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A review by dee9401
Americana by Don DeLillo
1.0
A little too cool for school.
To me, this is a good example of where some writing, esp. "literature," went in the 70s and beyond. A little too much focus on form and less on content. Style over substance. A blueprint for where the MFA in writing crowd would be headed in the 80s-00s.
One thing missing from pieces like this is the substance underneath. I love Picasso and I love how he played with form, presentation and light. But, there remains, underneath the cool new tools/techniques he used, real emotion and content. I think that Americana is all flourish, that shows that Mr. DeLillo has chops, but that he doesn't have a good story to tell nor does he tell it in a way that I would label good.
Others will surely feel differently about this book and about his more recent works that have won more acclaim. I like to start with an author's first book to see where they came from and where they might be headed before the onslaught of reviews, editors, fans and detractors arrive.
To me, this is a good example of where some writing, esp. "literature," went in the 70s and beyond. A little too much focus on form and less on content. Style over substance. A blueprint for where the MFA in writing crowd would be headed in the 80s-00s.
One thing missing from pieces like this is the substance underneath. I love Picasso and I love how he played with form, presentation and light. But, there remains, underneath the cool new tools/techniques he used, real emotion and content. I think that Americana is all flourish, that shows that Mr. DeLillo has chops, but that he doesn't have a good story to tell nor does he tell it in a way that I would label good.
Others will surely feel differently about this book and about his more recent works that have won more acclaim. I like to start with an author's first book to see where they came from and where they might be headed before the onslaught of reviews, editors, fans and detractors arrive.