Jacket Copy: Winner of the National Book Award in 1985, White Noise is the story of Jack and Babette and their children from their six or so various marriages. They live in a college town where Jack is Professor of Hitler Studies (and conceals the fact that he does not speak a word of German), and Babette teaches posture and volunteers by reading from the tabloids to a group of elderly shut-ins. They are happy enough until a deadly toxic accident and Babette's addiction to an experimental drug make Jack question everything. White Noise is considered a postmodern classic and its unfolding of themes of consumerism, family and divorce, and technology as a deadly threat have attracted the attention of literary scholars since its publication.
My Take: This book seems a bit dated. The part about it that attracts so many readers--it's scholarly, literary appeal--is the part that I most disliked about it. I enjoy a fun novel about pop culture and media, not a heavy-handed erudite criticism and academic view of it. But if that's your thing, then by all means, go for it. This is the book for you.
That said, this book really rang true with me. It's focus on fear of death was depressing, but deadly accurate. The most effective portrayal of the decline of American society due to consumerism that I've read to date. If that's not high praise, from an anti-capitalist, then I don't know what is.
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