Ratner's Star
 | |
| Author | Don DeLillo |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | June 1976 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 438 pp (hardback first edition) |
| ISBN | 0-394-40083-6 |
Ratner's Star is a 1976 novel by Don DeLillo. It relates the story of a child prodigy mathematician who arrives at a secret installation to work on the problem of deciphering a mysterious message that appears to come from outer space. The novel has been described as "famously impenetrable".[1]
The novel has been described as a Menippean satire and akin to the works of Thomas Pynchon.[2] In critical reviews, the protagonist, Billy Twillig, was compared to Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist in Kurt Vonnegut's 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five.[3]
The novel is told in two parts; the first is a conventional narrative, the second is less so. The author has said that the structural model was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.[4] The novel develops the idea that science, mathematics, and logic—in parting from mysticism—do not contain the fear of death, and therefore offer no respite.
References
[edit]- ^ Taylor, Christopher (5 May 2016). "Pure Vibe". London Review of Books. p. 15.
- ^ "Lifetimes". archive.nytimes.com.
- ^ "RATNER'S STAR | Kirkus Reviews" – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
- ^ LeClair, Thomas; DeLillo, Don (2005). Thomas DiPietro (ed.). Conversations with Don DeLillo. University Press of Mississippi. p. 11. ISBN 1578067049.
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