Mao II [Kindle Edition]

First of all, before I begin my critiscism, I should tell you that Mao II contains paragraphs of such sweeping beauty that there are moments when the reader has to pause for breath. Never has Delillo's talent in contructing overhwhelmingly poetic and ironic sentences been more evident. This alone warrants purchase. The characters are superbly sculpted and conceived- they are a joy observe. Delillo has also created a world in this book; an alternate and compelling universe not far away from the real world but with an overdose of grimness and paradox. This too is a reader's delight.

Now is my slightly disgusted note. The overall shallowness of the plot is not hidden by any of the above. You keep on expecting something shocking to occur, a twist in the tale. Unfortunately, this never happens. A novel requires a plot. Mao II doesn't have one worth mentioning. If you are looking for a logical and plot-rooted book, this is probably not what you're looking for. There was so much potential for a climax, and brilliant point at which all chaos culiminates, but the oppurtunity was wasted. To be honest, this is unlike Delillo. There are also sections where Delillo overstays and goes on and on and on about a specific scene when enough has already been put forth. Rather than spending 10+ pages on a single, decidedly insignificant event, Delillo could have delved deeper and perhaps developed an event to break the monotone.

His only other marginally similar novel is White Noise, which, like Mao II, isn't typical Delillo. It isn't a plot that drives these novels, it is their hypnotic mastery.

Contemporary fiction fans who will cherish the book anyway. It is by no means Delillo's best, but Mao II contains deep insight not comparable to what is found in any of his other novels. Maybe this is the point. Maybe the plot is merely a diversion. Maybe the objective of Mao II is simply to convey this playful and unique beauty with words across the page and into the reader's head. If this is the objective, Mao II accomplishes it graciously.

The central figure in this book is Bill Gray, an isolated writer with a wide and discerning following. Anyone who wants to write might ponder two of his insights: "Writing is bad for the soul when you get right down to it. It protects your worst tendencies." (page198); or, "It was the writing that caused his life to disappear." (page 215).

Mao II lacks the "edginess" of White Noise, but at the same time, we should applaud DeLillo of not harping on the theme of "America is really consumerist" for ever and ever. A writer of his skill can take on more challenging themes than that.

So what's it about? It's about individuals and crowds, and the frightening equivalence between the lone-wolf individual and the composite of crowds. Think repeating Mao portrait. Think of the name of the reclusive, lone-wolf main character: Bill Gray. There's also stuff about art, and of course DeLillo's ubiquitous "novelists are terrorists" insinuations.

This is probably my second-favorite DeLillo, and the one I'd recommend to someone looking for something like a traditional novel. It was very enjoyable, although perhaps not as intellectually searing as something like White Noise or (Pynchon's) Lot 49.