White Noise is the story of Jack and Babette and their children from several previous marriages. They live in a college town where Jack is a Professor of Hitler Studies,Babette teaches posture and reads tabloids to elderly people. Except for the possibility of some drug that Babette seems to be hiding, everything is normal chaos in their lives. And then a deadly toxic accident causes them to seek shelter, bringing to surface this nagging fear of death.
DeLillo has a knack for capturing the essence of American popular culture through intelligence and ironic humor. White Noise essentially is about American’s fear of death, but it touches upon so many silly things in our society that it certainly goes far beyond this subject. On the other hand, you can say that it is simply about everyday life and everyday relationships. I find it interesting that this book was first published in 1984, since it seems to point out things that seem even more true today, (like a drug similar to Prozac) than I recall from 15 years ago. One thing that dates the book is the “generic” food section at the supermarket. Remember the black and white packaging? Now, where did that concept go…
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