Faulkner and DeLillo

I spent the last two weeks reading these two literary heavyweights, between William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" and Don DeLillo's short novel, "Point Omega" and while the difference between the writing styles and subject matter could not be more stark, somehow the transition between the two voices was a smooth one. Both works had a distinct vision and regardless of how that vision was expressed in words, I felt both authors achieved a sort of "beyondness" to the story, writing outside of the expected realm usually inhabited by fiction, particularly American fiction, at least in my thinking.

My expectations with Faulkner were understandably high but I didn't have any expectations one way or the other with DeLillo. So, I was impressed and as a result have spent a considerable amount of time researching the studies and writings of the Jesuit thinker and paleontologist [Pierre] Teilhard de Chardin, a huge influence on DeLillo's writing and basic philosophy.

And THIS is why I read literature, for the rabbit holes, for the tunnels into nowhere or better yet, into everywhere. I mean really, a Jesuit paleontologist...how could I not take the bait, google it and google it and google it some more?? I'm hooked on these two novelists and although these authors are not often talked about alongside one another, there is something about them that meshes and I'm ready for Round Two with these grizzly bears so that I can discover what that something is.