Thoughts on DeLillo?

I enjoyed his work a lot more than I had expected, since I'm not usually one for post-modernist literature since English is not my first language and the cryptic diction as well as the neologisms fly over my head. I can't read Pynchon or the Gassmeister for more than 20 pages.

I know DeLillo is not as high-brow as Pynchon, Gaddis etc. but I was wondering what you guys thought of him. Libra is my favorite of his, it had me on the edge of my seat for the entire novel. I can't put my finger on it but it was a very thrilling read.

My list would go Libra > White Noise > Underworld > Mao II >>>>>Americana. Haven't read the rest yet.

I think his ability to represent dread and "the mysticism of post industrial society" is unparalleled. I also think Mao II is his best book(along with Ratners Star).

Have you read The Names yet? Mao II is pretty awesome, I loved the dialogue between George and Bill. Karen's visit to the homeless slums was captivating without being mawkish.

It just didn't grab me as much as Underworld though, which has my favorite passage of any DeLillo I've read (the final paragraph of the epiloge that ends with "Peace.")

He's amazing. The Ulysses parallels in Underworld aren't anything SUPER special (I love them) but coupled with overcoming cuckoldry and getting past it DeLillo gets it done. Babette in White Noise, the perfect woman, even she cheats, and that's devastating, but it's saved by the fact that the fear of death is what did her in and the cuckoldry isn't as far as she'd go irl. And the old couple in Underworld is the saving grace and the key to it all. It's obvious why DFW had a crush on him--DeLillo is a master.

Im reading pic related right now. I thought it was meh until the second part/act where i understood the themes and chataracters and it really clicked. I like his dialogue a lot.

Agreed desu, the dialogue is pretty polarizing. I'd say it's the best part about DeLillo. I also love how he delves into every little sensation and fleshes out even the most ordinary things. The only book of his I didn't enjoy so far was Americana, it was verging on self-parody at times

What would you recommend to read next of his? Ive been eyeing Underworld

Yeah, Delillo is highly based and deceptively simple. I think he does a lot of what Pynchon does but without the goofs and gags and relentless nominalism.

Libra is also my favorite. If you like that topic, try James Ellroy's American Tabloid.

People hate White Noise because it hits too close to home. Guaranteed, everyone who hates on it is a depressed pill-popper trying to deny the reality Delillo depicts.

>She uttered two clearly audible words, familiar and elusive at the same time, words that seemed to have a ritual meaning, part of a verbal spell or ecstatic chant. Toyota Celica.

People hate WN because it contains pretentious and retarded passages like this.

That's a great passage