White Noise by Don DeLillo

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Title: White Noise

Author: Don DeLillo

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Satire

Length: 326 pages

Published: 1984

Publisher: Viking Books

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) A brilliant satire of mass culture and numbing effects of technology,White Noise tells the story of Jack Gladney, a teacher of Hitler studies at a liberal arts college in Middle America. Jack and his fourth wife, Babette, bound by their love, fear of death, and four ultramodern offspring, navigate the rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism. Then a lethal black chemical cloud, unleashed by an industrial accident, floats over their lives, an “airborne toxic event” that is a more urgent and visible version of the white noise engulfing the Gladneys—the radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, and TV murmurings that constitute the music of American magic and dread.

My Review:

I give this book a 4 out of 5. 

This was...bizarre. I don't think I've read a book this odd in a long time - probably not since I read Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk at the beginning of the year. Strangely enough, the oddity of the book is exactly what made me like it.

The conversations that take place throughout the book and even just the general narrative are stilted. This adds an extra layer of bizarre to the story - just sort of makes you keep thinking and wondering what other strange thing is going to happen. 

The story is told in the voice of the main character J.A.K. Gladney (or Jack) who is a college professor that lectures solely on Hitler. He tells about his strange life, his many wives, his children, his step-children, and his colleagues. These tidbits of information about his family and himself are interspersed throughout the whole novel.

The book is in three parts: Waves and Radiation; The Airborne Toxic Event; and Dylarama. The first part gives basic background information on the narrator, his wife, their family, and a friend of his. Throughout this you see hints of events to come: his wife is on some mystery medication, the family watches as a train spills a toxic substance into the soil and air. The second part delves into the evacuation that happens because of the toxic substance. And the third part draws to a conclusion the events after that toxic spill and what happens with the mysterious medication that Babette (his wife) is on. 

The most maddening part of this book was the sheer amount of denial the narrator is in. But considering his other issues, it just seems to fit with the whole scheme of things. All in all, this was a decent book and definitely worth the read if you enjoy bizarre stories.

You can purchase White Noise through Amazon in hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read White Noise? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.