I recently read this novel and I was blown away for the most part. It gets abit tedious at times but generally speaking, this is a phenomenal book with some really great insights into the idea of postmodernism. I recently also choose this novel as the base for a research paper in my English class as well.


So I was just wondering, what are your thoughts on this book? Do you think it lives up to the hype or that its overrated? If so, why? Also, some discussion of what you all think of the idea of postmodernism would also be interesting as I am heavily interested in the topic and have to agree with the criticisms that it gives to society of the last few decades.

Also, just for fun, my favorite passage from the book and most brilliant in my opinion, by far;

""Tibetians try to see death for what it is. It is the end of attachment to things. This simple truth is hard to fathom. But once we stop denying death, we can proceed calmly to die and then go on to expierence uterine rebirth or Judeo-Christian afterlife or out-of-body experience or a trip on a UFO or whatever we wish to call it. We can do so with clear vision, without awe or terror. We don't have to cling to life artificially, or to death for that matter. We simply walk toward the sliding doors. Waves and radiation. Look how well-lighted everything is. The place is sealed off, self contained. It is timeless. Another reason why I think of Tibet. Dying is an art in Tibet. A priest walks in, sits down, tells the weeping relatives to get out and has the room sealed. Doors, windows sealed. He has serious business to see. Chants, numerology, horoscopes, recitations. Here we dont die, we shop. But the difference is less marked than you think""

Don't tell me no one on his board has read this book.

I haven't read White Noise but I did read Underworld in about 3 days trapped in a house in Iceland during the winter of 2001 (it's a long story...). To tell the absolute truth I remember very little of it (bar a stunning final chapter) and was not moved to read any more of his work.

Heard about it, but haven't read it. I'm gonna search it and give it a try, but I'm no less skeptical towards postmodernism criticism and so on. We are so framed within this world, we have so many ideas for and against it to face that the world, modernity and idea itself become pointless, repetitive, selfless entities, just like the principle of God has became.

I have read it. It was several years ago now, but I remember being highly impressed.

I'm not sure how it relates to post-modernism though, as my understanding of post-modernism came at least a couple of years after reading the book.

Uh dude, its like a land mark book in relation to post modernism. Check wikipedia or something, you obviously must have some kind of misconception on what post modernism is.

Maze, care to give a brief overview of some of the more general points made in the book? It seems like an interesting read, something I may be interested in but I do not yet know exactly what the book is about. The quote you listed is quite beautifully written and quite rewarding.

Like I said, I didn't know what post-modernism was before I read the book.

Basically its about an 'average' family in America. It book goes through their daily actions and underlines the problems wrong with post modern society. Alot of these themes are themes you may not understand if you're not aware of the mindlessness that is present in todays world. It includes many scenes in the supermarket, the family always watching tv, fear, and general identity crisis as well. More or less, it shows the problems with people in post modern society in that they are running their lives in accordance with material objects/activities, brainwashing...etc. Basically, if you have any interest what so ever in how much influence the media, advertising and subliminal messaging has on our culture then this book is for you.

I don't know much about post-modernism but I read the book about a year ago and I thought it was fantastic. White Noise was just filled with loads of incisive criticisms about how ridiculous modern life with a lot more subtlety and artistry than Chuck Palahniuk (whom i still enjoy)

More than just the thought-provoking aspect though, this book was fuckin' funny. That's why this book rocks. Even if you ignore all the social criticism (or if it goes right over your head) I thought the book is still a very entertaining read. I still find myself thinking about it quite a bit even though it's been almost a year since i read it.

Haven't read anything else by Delillo, though i probably should. His other books seem to cover a variety of topics, i'm guessing the quality is similar?

To truly get an understanding of what post-modernism is then look no further than James Joyce's seminal work "Finnegans Wake".

Scapegoat makes a good point that I also left out, theres some pretty humorous aspects to the book as well.