White Noise

Why did I never read White Noise by Don Delillo? I found a copy in a local hospital waiting room, and snatched it up even though I was still plodding through Telegraph Avenue. I think I started reading another Delillo book a long time ago and it turned me off. Now I'll have to go to the library to investigate the rest of his canon.

Written in the mid-80's, the novel examines modern angst, specifically the fear of death. You'd think it would be a heavy read, but it's filled with silliness and the absurd. Jack, the main character, teaches Hitler Studies at a small liberal arts college. His wife Babette teaches seniors how to walk and sit properly. Babette's problem is that she involves herself in a shadowy experiment in which she becomes addicted to pills alleviate the fear of dying.

One of our biggest modern fears is that a nuclear power plant will have a meltdown. Today, we worry more about chemical attacks from terrorists, but this was 20 years ago. One night, two rail cars smack into each other and a huge flume of toxins are released into the air. The town evacuates, but Jack has slightly more exposure to the poison when he stops to get gas. This gives him something else to worry about.

The white noise of television and radio 24/7 lulls the characters into a less fearful state, until it doesn't. Frightening facts pop up all day long. If Dellilo were writing this book today, electronic sounds would have to be taken into account. Instead of lulling, all those beeps, ding dongs and electronic rings keep us tied to our devices. We can never rest.

A lot of scenes in the novel take place at the local supermarket, where people socialize and truly seem to enjoy choosing their food. This is the one "real" place in the book. In the final scene, however, Jack walks in to find that the entire store has been rearranged. Nothing makes sense. Elderly couples walk around in a daze, becoming more and more anxious. Life goes on, with Death chuckling in the background.