Americana

"Into the vortex of the cliche'" David thinks his wife will lead him. Later, Sullivan tells David, the main characdter, "David, you're a lovable cliche' " What are these references to a "cliche' " but a sly authorial nod to the greatest cliche' of all, the wriging of the the "great American novel". And yet, where's there's smoke there's fire, where there's a cliche' there's something that initially prompted it. And while DeLillo may make fun of the "great American novel" he comes tantalizingly close to writing one. It's a sneaky novel, sneaky in that writing about the American experience, trying to make some sense of whether it is more a dream of innocence or a nightmare of technological power which has waged 20th century wars across the planet. It ends by deciding "the literature I had been confronting these past days [were] archetypes of the dismal mystery" The novel ends in "silence and darkness", David leaving arguably a low point in American history and culture, the place where JFK was assassinated in Dallas, and returning to where he began, New York, a "falling man" [interestingly, the title of his later post 9-11 novel} involved in advertising, the world in which "words and meaning were at odds". Advertising, it is stated, moves the viewer from the "first to the third person", suggesting that American's relentless material success has removed authenticity from the experience of the individual and diminished his existence by making him into a consumer, a person who fulfills himself only by viewing images and trying to emulate them. A camera shot is described of a group of ladies with shopping bags, "a fabulous salute to the forgetfulness of being. What better proof that they have been alive?" America, then, is a land of infinitely multiple and created images. To consume these images is to forget that you are a human being, that you are alive. Purposefully, most of this novel uses the third person; "David Bell" cannot continually exist as an "I" - he has been corrupted by America. There are a number of fleeting references to James Joyce whose "young artist" could only escape the moral and artistic death of a corrupt Ireland by going into exile. It is no accident that early in AMERICANA, David Bell does use the first person, "I" and mentions that he too is in exile, "It's time to run the film again. . . not much to do on this island." The act of trying to solve the mystery of America, its contradictions and paradoxes, finally is overwhelming, and all one can do is to cinematically (the art form most developed in America) run the film again, take one more look at the images, and then . . . the rest is up to the reader.

Americana is a personal and at-times autobiographical novel by a young Don DeLillo that serves as an important touchstone for both wartime mid-60s America and DeLillo's epic body of work to come. It's easy to explain it away as a hip, jaded, ironic novel of postmodern sensibilities. A young, handsome television executive slowly loses his mind amid a funhouse of commerce and sloganeering. But in another fashion, the novel is also intensely modern in its themes and design. In the limited interviews he has agreed to, DeLillo has eschewed the "postmodern" label (in short, to borrow Frederic Jameson's definition, a writer whose work details "the cultural logic of late-capitalism") by describing himself simply as a novelist, a writer of novels. The second of the novel's four parts, for instance, is a near-direct allusion to Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The overt theme of Americana is not subtle – America's launch into vast corporate-commercialism (achieved by way of global imperialism) has left in its wake a chasm of empty, malformed individuals, spoiled and stupid, purchasing items they don't need, watching TV shows they can't remember, wanting for something they don't know they're wanting for, haunted by a lowdown awareness that there is something more to it all than this. DeLillo lays this on thick on almost every page, but his use of language is fresh and very much his own. The subconscious theme of the novel is the ancient literary one: human intelligence suffers loneliness and disjointness in a world whose codes are shifting in some profound way all the time. DeLillo's deployment of language and character in order to communicate this message is masterful. It is clear he worked on this book for a long time, and discovered his skills as he was working on it. His prose is animated by the subconscious – what is described as a weakness ("plotlessness") can also be seen as his greatest strength, which is that his works navigate a terrain below where most novels care to operate. Whether or not you enjoy this style comes down to personal taste and to what it is you're after as a reader. But Americana ranks for me as one of the most useful books to read if you want to learn how to write properly about what a mediascape developing at the speed of Moore's law does to individuals' speech, psyche, politics, intellect, and relationships.

thought I was getting an newer version, but all books read the same. great read

The author in his first novel tries too hard to follow in the steps of Joyce and Pynchon. It appears to me that massive effort was required to write this and certainly an equal amount to read it. Rambling, directionless and too self-involved to develop any interest beyond composing the next few pages with as much audacity as can be managed. I’d advise skipping it unless you’re totally into DeLillo.

Don Delillo is one of America's outstanding novelists. his knowledge and perception of American baseball fills many of these pages. Bobby Thompson's homerun that gives the New York Giants a pennant victory ( the shot heard round the world ) is featured in this book. It is as exciting as being there in person ( almost ). Delillo's style has always been one of overdescription whether it be a love affair or a baseball game but he will win you over with his mastery of description as well as emotional tone.

The book is insightful, interesting and very relevant. The only problem for me was that the long descriptions and the general slowness with which the story unfolds bored me to the point where I had to force myself to keep reading.

David Foster W tipped me off that I had missed Delillo entirely, shameful to say. I am really enjoying what I am reading (am on Underworld now) and can highly recommend on all levels!

I really lost interest in David Bell about 50% in, and actually gave up at 75% in. I love Delillo, and this is the first of his novels that I just could not finish. The stream of consciousness just became too much for me, and I decided I really did not care what happened to him. Not disappointed though, he has some wonderful ways with words and is a great story teller.

I can see why some of the reviews have less than I think are the required 5 stars for this book. It is awash with word wonder. Fantastic rolling prose, odd segments of remembrance and brilliantly crafted dialogue. I suppose if you are thinking it's going to be a straight forward novel, and that's what you know and love, then you may find this a bit strange. I've only read one other of his books(Libra) before this, and that too I thought was superb, with a very poetic, individual style,so to find this title having even more of that feeling of literary hypnotism, I was blown away. I love Bret Easton Ellis, and Kerouac, so this was simply awesome as far as I'm concerned.One of my all time favourites.If you have to have neatly tied up slightly melancholic novels of redemption, or coming of age, you'll probably hate it, but having said that...give a go anyway.

entertaining take on america. the characters are a bit one-dimensional. the story plot isn't really going anywhere. conclusion wek.

El libro me ha llegado rápido y en perfecto estado, por un precio bastante asequible para este tipo de libros de Penguin, ya que lo compré a través de Amazon Warehouse. Parece como si nadie lo hubiera leído, de hecho estoy casi seguro de que nadie lo ha hecho. Con respecto al libro en sí, Todavía no he terminado de leerlo, pero los que conocen la narrativa de Don DeLillo disfrutarán mucho con este libro, que al principio comienza con su protagonista viviendo el sueño americano pero después sintiendo la necesidad de escapar de él y de vivir la realidad tal y como es. Eso sí, no es un libro que sea fácil de leer para hablantes no nativos de inglés, y mucho menos para personas que no están acostumbradas a leer narrativa más experimental o menos convencional en lo que a estilo y estructura se refiere. Es también una novela con contenido bastante obsceno, algo también a tener en cuenta. Pero eso sí, es uno de los libros que estoy leyendo últimamente que mejor representa la doble cara del éxito del sueño americano.

DeLillo è lo scrittore che stimo maggiormente, spesso rimango ammutolito davanti alla sua bravura. Credo che l'autore possieda una consapevolezza profonda, vasta e matura della natura umana, ed in particolare del delirio insito nella società Americana, ormai esportato e globalizzato. La sua satira è latente, mai scontata, paradossale ed esistenziale; macabra, reale. Ogni suo testo ha una valenza profetica intrinseca, piuttosto visibile in quest'opera edita agli inizi degli anni '70, quando ancora non ero nato. Considerando che questo è lo scritto d'esordio dell'autore, completato prima dei 35 anni, risulta impressionante. Credo che "Americana" possa essere definito come un capolavoro, purtroppo però questa parola è stata usata ed abusata a lungo, quindi ha perso di significato, tuttavia questo rimane.

El libro tiene notas a mano en boli en todas las páginas. Aunque es de segunda mano, no debería venderse en esas condiciones.