3.5

I’ve now completed the set, read all DeLillo’s books. This is his first novel and though impressive as a first novel doesn’t really have much to recommend it in my eyes. It’s narrated by an obnoxious filmmaker who heads West to find his creative soul, sort of like a literary road movie. We get lots of snapshots of American life; we also get quite a lot of overwriting and a fair smattering of pretentiousness.

A fascinating feature of his books is that they often begin on a more inspired plane than they end. DeLillo loves writing; but he loves writing sentences rather than stories. He’s like Nabokov in the delight he takes in crafting individual sentences. I don’t think any living writer is better at individual sentence writing. I can think of at least four of his novels that begin with stunningly beautiful prose but eventually peter out as if he runs out of that magic elixir, inspiration. At the point where he tries to forge into shape what he’s previously written. DeLillo doesn’t do plots. You could say plot is the discipline at the heart of any novel. It’s probably frustrating at times, like the rules of any game. And it seems to curb DeLillo’s flow. The alternative to plotting a novel is to theme it. Which is what he does but has a tendency to become a bit too esoteric and ambitious, to lose focus. Zero K was probably better unified in terms of theme than some of his earlier novels but the inspired writing was missing. The Names has the inspired writing but the theme becomes ever more oblique and elusive.

To be honest I can’t think of much to say about Americana except if you fancy reading him make sure you avoid this one. It was a bit like listening to an early demo recorded in a garage by a band you love.

I admired this book more than I liked it. It started off really promisingly but seemed to descend into a lot of references to a period of American culture I didn't quite 'get' and I found some of the road stuff quite obscure and difficult to read at times. It didn't help that I was completely confused about the motivation and character of the protagonist.

Nevertheless, I can see how DeLillo influenced American fiction, there were some great quotes which still prove as relevant today as when the book was first published and whilst I can't completely appreciate this book at the moment I do want to try to read more of his work.

Sounds more promising than it was

Cruel but hilarious

I am confusion. Explain, Don Delillo. Explain.

Part of me thinks this is a brilliant novel with many beautiful passages and the other part can't believe I finished it.

Don DeLillo is one of my favorite novelists, so I came to his first novel eager to see how his talents manifested while he was still a greenhorn. He really did come right out the chute writing the sorts of ornate and philosophical sentences and paragraphs that would make any wordsmith envious. He’s apparently always been a master of mood. But this book still has its shortcomings. Plot is never in the foreground for him as a novelist but there’s barely one to be found here at all; his characters are always more thematic vehicles than true slice of life portrayals but they’re nearly completely devoid of any recognizable humanity here. Still a worthwhile read if you’re a completist, but I’d recommend every other book of his I’ve read before this one to someone coming in contact with him for the first time.