by Don DeLillo
First published 1992
Bill Gray has spent years trapped in his study, unable to finish the novel that has consumed him. The famous writer lives in seclusion with his devoted assistant Scott and Scott's lover, a mysterious young woman who shares an intimate connection with Bill. When Bill finally abandons his failed manuscript, he plunges into a world he has only observed from afar. He enters the brutal landscape of international terrorism, where Semtex bombs explode and hostages disappear into basement cells. This dangerous journey into political violence forces Bill to confront the gap between the writer's isolated existence and the chaotic reality of the modern world. His departure leaves Scott and the young woman behind, their lives suddenly unmoored without the gravitational pull of his presence. The story explores how words and images shape our understanding of terror and mass consciousness in contemporary America.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, 21st-century, political-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
241 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books
Content warnings: violence