The Silence

A 2020 novel(la) by Don DeLillo.

Published by Scribner on October 20, 2020. 116 pages. Dedicated to Barbara Bennett (his wife).

Check out The Silence Media Watch page for prominent reviews of the novel.

Epigram, credited to Albert Einstein:
"I do not know with what weapons
World War III will be fought,
but World War IV will be fought
with sticks and stones."

First line: "Words, sentences, numbers, distance to destination."

What it's about: A massive power outage/disruption hits on Super Bowl Sunday, 2022.

What it's really about: It strikes me as perhaps "Inhuman Moments in World War III" - the characters here seem barely able to communicate much other than short quips from commercial sources, except for Martin who's stuck on Einstein phrases. This time the isolation isn't up in orbit, it's down here in an NYC apartment, once the power's off.

Check out Editions of The Silence for cover images and information.


The October Harper's has an excerpt from the beginning of the book entitled "Time to Destination", and here's bit of dialog between Tessa and Jim on the plane:

She said, “What time is the game?”
“Six-thirty kickoff.”
“Do we get home in time?”
“Didn’t I read it off the screen? Arrival time whatever whatever.”
“We land in Newark, don’t forget.”


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Last updated: 14-NOV-2020