Death, Time and Mortality in the Later Novels of Don DeLillo

This book explores the theme of death in Don DeLillo's later novels, including Underworld, The Silence, and White Noise. It examines how death is portrayed as a dominant force in the characters' lives, affecting their thoughts, emotions, and actions. The study also considers DeLillos's use of language to convey the ambiguity and complexity of death and explores themes such as temporality, transfiguration, apocalypse, and epiphany. It proposes reflections on the meaning of death in a modern age dominated by media and technology.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 184 pages
Publication date: 29 January 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book delves into the profound exploration of death in the later novels of renowned author Don DeLillo. Spanning from Underworld to The Silence, along with his 1984 masterpiece White Noise, it sheds light on the pervasive fear of death that haunts the protagonists in these works. The study encompasses a remarkable eight novels, showcasing the evolution of one of the most philosophical and esteemed novelists writing in English.

Death, intricately intertwined with time, temporality, and transience, has been a recurring theme throughout Don DeLillo's oeuvre. His later works are permeated with the cultural and sociopsychological manifestations and reactions that death elicits. DeLillo's reflection on dying revolves around defensive mechanisms, destructive fantasies, immortality and cryonics, covert and overt surrogates, consumerism and media, and the mortification of the body. His characters immerse themselves in mourning, grappling with psychosis, depression, and the impending sense of emptiness.

However, writing about death also necessitates confronting the inherent ambiguity and the limitations of its representation. The book delves into DeLillo's linguistic artistry, where temporality and a sense of death may manifest. It explores the transformative power of time and death in art, with apocalypse serving as a central and recurring subject, while also presenting epiphany as a contrasting perspective.

In the culmination of the study, the author offers thoughtful reflections on the meaning of death in an age characterized by media and technology, dominated by financial capitalism and consumerism. Despite the myriad distractions, death remains a sinister presence, haunting the minds of DeLillo's protagonists and permeating the broader societal fabric. This profound exploration of death in Don DeLillo's later novels offers a rich and insightful perspective on the human condition, challenging our understanding of mortality and its profound impact on our lives.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032267951