Don DeLillo on the role of a writer

Responding to being called a 'bad citizen' by George Will in response to his novel Libra:

"I don't take it seriously, but being called a 'bad citizen' is a compliment to a novelist, at least to my mind. That's exactly what we ought to do. We ought to be bad citizens. We ought to, in a sense that we're writing against what power represents, and often what government represents, and what the corporation dictates, and what consumer consciousness has come to mean. In that sense, if we're bad citizens, we're doing our job.
-Don DeLillo

Underworld

After spending the bulk of my summer (the time I could afford to read more for pleasure than for class) working through the book, I've finally finished Underworld by Don DeLillo. I only say 'finally' because the book weighs in at 827 pages and lasted longer than I may have wanted it to. Turns out it was worth the time I put into it. Published in 1997, this novel is considered by many to be his magnum opus and it reads like a US cultural history from the 1950s through the mid-90s.

The novel opens with a boy named Cotter Martin hopping the fence to sneak into the 1951 NLCS game between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers (interestingly, both teams have moved to California. New York is, apparently, an awful place to be). The center of the book is the ball that was struck during the Shot Heard 'Round the World to end the game. The primary character is Nick Shay--a waste management executive living in Phoenix--and the authorial voice constantly vacillates from first to third person never allowing the reader a comfortable sense of the narrator. Along with Nick, a character of fiction, DeLillo employs actual historical figures such as J. Edgar Hoover, Truman Capote, and Lenny Bruce.

DeLillo says that he got the idea to call his novel Underworld when thinking about buried plutonium which got him thinking about Pluto, the god of the underworld. Though the fascination of Hoover, DeLillo uses the painting The Triumph of Death by Bruegel to introduce his constant theme that all plots lead to death. DeLillo first posits this notion in his novel Libra (his take on the JKF assassination) and it plays a major role in the bulk of his later fiction. Much of his work from the mid-80s on explores what effect death (not only dealing with the death of others, but the effect the fear of death has on the living) has on his characters.

I won't much go into plot points in fear of giving away spoilers so I'll just say that it is most definitely worth reading.

I do want to tough on DeLillo's style. Whether he is considered postmodern, Romantic, or anything else, he's a great writer. His style is slightly varied from novel to novel but it always remains true to what you expect from DeLillo. His characters, despite a consistent lack of description, remain vibrant and rarely flat. He's occasionally difficult to follow but one can always find a way back in to his world.

I really need to end this unabashed author-crush I have on DeLillo before I begin writing my thesis.

I'm a member!

So in my continuing effort to be a ridiculous nerd, I joined the MLA the other day. I had never really thought about it before, but when I discovered that, as a graduate student, I could join for an annual fee of only $20 I couldn't resist. With my membership, I get several theoretical publications sent to me as well as quarterly MLA newsletters and discounted book deals. Above all, I get the chance to submit an abstract to get it accepted for presentation at the annual MLA conference. I really don't know how many non-PhDs get to present there, but it's worth the shot. It would boost my CV along with my nerd status.

I've really nothing to say beyond that. I'm still pretty excited to be a member.

I'm just saying

Wordle Mash-Up

So there's a mighty interesting site that scans any text and makes a conglomeration of the most frequently used words. I had it make a cloud of my blog's words and here's what happened:

Click on the image for a better view and the link to make your own! 

Defeat Terrorism: Inflate Your Tires

As noted by a more astute bloggers, is appears the John McCain's campaign is run by 18 year old interns. From his Paris/Britney celebrity ad to his new campaign promise to give a tire gauge to anyone who donates $25 or more, everything the McCain camp does seems fairly puerile and ineffectual.

The latest stunt plays off Obama's call to regularly check tire pressure and get frequent tune-ups. This, of course, seems like common sense but the GOP acts as if Obama is suggesting one use a garden hose to douse a forest fire. Luckily, some in the media have stepped up to suggest that Obama's 'energy plan' can actually do more to offset gas prices than offshore drilling will. This isn't earth-shattering news, but it's important to point out how the little things can often do much more than grand, Big Oil projects.

I truly hope the GOP keeps up these antics. The more they act, the wiser the 'youth' movement behind Obama appears.

Edit: Daily Kos has a nice write up about this.