Please don't take my comment to mean that the story in "White Noise" is not beefy enough or that character development is poor. There is a plot, a pretty good one, enough to keep you interested and turning page after page. There are characters and although they may seem like odd types, they are very well developed. It seems to me, however, that the value of the book is much greater than the sum of these two parts. As the story builds up, you are invited to think about how much you are bombarded with information from all directions and how hard it is becoming to figure out what is good information and what is just junk. The book reflects very well what you are exposed to in the course of a normal day: the bits and pieces that you pick up from the radio, the TV, the covers of newspapers and magazines, the speeches from your friends and family. Put them all together and look at the bizarre, seemingly nonsensical mosaic that emerges and try to figure out what in all that really adds something to your existance. Tough call.
The plot is centered on Jack Gladney, a scholar focused on Hitler studies in a small college. The book shows how Jack and his interesting family are affected by events ranging from cases of depression, fear, a chemical catastrophe, marriage and divorce, and teenager antics, to cite a few. In a certain way, this book reminded me of J. D. Salinger's stories on the Glass family. It was just as interesting, just as satisfying, and just as deep, but in a very different sort of way. I think I may have found a new favourite author in DeLillo and I'm looking forward to reading more of his work.
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