My introduction to DeLillo was Underworld. I loved that story, I loved those characters, and I loved the smooth, easy style. I couldn’t bear to put it down. Then I moved onto The Body Artist, and I was disappointed. The style was different, the story was disjointed, and I could not understand why.
Falling Man is something between those two books. There are flashes of wonderful writing. The description of Keith in his office as the first tower was struck is riveting. Other portions of the book are difficult to follow. I read part of one chapter -- thinking it was a continuation of the same character’s story – when I suddenly discovered it was different characters, a different story, and a different place.
The idea is interesting and true to life – 9/11 did change people’s lives, and attitudes, and relationships, and I can understand how the narrative form reinforces those themes, but I was not entralled, I was not drawn into the narrative until the very end. I am not sure why I did not invoke the rule of fifty – something kept me going – but I will be darned if I know what it was.
--Chiron, 8/27/07
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