White Noise
by Don DeLillo, Mosche Hana'ami · first published 1984
54% recommend46% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Darkly funny novel about an academic family facing consumer culture, media saturation and fear of death. Readers value its strange, unsettling mood and its fit for anxious modern times; a good entry point to DeLillo.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The trials and tribulations of a profesor of Hitler studies.
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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White Noise, by Don Delillo. It's a great story in general and reading it helped me acknowledge my fear of death and how it affected me. Edit: oh, and since I don't think anyone else has mentioned them yet ... Riddley…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗…Amazon[1]... but if you want to test it out, the first single he released is still available for free in the Kindle store. It ranks among the best zero dollars I spent all year. Behind that, I really enjoyed "White Noise" by Don Delillo, though I did have some problems with characterization (basically, all the characters were the author), and Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism…
on “Ask HN: What was the best book you read in 2013?” ↗…novel of that period, and really the only work that sticks in the memory after a few weeks (and I have read them all) is Falling Man. If you are asking about books from any period of his output, then White Noise can be recommended, I personally see it as his greatest achievement. Underworld gets a lot of hype due to its sheer length but I don’t find it particularly impressive or moving.
on “The Genius of Don DeLillo’s Post-Underworld Work (2016)” ↗Interesting observation. I've read White Noise and a couple other DeLillo novels, it's a little difficult to describe, but I was put in a very strange state of mind after reading his work, kind of like glimpsing some hidden inner reality. Somewhat…
on “Health concerns mounting as animals become sick after train derailment” ↗A lot of my absolutely favorite books are rated below 4.0. A few examples: 1. White Noise at 3.86 2. Catch-22 at 3.99 3. Dhalgren at 3.77 4. At Swim-Two-Birds at 3.86 5. Midnight's Children at 3.98 6. Омон Ра at 3.90 7. Never Let Me Go at 3.84 Drawing the line at 4 rules out some of…
on “The murky math of the New York Times bestsellers list” ↗"The Mezzanine" by Nicholson Baker and "White Noise" by Don DeLillo
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗…Internet as the framing device for the novel—which is why I bring it up in this context. It somehow fits fairly nicely into the political thriller genre, while addressing modern concerns. Don Delillo - White Noise (1985) While Jack Gladney is an intellectual academic, an expert in the unlikely field of “Hitler studies” (and something of a fraud, to boot), he’s also a pretty normal dad. Casual reviewers of White…
on “Books I Recommend” ↗There is no better time to read DeLillo's "White Noise" and learn about "The Airborne Toxic Event".
on “Don DeLillo deserves the Nobel” ↗…That was most of my life. That room. Since then, I try to use technology less and try to be outside as much as I can. But to the point, please take notice of things. Alas, further reading: Don DeLillo's White Noise.
on “11% of Americans don’t use the internet” ↗Pretty much all of his work is highly recommended! He's famous for White Noise and Cosmopolis (there was a movie with the guy from Twilight), but Mao and Falling Man are probably my favorites. Delillo and Cormac McCarthy are two current authors I would expect to be read 100 years…
on “Don DeLillo, The Art of Fiction No. 135 (1993)” ↗…Bruce - Songlines, The Cohn, Nik - Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock Cork, Richard - David Bomberg Crane, Hart - Bridge, The Danto, Arthur C. - Beyond The Brillo Box DeLillo, Don - White Noise Diaz, Junot - Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao, The Döblin, Alfred - Berlin Alexanderplatz Dos Passos, John - 42nd Parallel, The Edwards, Frank - Strange People Elliot, T.S. - Waste Land, The Faulkner,…
on “David Bowie’s Top 100 Books (2013)” ↗I've been into Klosterman lately Downtown Owl (novel) Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs (essays on pop culture) Eating the Dinosaur (more essays) Other Novels: Lolita - Nabokov White Noise - Delillo
on “Ask HN: Summer Reading Recommendations?” ↗I _liked_ but didn’t _love_ Underworld. Only DeLillo I’ve read so far, but maybe I need to move White Noise up on my list.
on “Shocks to the System: Don DeLillo’s Novels of the Cold War and Its Aftermath” ↗…Latin American Story by Maria Arana The World As I Found It by Bruce Duffy Alice And Bob Meet The Wall Of Fire edited by Thomas Lin Masscult and Midcult by Dwight Macdonald Big Bang by David Bowman White Noise by Don DeLillo The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mann A House for Mr. Biwas by V. S. Naipaul A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace On The Abolition Of All Political…
on “Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?” ↗Maybe never having lived a significant amount of time amongst NYC lit types ;) Another author mentioned in the same breath: Renata Adler & Speedboat. And perhaps, Don DeLillo's White Noise. William Gaddis' "Literature of Failure" course syllabus (Bard College, 1979) https://www.reddit.com/r/Gaddis/comments/fai45d/william_gadd...
on “William Gaddis: Below Deck on the Ship of Fools” ↗