White Noise: Text and Criticism (Viking Critical Library) (Paperback)

by Don DeLillo (Author), Mark Osteen (Editor) "The station wagons arrived at noon, a long shining line that coursed through the west campus..." (more)
Key Phrases: exalted narrative life, transcends previous categories, continuing mass appeal, New York, End Zone, Jack Gladney (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Winner of the National Book Award in 1985, White Noise is the story of Jack and Babette and their children from their six or so various marriages. They live in a college town where Jack is Professor of Hitler Studies (and conceals the fact that he does not speak a word of German), and Babette teaches posture and volunteers by reading from the tabloids to a group of elderly shut-ins. They are happy enough until a deadly toxic accident and Babette's addiction to an experimental drug make Jake question everything. White Noise is considered a postmodern classic and its unfolding of themes of consumerism, family and divorce, and technology as a deadly threat have attracted the attention of literary scholars since its publication. This Viking Critical Library edition, prepared by scholar Mark Osteen, is the only edition of White Noise that contains the entire text along with an extensive critical apparatus, including a critical introduction, selected essays on the author, the work and its themes, reviews, a chronology of DeLillo's life and work, a list of discussion topics, and a selected bibliography.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140274987
• ISBN-13: 978-0140274981
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,275 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Post-Modernist and Funny as Hell, June 13, 2001

By	Thomas M. Seay (Palo Alto, California USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In "White Noise" DeLillo proves himself to be the Balzac of the contemporary era, particularly that of america suburbia. Very basically it portrays the negative effects of technology on our society. Overwhelmed by information, we become anesthesized to our environment....we must filter out some the data that bombards our system, and indeed we filter out most of it. Our systems so burdened by the information that we treat all things with indifference....except for our own death, which remains the one thing we would like to filter out of our consciousness but dont seem able to do so.

Now, this all recalls the dry writings of Heidegger or Baudrillard, but instead DeLillo will have you laughing til you cry with certain passages. We have a Professor who is head of the "Hitler Studies" department (one thing about information overload is that people specialize in minutiae). His colleague, Murray, who philosophizes over food labels, wants to start an "Elvis Studies" department.

The concept of the "hyperreal" is evoked. For example, there is a tourist site near the college. It has no other appeal than the fact that it is the "most photographed barn" in America. Throughout the book we see the characters, just like many of us, concentrate on image rather than substance.

I have noticed that there is a review below by a man that claims that neither he nor his "brilliant" wife the engineer found anything of interest in "White Noise". I, too, am an engineer and know, by the way, that most engineers find themselves (often victims of self-deception) "brilliant". I speculate that the reason they could not understand this book is that they are too submerged in the "white noise" world of consumerism and information. In addition to that many engineers are afraid to address the issue of the dark side of technology.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Novel--Redundant Critical Essays., December 24, 1998

By	Timothy Callahan (Pittsfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

White Noise is one of the greatest postmodern novels ever written, and I will never look at academia (or the supermarket) the same way again. The critical essays, however, lack variety. Perhaps too little time has passed to give perspective on DeLillo's work, but the essayists in this volume continually focus on the same inidents and ideas from similar critical perspectives. No doubt this book will endure long enough for a more multifaceted critical edition to surface. For now, enjoy the novel itself as a brilliant social critique done with style and humor.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this edition!, November 24, 2004

By	J. M. Raines (Americus, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've sometimes asked myself why I don't get a library card and save the money I spend buying books. This book answered that question, because the reviews and essays featured in this edition provided such insight and enlightenment that I was inspired to return to the novel again and again for a more penetrating read.

The novel itself is beautifully, brilliantly written; DeLillo is a master ironist. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the novel the first time, I highly recommend revisiting it after reading the critical essays (which were so informative that they were quite enjoyable reads themselves).

If you're going to read White Noise outside of a college class, this is the edition you should get.