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hkihm's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn't get a handle on this slow-moving book that seemed to mostly be about the aimless narrator's hobby of coming up with names for people around him.
kurezan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
sundey7's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
melineegout's review against another edition
3.0
Ce livre n’était pas une surprise, il était exactement ce que je pensais qu’il serait. Une intrigue futuriste floue et peu dynamique avec un personnage principal fade. Ainsi ce n’est pas l’histoire qui a de l’importance dans ce roman mais c’est les réflexions menées par l’auteur qui maintiennent la qualité du roman. En effet, le choix de comparer la science à la religion est très judicieux lorsque l’on envisage un avenir où la technologie pourra décider de la vie et de la mort des hommes.
christar_123's review against another edition
3.0
"White Noise" and "The Names" are still some of my favorite books and I didn't like this one as much....maybe I'm being harsh and this should be 4 stars.
It's clear DeLillo is getting older, as his characters muse more on sadness, death, confusion. The language is beautiful. The conversations are...weird? There were quite a few sections where as I was reading, I was thinking, "These people are horrible," because of their abstractness and separation from the world. But on the other hand, they had reasons for trying to separate themselves from our current time, hopeful that in the unknown future, things would be better. So it's a weird mixture of their being incredibly tied-in and frustrated and also living on a different plane than the people in their weird videos (for example).
Lots of questions and ideas to think about.
It's clear DeLillo is getting older, as his characters muse more on sadness, death, confusion. The language is beautiful. The conversations are...weird? There were quite a few sections where as I was reading, I was thinking, "These people are horrible," because of their abstractness and separation from the world. But on the other hand, they had reasons for trying to separate themselves from our current time, hopeful that in the unknown future, things would be better. So it's a weird mixture of their being incredibly tied-in and frustrated and also living on a different plane than the people in their weird videos (for example).
Lots of questions and ideas to think about.
masonanddixon's review against another edition
5.0
paradoxically savage and elegiac perspective on the capitalist commodification of personal death/ pursuit of immortality, and disregard for the pain of Real Death. One of Delillo's best.
spiderfelt's review against another edition
3.0
I have no idea what to think about this book. It wasn't good or bad. It left me with no feelings, which I think is the main point.
susanw's review against another edition
3.0
This book is quiet, but deep. A thoughtful, compelling look at what life is, and what death means to us all. Names, and the narrators obsession with them are very important. There is at least one gorgeous , higlight-able sentence on every page. At times very slow, maybe to give you a chance to think about what has been said. Not a book for everyone but will resonate strongly with those it was meant for.
amyl123's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0