White Noise . . .

My illustrious friend, Thom, has invited me to reveal what I am reading reading right now on the not so random page 123.  So I'd like to share an excerpt from White Noise by Don DeLillo:

"I turned off the radio, not to help me think but to keep me from thinking.  Vehicles lurched and skidded.  Someone threw a gum wrapper out a side window and Babette made an indignant speech about inconsiderate people littering the highways and countryside.

'I'll tell you something else that's happened before,' Heinrich said. 'We're running out of gas.'

The dial quivered on E.

'There's always extra,' Babette said.

'How can there be always extra?'

'That's the way the tank is constructed.  So you don't run out.'

'There can't be always extra.  If you keep going, you run out.'

    'You don't keep going forever.'

    'How do you know when to stop?' he said.

    'When you pass a gas station,' I told him . . ."

-- Don DeLillo, White Noise

Comments

[Thom]

Wow, J. Thoughts drowned by the cacophony of everyday soundscapes with music an unwanted buffer. I'm not familiar with the book yet I think I saw an episode of Seinfeld that explored the same question about what lies beyond "E"...too much! Exactly the sort of book I pictured near you and yet completely unexpected--just like your blog. :)

[jmac]

Thanks, Thom! I am fascinated to hear what the bloggers are reading right now, and your meme is a great idea! The language in WHITE NOISE is marvelous, exquisite, but I am having difficulty with the absurd nature of this novel . . . Although, page 123 is so prophetic! :)