Blogerature II

Over the past few months I've read two Don DeLillo books and I'm midway through a third. Undeworld is a tangle of lives that all seemingly relate to a famous event that occurred in mid century NYC. The passages are gritty, uber-real, and include many references to shifting cultural sentiments in American life. I recommend starting with this one.

I haven't read it yet, but I love the idea that his first novel is called Americana and was released in 1971 - a time when many of the ideas and aesthetics we may associate with Americana were being popularized. He also has a new book out, released in February, Point Omega.

DeLillo is an important writer who is able to put into words and mental images the existence that we experience today. I don't mean this in any romantic sort of way, but in a more confusing, detached sort of way. Many of his themes are mocked and muddled. They tend to deal with what-it's-like-to-be-in-the-postmodern-world. This makes some passages difficult to read or understand, which is ok by me, maybe not by others. Other recent writers I've enjoyed all share similar characteristics in that they don't limit themselves to conventional reality, but rather explore the yearning that many people experience to break out of "the routine existence." DeLillo is a champion of this effect. Sometimes it's difficult to express the absurd in reality, but reading it can be haunting.

For me, DeLillo's a New York guy and it's refreshing to take in a piece of art that hits home. And he tackled 9/11. I'll probably get into that one next.