Zero K

After reading other Delillo novels such as: Falling Man, Cosmopolis White Noise and Underworld, I believed that Zero K would be the 'put aside' novel - as every author has one novel they didn't really put everything into and therefore it doesn't sound as good as the rest. I admit, Zero K started off a little slow - but when it picked up - it was probably the best Delillo novel I've ever read. 


Characters:

My favourite character was Ross Lockhart. This is because Jeffrey Lockhart (the narrator and his son) is constantly stuck between thinking his father is a heartless man and wanting to know his father to be a civil being with natural emotions - rather than the robot Jeffrey is finding him to be. After Artis is terminally ill, there seems to be a change in Ross' behaviour and emotions begin to surface. I think, by Jeffrey, my favourite line is when he claims that he's only just accepted Ross as his father and isn't yet ready to accept himself as Ross' son (he says this to his father). 

Themes:

I have always loved Delillo's take on abstract relations between human emotions and the scientific world. Delillo has this natural ability to link the advancement of science to human psychology - and this is done perfectly through the family relations in the novel and the connections to the surrounding, more scientific world. 

Storyline:

I admit again, at the beginning things were a little slow - but it picked up quickly and I've always loved Delillo's sense of shock. The novel is full of them - yet Delillo does it so well, it never becomes cliché. 

Verdict:

I give this book 9. 

100% for characters: I really did love the family relations, especially in a sci-fi novel. 

100% for themes: I just think what is real and what is perceived as real are interwoven so perfectly by Delillo that even the reader wants to know what the difference is and if there really is one. 

100% for storyline: Don Delillo's storyline's are always full of shocking and surprising twists regarding people - but in a world of science and business - Delillo truly pulls off the anti-cliché storylines absolutely perfectly.