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5 out of 5 stars
By
John
on
04-30-05
Excellent in every way
I'd give this one six stars if I could. DeLillo isn't everyone's cup of tea. The earlier negative reviewer is fair: the painstaking exactitude with which he documents our (contemporary American people's) thoughts and speech could, I suppose,--if you're not attuned--seem to have a pointless obsessiveness. But man alive, if you let yourself go with it, you'll find that he's speaking thoughts you yourself have had, speech you yourself recall having heard someplace (you can't quite recall where); and it's all absolutely true, often funny, and continually disconcerting. What's even more odd about the sense of familiarity is that this book, really, is a bizarre ghost story in the tradition of James' Turn of the Screw or Conrad's Secret Sharer.
About the narration: Laurie Anderson is perfect for this book in every way, aurally and temperamentally. I could listen to her tell stories for days on end. Audio quality excellent, too.
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16 of 16 people found this review helpful
5 out of 5 stars
By
Amazon Customer
on
10-27-03
DeLillo's usual excellence
With DeLillo's usual expertise, this story is an excellent slant on the grieving process. I felt that I wanted to listen to it again as soon as it had ended, afraid that I had missed so much of the important details. This is definitely one that bears repeating and I would highly recommend it. It is not one to be casually listened to in the background, however. It required concentration. I found myself rewinding whenever I got to engrossed in traffic while I drove...but well worth the effort!
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14 of 15 people found this review helpful
Customer Reviews
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1 out of 5 stars
By
Rebecca
on
03-09-09
urgh. stop.
this is the worst book i've ever "read" by delillo - i'm a big fan of white noise, cosmopolis, underworld etc but i actually began to find this book so embarrassing to listen to that i eventually turned it off. i found delillo's imaginative attempt to describe female embodiment from the inside very, very weird indeed, and i would say that if you're not into breathy confessional discussions of embodiment, in a performative, "body art" context, then spare yourself this one. on the other hand, if you are into all that stuff - i know that some people are, and i'm not standing in judgement - then, great, this book is for you.
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful
3 out of 5 stars
By
Miss Emma T
on
07-09-15
Interesting but not really for me
I did struggle to finish listening to this book. It's written in a very specific style and I just found it hard to keep my concentration on what was being said - my thoughts kept wandering away from what I was hearing! It was worth a listen though!
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