The Jewel of P-listers' library/DeLillo

[Chris Broderick]

I certainly am not claiming that DeLillo is a fraud. 
Nor am I saying that he's as self-delusional as Otto. 
I just think that he sacrifices way too much humanity
for pith, which might be alright if he was as scabrous
as Wilde, but he's just not.  And that's not a
question of the culture catching up to him (though I'd
agree with you regarding that, too.  Did anyone here
read Cosmopolis?).  That's been a problem of his since
Americana.  Too much of his dialogue comes across as
the archest of cocktail conversation.  Sometimes it
works quite well, but it certainly has its limits.

-Chris

--- rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:

> though I don't care for DeLillo much anymore I would
> argue that he imho does
> not represent anything like Otto who like most in TR
> is a fraud of epic
> proportions. I think you give DD a disservice by
> such a comparison.
> the culture has caught up with him that's all. 
> hardly makes him a fake
> 
> gracefully
> rich
> 
> 
> On 9/21/06, Tore Rye Andersen <torerye at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > >Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 09:28:52 -0700 (PDT)
> > >From: Chris Broderick
> <elsuperfantastico at yahoo.com>
> > >Subject: RE: The Jewel of P-listers'
> library/DeLillo
> > >
> > >The operative words here being "adopt a tone". 
> One
> > >never gets the sense with DeLillo that his
> characters
> > >are independent from the narrator.  He's a very
> witty
> > >and often pretty (in an austere way) writer, but
> I
> > >often think of him as being like Otto in the
> > >Recognitions, at cocktail parties thinking up bon
> mots
> > >after the fact that he'll end up shoehorning into
> his
> > >narrative.  The best drawn characters in all of
> > >DeLillo's works are famous people like Jedgar &
> > >Oswald.
> > >
> > >It seems self-evident that he came from a
> background
> > >in advertising copywriting, where one is
> specifically
> > >concerned with having your words make a tangible
> > >effect on the reader, with branding.  DeLillo's a
> lot
> > >more concerned with elegant sentences than he is
> with
> > >inhabiting characters or telling stories.
> > >
> > >For the record, this criticism comes from someone
> > >who's read & enjoyed a lot of DeLillo.  White
> Noise &
> > >Libra and pieces of Underworld were quite good. 
> But I
> > >certainly understand why some would find his
> stuff too
> > >clever by half.
> > >
> > >- -Chris
> >
> > Well put! I think it was Zadie Smith who at one
> point said that all the
> > characters in a Don DeLillo-novel sound just like
> Don DeLillo.
> > And your comparison with Otto from 'The
> Recognitions' is deadly accurate!
> > Otto is one of the best characters in that novel,
> but you wouldn't want
> > him
> > lurking around at the edges of your parties, would
> you? Might DeLillo even
> > be wearing a fake sling for his arm, do you think?
> That would certainly
> > explain some of his cramped style.
> >
> >
> >
> 


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