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untravel 's review for:
Point Omega
by Don DeLillo
A few brief notes on Point Omega:
-The label 'novella' would be very generous. It's double spaced, large font, the whole bit--like a freshman term paper trying to stretch itself out to cover the minimum page count. Weak.
-More of an essay than a work of fiction. Sure, the basic fictional elements are there (plot, character, setting) but they read like an afterthought. Very thin, like 'butter smeared over too much toast.' Most of the work consists of characters making pronouncements, stating theory. But these theories lack any coherence. More like a collection of random observations. The book reminded me of Coetzee's more 'philosophical' work, with Elster standing in for Elizabeth Costello. That's not a compliment.
-So, not substantial enough to be a work of fiction, not coherent enough to be converted to an essay. The question I asked myself: what is this supposed to be? Why publish this at all?
DeLillo wrote Underworld, so he can publish whatever he wants. And deservedly so. But if this is representative of his post-Underworld work (I haven't read the other two yet), it would be sad. A great storyteller just sort of trailing off.
-The label 'novella' would be very generous. It's double spaced, large font, the whole bit--like a freshman term paper trying to stretch itself out to cover the minimum page count. Weak.
-More of an essay than a work of fiction. Sure, the basic fictional elements are there (plot, character, setting) but they read like an afterthought. Very thin, like 'butter smeared over too much toast.' Most of the work consists of characters making pronouncements, stating theory. But these theories lack any coherence. More like a collection of random observations. The book reminded me of Coetzee's more 'philosophical' work, with Elster standing in for Elizabeth Costello. That's not a compliment.
-So, not substantial enough to be a work of fiction, not coherent enough to be converted to an essay. The question I asked myself: what is this supposed to be? Why publish this at all?
DeLillo wrote Underworld, so he can publish whatever he wants. And deservedly so. But if this is representative of his post-Underworld work (I haven't read the other two yet), it would be sad. A great storyteller just sort of trailing off.