BOOKS: White Noise: Don DeLillo

Jul. 8—"White Noise," a novel by Don DeLillo, is considered a modern classic by numerous critics.

The book centers on Jack Gladney, a prestigious professor of Hitler studies, employed at a small-town college. He has been married multiple times, as has his current wife, Babette. They raise a blended family of several children from several mates, with other children being raised elsewhere by some of their other past mates. Though a renowned teacher of all things Hitler, Jack cannot speak German and he is plagued by worries of death.

His fear is realized and compounded by an "Airborne Toxic Event" when Jack, Babette and family are forced to evacuate their home and creep along in a slow-motion exodus in traffic leaving their community.

"White Noise" was published and firmly set in 1980s America, from its consumerism to its media availability to its tabloid sources of misinformation to its technology to the idea of celebrity culture and a medicated society.

The book is darkly humorous and remains relevant in both its babysteps into the consumerism, media, technology, etc., as well as its timeless themes of death, family relationships and the idea of creating bulwarks of celebrity fascination to overcome a fear of death.

I first opened "White Noise" back in the late 1980s. A borrowed book, I recall starting it, getting about 30 pages deep, while sitting on the tailgate of my truck outside of a laundromat. Don't recall why but that's all I read. Maybe it didn't hold my interest. Maybe the book's owner wanted it back.

"White Noise" was one of the few books started that I hadn't finished. A list so short that not finishing it didn't haunt me but its incompletion was often noted. Especially as I read other DeLillo books during the past few decades.

Running across a 25th anniversary edition, first published in 2009, at Books-A-Million recently led to its purchase. The publisher must consider "White Noise" enough of a classic that the volume contains no blurb summarizing the plot or even declaring it a classic.

There is also a 2022 movie adaptation of "White Noise" starring Adam Driver as Jack. The movie closely follows the spirit of the book, even many of the details and plot points, though the film includes Babette in its conclusion ... which actually seems to fill a void in the novel's conclusion.

The first 30 pages of "White Noise" stuck with me for decades. The book is indeed a masterpiece, which should be as memorable in its entirety as it was partially.