, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

In 1997, he published the bestselling Underworld, and in 1999 he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize, given to a writer whose work expresses the theme of the freedom of the individual in society; he was the first American author to receive it. His latest novel, The Body Artist, was published in January 2001. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
natalierae, October 26, 2008 (view all comments by natalierae)
An absolutely stunning exploration of American culture. The characters and the irony ring true.
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(4 of 9 readers found this comment helpful)
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hongliu_yang1979, October 26, 2006 (view all comments by hongliu_yang1979)
I think it's a very good book for me to improve my english and to think.
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Jake, September 12, 2006 (view all comments by Jake)
My first time reading the work of Don Delillo... and let me tell you, it was an unforgettable experience. Generally, when you read a book, you are transferred to a world that is something you wouldn't have otherwise known if the author hadn't put it to paper. For Delillo, the world we are living in opens the more ovbious truths of common day maladies, structures, and symbolisms. From page to page, White Noise kept me thinking about my day-to-day life, post 9/11, and how we are kept in the age of both conscious consumerism and fear. For me, this book was a wave of vitality. I would whole-heartedly recommend White Noise to anyone that stops to think about the recent developments in their less-than-ordinary American life.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780140077025
Author:
DeLillo, Don
Publisher:
Penguin Books
Location:
New York
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
American
Subject:
Humorous Stories
Subject:
American fiction (fictional works by one author)
Subject:
Death
Subject:
Middle west
Subject:
College teachers
Subject:
Stepfamilies
Subject:
Industrial accidents
Subject:
Death -- Fiction.
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
1985
Edition Description:
Paperback / softback
Series:
Contemporary American Fiction
Series Volume:
no. 195
Publication Date:
19860131
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
from 12
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
336
Dimensions:
7.72x5.10x.63 in. .51 lbs.
Age Level:
from 18
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Related Subjects

Featured Titles » National Book Award Winners
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z

White Noise Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$4.95 In Stock
Product details 336 pages Penguin Books - English 9780140077025 Reviews:
"Review" by , "It is in documenting such epidemic evasiveness and apprehension, such lack of connection to the natural world and to technology, such bewilderment, that White Noise succeeds so brilliantly....White Noise offers no answers, but it poses inescapable questions with consummate skill."
"Review" by , "The most adventurous and original fiction in recent times."
"Review" by , "One of Delillo's funniest novels to date....Eerie, brilliant, and touching."
"Synopsis" by ,
Jack Gladney teaches Hitler studies at a liberal arts college in Middle America where his colleagues include New york expatriates who want to immerse themselves in "American magic and dread." Jack and his fourth wife, Babette, bound by their love, fear of death, and four ultramodern offspring, navigate the usual rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism.

Then a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives, an "airborne toxic event" unleashed by an industrial accident. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladney family--radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmerings--pulsing with life, yet heralding the danger of death.
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