One of DeLillo's first novels, Ratner's Star follows Billy, the genius adolescent, who is recruited to live in obscurity, underground, as he tries to help a panel of estranged, demented, and yet lovable scientists communicate with beings from outer space. It is a mix of quirky humor, science, mathematical theories, as well as the complex emotional distance and sadness people feel. Ratner's Star demonstrates both the thematic and prosaic muscularity that typifies DeLillo's later and more recent works, like The Names (which is also available in Vintage Contemporaries).
Ratner's Star (Vintage Contemporaries)
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"A mind-expanding trip to the finish line, and full of wit and slapstick as well.... The areas of knowledge central to Ratner's Star are astronomy and mathematics. DeLillo develops them brilliantly, so that the expert can wallow while even the layman can splash happily in the shallows or pick up pebbles on the shore."--Washington Post Book World
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Format:Paperback
ratner's star is an excellent look at a period in the life of billy, a boy of (it would seem) unequalled brilliance. he's brought to an institute for advanced study-type place to work on a problem that continually changes in its basic character. between billy's basic adolescent nature and his mental abilities, delillo has put together a thoroughly enjoyable story, and if you are the type to go wild with criticism, the book provides and exceptional playground, replete with swings of exceeding height.
now as a fun-type book, if you enjoyed the "calvinball" in the "calvin and hobbes," you'll love half-ball, and for fans of "deep thought," delillo's "space brain" provides nearly un-endurable humour (oh, wait, space brain's changed it's mind again. . .). the only way in which i'd fault delillo is that he (as many others have done/continue to do) is under the impression that mathematicians desire to win a nobel prize, but the truth is, not-just-a-few mathematicians see the nobel as a cute prize that pales in comparison to the fields medal. other than this (annoying) hindrence, ratner's star is a truly exceptional book. if you want lighter reading, go with "white noise," but ratner's star is most definitely its equal, and in some ways (that are directly related to how much the book demands of the reader and how much work the reader is willing to put into the book-as-art aspects (i.e. going after meanings not plainly displayed on the surface)) i think it exceeds all of the delillo i've read excepting underworld. basically, read this book, it'll make you're life better.
oh, that "typewriters?" things? that's because the book has a remarkable futuristic feel and does an exceptional job of transporting the reader to a pi-in-the-sky/ivory tower research facility, but there are constant mentions of typewriters that do a pretty good job of breaking the flow, but they have the effect of endearing the work rather than trivializing it.
By C. N. White
Format:Paperback
For those looking for a bit of light reading, I would advise against this book. True, very little of DeLillo is easygoing, but this, his fourth novel, makes his others read as easily as the likes of Grisham or King. Ratner's Star can perhaps be best described as DeLillo does Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow." It focuses on a group of quirky scientists and mathemeticians trying to decipher what they believe are messages from extraterrestrials, and the crazy "adventures" they have in the process. There are lots of great moments in this book, great humor, and the central message (the more we learn, the less we know) is very cleverly displayed in true DeLillo fashion. However, the writing is so confusing and dense in most places that it hardly seems worth it except for the truly dedicated DeLillo fan.
Format:Paperback
The Names and Ratner's Star are probably Don DeLillo's two most difficult works. They're both dense, brainy and exacting, both laden with pages of abstract theory. In short, they are a long way from the funny, swiftly moving prose of White Noise, Players and Running Dog. Ultimately, though, because The Names is preoccupied with the nature and textures of language, it might be slightly easier for lovers of literature to enjoy. Ratner's Star, on the other hand, delves deeply in the heavy waters of space, time and complex mathematics. As someone who is scientifically and mathematically inept, I can't say I followed the more esoteric portions of the text, but I'm not sure that's the point. Rather, it seems to have been DeLillo's intention to deliberately lose the reader in order to illustrate that the sciences, while seeking to elucidate the wonders of the natural world, often lead us into heightened states of confusion. If you're thinking of reading Ratner's Star, prepare yourself for a challenge. Maybe not on the order of Ulysses or Finnegan's Wake, but difficult nonetheless, particularly in the context of current fiction, which is very often spectacularly undemanding. In terms of plot and narrative, this book deserves perhaps a three (much of it is formless and untethered, a far from the relatively airtight Libra and Underworld). But it is an exacting and complicated book that, like so much of DeLillo's best work, invites us to take a closer look at who we are and what we believe in. And for that it gets five stars.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun with math
I think this is one of Delillo's best, and one of the best books I've read in a while. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for books about mathematicians, and the caricatures... Read more
Published on July 31 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great DeLillo for math/science fans
This is what DeLillo wrote after having spent a few years studying mathematics. It is a beautiful effort, albeit a bit different from much of his other work: no terrorists, no... Read more
Published on July 6 2000 by Yaumo Gaucho
3.0 out of 5 stars
A HEAVY-WEIGHT LITERARY TRIUMPH
The fundamental problem with Ratner's Star is Delillo's insistence with bombarding the reader in a deluge of menancingly technical language. Read more
Published on July 6 2000 by A. Leung
5.0 out of 5 stars
what i know and what i show will hopefully flow
This is a most lovely book/thing. The contents/style is enchanting beyond compare. With poetry so nice it becomes unreal/fantastic, DeLillo shows us the human/spiritual somehow... Read more
Published on Jun 29 2000 by David Baird
3.0 out of 5 stars
Far from DeLillo's best
Ratner's Star is one of those teasingly annoying cultural phenomena that arise when an artist you really like and admire does something you neither admire nor enjoy (other examples... Read more
Published on Dec 3 1999 by "lexo-2"
2.0 out of 5 stars
Delillo's worst published effort
I could seriously argue that Delillo is America's greatest living author. This, however, does not prove it.
Published on Sep 14 1999 by John Esther
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ratner's Star tastes good and is good for you.
What can I say?Surreally funny.Exercise for your brain.The best characters you will find anywhere.
Published on Jun 1 1999
1.0 out of 5 stars
Why use one word when you can use fifty?
If a book was ever written with more hype and less content, then God help you if you read it. Painfully drawn out, dawdling excruciatingly towards a cul-de-sac of utterly boring... Read more
Published on Jan 3 1999
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fine Novel Worth Checking Out
Don DeLillo fans should turn to this very fine novel after reading the more recent "White Noise and beyond" novels. Read more
Published on Mar 31 1998 by rmd
5.0 out of 5 stars
DeLillo's funniest.
A hoot and a half: the main character, an adolescent astrophysics prodigy, is unique and immensely entertaining. His situation and surrounding cast of characters are preposterous. Read more
Published on Nov 8 1997 by averre@artnet.net
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