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White Noise  By  cover art

White Noise

By: Don DeLillo
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
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Publisher's summary

Winner of the National Book Award, White Noise tells the story of Jack Gladney; his fourth wife, Babette; and four ultramodern offspring as they navigate the rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism.

When an industrial accident unleashes an "airborne toxic event", a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the "white noise" engulfing the Gladneys - radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmurings - pulsing with life yet suggesting something ominous.

©1984, 1985 Don DeLillo (P)2016 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about White Noise

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    2 out of 5 stars

Funny, but odd

Much of the time, the story was just too metaphorical for me. As a story, it often felt out of control. Not my thing.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Sarcasm

Sarcastic and sardonic book. Interesting nonetheless. Narrator has vocal tics. I like that the story portrayed the messiness of life.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

very nice book

I loved it but it's a little confused, so pay attention while reading. The story is very interesting

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

unique does not make for good

Unique story, if there is a story. I tried to find meaning. Found I was glad to be done with it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Post-Modern Death made Beautiful

Probably one of Delillo's most accessible, looking quite forward to seeing Adam Driver & filmmaker Noah Baumbach make a film out of what appears unfilmable!
The way Delillo gets into how we, as modern Americans, surround ourselves with death both inside and out, yet keeps me laughing, just proves how brilliant a post-modern prose writer he is!
Narrator does a good job of letting the writing speak for itself, though characters occasionally sound similar. Still, A+ job!
Easily one of thr Greatest living authors today and this is a Great Place to start!!

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

good read

astute societal observations made with humor and wit. laugh out loud moments that give rise to real reflection.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Narrator Grows on You

At first I was annoyed by the seemingly monotoned narration. After awhile it develops a sort of cadence that fits with the story. Now I couldn’t imagine listening to it any other way.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Delightfully surreal

Surreal and unique novel that works as a satire of society and deftly scrutinizes many of its obsessions and fears. Some recurrent themes found in his other major work Underworld, though less thoroughly or clearly examined. A captivating read.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

It does not pay off but that may be the point

This is a very interesting book that is very boring, but that may be the point. So many questions left unanswered. Was the son having sex with his stepsister, or the neighbor. Either this book was a short story made long by the mundane or the point is that life is mundane. Still not a word about the bloody car? Okay

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator is superlative - danke Herr Prichard

The combination of hard copy and audio copy brings the magic to White Noise. This book deserves a second read.

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7 people found this helpful