A little too cool for school.

To me, this is a good example of where some writing, esp. "literature," went in the 70s and beyond. A little too much focus on form and less on content. Style over substance. A blueprint for where the MFA in writing crowd would be headed in the 80s-00s.

One thing missing from pieces like this is the substance underneath. I love Picasso and I love how he played with form, presentation and light. But, there remains, underneath the cool new tools/techniques he used, real emotion and content. I think that Americana is all flourish, that shows that Mr. DeLillo has chops, but that he doesn't have a good story to tell nor does he tell it in a way that I would label good.

Others will surely feel differently about this book and about his more recent works that have won more acclaim. I like to start with an author's first book to see where they came from and where they might be headed before the onslaught of reviews, editors, fans and detractors arrive.