Don DeLillo - White Noise

Jack Gladney is the pre-eminent man of Hitler studies in North America. Literally creating the branch of study, Gladney's name has become synonymous with that of Hitler. That he cannot read or write or speak German is a prime example of the 'serious humour' that runs through the novel. We see humour in the endless lists of consumer goods, in the academic satire, in the recurring jokes about family and intellectual study and neighbours. We see the serious in the love between Jack and his wife, the discussions between Jack and his friend, Murray, and in the novel's obsession with death.

Jack and his wife, Babette, are very much in love. They are both 'survivors' of previous marriages, believing that this time, it will be right. Their home is a conglomeration of children from other marriages, a changing environment of kids and parental rights and television. Their home is happy. What is love if not 'We embraced, fell sideways to the bed in a controlled way, then repositioned ourselves, bathing in each other's flesh, trying to kick the sheets off our ankles. Her body had a number of long hollows, places the hand might stop to solve in the dark, tempo-slowing places.'? DeLillo has combined lust with love, physical understanding with physical familiarity. As husband and wife, they know each other. Surely this isn't a difficult concept, but in fiction often the so-close bond of marriage is shown poorly, or not at all. DeLillo uses a combination of intense physical intimacy with equally intense conversational and emotional closeness. What is love if not knowing the hollow places where your hand fits? 'Love helps us develop an identity secure enough to allow itself to be placed in another's care and protection.' Yes.

But this love becomes focused on death. 'Who will die first?' is a question that Jack asks himself. To his horror, so does Babette. They keep this fear from one another, and when it is revealed, their worries deepen. Babette wants to die first, so that she does not have to be alone from Jack. He wants the same thing, but for himself to die first, not her.

Babette's fear of death turns into an unfortunate experimentation with an illegal drug, Dylar. Dylar is untested, but it is supposed to remove the fear of death. It can have such unpleasant side effects as death, loss of memory, death of the right side of the brain, of the left, and so on. But the chance that it might take the fear away is enough for Babette to secretly take the drug. Her memory corrodes and the family notices. Jack wishes to try the drug for himself.

The novel is split into three parts. The first introduces the characters, and the theme of death. This is mostly Jack's section. We learn about his college life, his friends, his fears. We meet his family, that collection of improbably clever, impossibly precocious children. They do not talk, they assemble facts and display them with panache. It remains unclear how many children Jack and Babette have, and with whom.

The second part introduces two important plot points: Dylar and Nyodene D. The second comes in the form of a gas spill, a malignant chemical disaster that may or may not affect the town of Blacksmith. The town is evacuated, but Jack is probably infected. Death, previously an event that will come but when?, now has a time frame. Nyodene D stays in the body for thirty years, it is likely fatal at fifteen. They don't know, but it's a giant clock that has begun ticking in Jack's mind.

The last part ties the threads together and brings the themes to their natural conclusion. Does Jack become comfortable with the thought of death? No, but he becomes comfortable with being uncomfortable with the thought of death. Dylar and Nyodene D are neatly resolved through conversation and action, with the characters being allowed to display alternative views on memory, thought, death and sacrifice. DeLillo brings it all together very well.

There are aspects of the novel which do not work as well as the rest. The satire on universities and teaching is humorous, but nothing new is said. Yes, it's clever to have someone teaching adults how to eat properly, but it doesn't mean anything beyond the joke. Similarly, that both Babette and Jack have been married many times before, with children from each marriage, is more clutter than clever. Was it all necessary? Is it honest to make fun of American families and divorce rates in this way? It doesn't work, because DeLillo doesn't devote enough time for these minor themes to work. They demand greater treatment, but because they receive only a cursory examination, we feel cheated.

But the greatest strength of the novel lies in DeLillo never taking the easy way out. He is not a lazy writer, content to spin pleasantries and platitudes where concrete thought and abstract musings are necessary. The plot arguably spins around the 'thriller' event of a chemical spill, but where a lesser author would use it as a springboard to wax eloquent about superficial traits of life and death, DeLillo goes a step further, taking thought and metaphor closer to the truth of it all. We are constantly surprised that he doesn't take the lazy route, then pleasantly satisfied with what he presents us - an intelligent, intellectual and engaging discourse on death.

Links

Wikipedia - Author
Wikipedia - Novel
Amazon

New York Times Review

Categories

American Authors