Zero K review -

[Becky Lindroos]

Thank you,  Rich.   Yes,  I think Zero K is a kind of capping off of Delillo’s career,  in terms of themes anyway,  but it’s also seems like a personal meditation on mortality.   Underworld will always be his magnum opus - but I think it’s also a dividing line in terms of style - from normal (1971- 1999) to maximalist/encyclopedic (1999) to rather minimalist (2/2001 - 2016).   - or maybe it’s always just seemed like minimalist to those folks who read and loved Underworld.  

Becky 
https://beckylindroos.wordpress.com

> On May 19, 2016, at 10:45 AM, rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I would concur with Becky that Zero K brings to mind much of what he's done in his previous books, in fact I would argue if this is some effort to sum up his life's work, that wouldnt be too far off the mark.
> 
> Zero K's alternate title could be The Nameless for two reasons: the life-cult depicted in the book is in some weird way a mirror-image to the death-cult in the Names (they're both freakishly weird), not to mention a few instances of what I gather to be direct allusions to Beckett's The Unnameable. Also see the last lines of both books--the resonance is striking. 
> 
> I'm not sure stylistically it's much of a departure from what Delillo has done post-Underworld: there are echoes of the Body Artist, Falling Man, and Point Omega as Becky notes in her review; for me at least, it firms up what Mr D has been doing since Underworld was published. I do miss the humor and hearty scope of that work and some of the earlier works, but considering Delillo's age I can hardly fault him; compare Zero K with Ratner's Star--the man has matured.
> 
> I would sum up by saying that stripping things to their essence (in language, history) which Delillo has been striving towards for years has its culmination in Zero K since his vision is wedded to a most humane work.
> 
> not bad a capping of a career if that's what it turns out to be
> 
> rich
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Becky Lindroos <bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net>
> Date: Thu, Apr 21, 2016 at 12:41 PM
> Subject: Zero K review -
> To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> 
> 
> https://beckylindroos.wordpress.com/042016-2/zero-k-by-don-delillo/
> https://beckylindroos.wordpress.com
> 
> Highly recommended for fans because it’s classic DeLillo - generally recommended for everyone who enjoys good multi-theme driven novels.  (The themes connect and interweave - the characters might not -  lol)
> 
> Becky
> 
> 
> 

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