Name: Mao II
ISBN: 9780140152746

Don DeLillo

Reclusive writer Bill Gray escapes his failed novel into a world of political violence and terror, in a story that journeys from New York, to London, Athens, and ultimately, the bombed-out city of Beirut

Mao II

Fucking fantastic! 200 pages of brain-tickling prose. A bifurcated narrative between a photographer and a writer — two professions in the business of capturing people — tied together through the common theme of a hostage in Beirut, all the while underscoring genuinely refreshing commentary on the rule of crowds over the individual in the modern era. Oh my god 90’s DeLillo I was UNFAMILIAR WITH YOUR GAME! YES!!

Miles Silverstein

jack

dumb plot, thematically fascinating. least fav delillo so far

Melody Izard

I finished the book this morning. I’m going to have to read it again. I admit I rushed toward the end. I’m catching a plane this morning and I didn’t want to take an almost completed book to read and no I don’t have or want a Kindle. I followed the plot. I loved the writing: his sentences that slowly trickled into my shower with me this morning. But I missed some connecting lines. Some dots were left isolated - not part of the completed pictures. Plus I keep adding and taking away star rating – like somehow this matters. I’m not going to count it as a “currently reading” selection. I might add a shelf named “can’t stop reading” – kind of like the novel that Bill is working on. So I’ve started from the beginning. “Oh, that’s when Charles first shows up” and “Now I see how the terrorist life parallels that of the writer.” And “how did I miss Mao’s portrait in the beginning?” And I add a star. I almost got it up to 5 stars – but then I couldn’t remember why. So I’m reading it again to see if I can find out.

Daryl Houston

Pretty good, but less so than I had hoped given the talk about art and such toward the beginning. He really roped me into thinking this was going to be a great novel of ideas, but it meandered a bit and seemed pretty uneven. On the whole a worthwhile read.