White noise (novel)
Weißes Rauschen is the German title of the eighth novel White Noise by the American writer Don DeLillo from 1985. Viking Adult published the first 326-page edition in the original English on January 21st. The German translation by Helga Pfetsch came to bookshops in 1987 through Kiepenheuer & Witsch .
action
The protagonist Jack Gladney is a lecturer at a nameless college ( college ), which is always described only as the college on the hill . Gladney is a specialist in "Hitler Studies" and, although he only recently started to learn the German language, has earned a certain reputation for researching Hitler . He lives in the fictional small town of Blacksmith in the American Midwest in the fifth marriage with Babette and the four children and stepchildren Heinrich, Steffi, Denise and Wilder. The couple are very afraid of death. Again and again they concern themselves with the thought of which of the two could die first and how life would then go on for the other. The existence of the family, as well as that of the rest of the population, is calm and contemplative. Life is determined by consumption - such as regular shopping trips to the surrounding malls or visits to popular fast food restaurants . Every now and then, Jack is torn from this idle, typical everyday life by looking back at his previous marriages with women who were somehow active in the “secret service”. The challenges of a blended family also make him pensive now and then. Except for the occasional discussions with Murray, a college professor and former sports reporter, about topics such as modern life or the power of the media, Jack never leaves the soil of middle-class monotony. Murray shares a passion from Jack: collecting. While one collects everything related to Hitler, the other hoards everything related to Elvis . A chemical accident leads to the turning point. The city is evacuated. The family spends a few days in a camp before they are allowed back into their house, but Jack comes into contact with the poisonous substance. It is unclear what kind of substance it is or what effects it has. The news situation remains nebulous. Even doctors cannot give concrete information to the scientist Jack, who is now attacked by an even deeper fear of death. Without his knowledge, Babette tests an experimental drug called "Dylar", which is supposed to take away her fear of death. But apart from many side effects and a high potential for addiction , the drug that is bought on the black market remains largely ineffective. After returning, Blacksmith is shaped by simulations and exercises in the event of another disaster. These are carried out by an ominous organization called SIMUVAC, which deals with simulations of reality. The cityscape and the community are no longer what they used to be, with the facade, at least outwardly intact. Life is now characterized by fear, insecurity and grief. Babette begins an affair with Willie Mink, aka Mr. Gray, who is also addicted to Dylar. Jack's fear of death grows stronger. In a discussion with Murray, he decides to fight this fear by getting to know death better, by killing someone else. Without further ado, he shoots his wife's lover and places the gun in such a way that it looks like a suicide. A shot goes off that hits Jack in the arm. He takes himself and the still living Willie Mink to a hospital run by German atheist nuns. This will save both lives. Back at home, Jack watches his children sleep.
construction
In the first past the novel is written from the perspective of the first-person narrator . The author has divided the text into three parts:
- Waves and rays
- - Covers the time before the accident with chapters one to 20.
- The airborne toxic incident
- - Describes the chemical accident in Chapter 21.
- Dylarma
- - Covers the time after the accident in chapters 22 to 40
interpretation
The novel consists essentially of two main parts, the turning point of which comes from the accident. The part that initially still takes place in the “ideal world” is characterized by satirical criticism and sometimes absurd scenes and thoughts about academic life and everyday life at a (provincial) university. In addition, there is harsh media criticism of omnipresent television: information is deliberately concealed; Facts played down with the aim of keeping society calm and not stirring up panic. Jack and Murray's obsession with collecting can also be interpreted as an allegory of data collection in the information society that is only just developing. The second part is dark, but also always ironic. It deals with fear and death and the contrast between reality and myth and religion to show that nothing is safe anymore. In his review of the author's complete works, Der Spiegel goes even further and states that DeLillo, in his consideration of the media in 1985, almost prophetically predicted the developments of Web 2.0 and social media .
Adaptation
The American director Daniel Fish dealt with the novel. He brought a version of the novel staged, among other things, with video projections, which was also played in German-speaking countries and received media attention. The New York indie rock band Interpol wrote a song called "The Heinrich Maneuver" that refers to the novel. It is named after one of the children of the blended family. The American indie band The Airborne Toxic Event was named after the chemical accident, which in the English original is described as the airborne toxic event .
Awards
The novel won the National Book Award in the fiction category in the United States in 1985. On the list of the 100 best English-language books ( Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005 ) of the Time Magazine , the novel is ranked 43rd
Individual evidence
- ↑ White noise. In: Signs and Times. January 22, 2012, accessed May 6, 2019 .
- ↑ Demolitions Master of Paranoia. In: Der Spiegel. March 29, 2010, accessed May 7, 2019 .
- ↑ That was Daniel Fish's production of Don DeLillo's novel "Weißes Rauschen". In: Badische Zeitung. January 7, 2019, accessed May 6, 2019 .
- ^ Interpol Is Back to Defy All Dad-Rock Expectations. In: vice.com. September 8, 2014, accessed May 7, 2019 .
- ^ Interview with the band at the Vergin Festival 2008 (audio file). In: /musicvice.com. September 2008, accessed May 8, 2019 .
- ^ Winners 1985. In: National Book Award. Retrieved May 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. In: Time Magazine. Retrieved May 7, 2019 .