Word: selfing
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...Solar” is a sudden and unforeseen death that enables Beard to recast himself as a friend of the environment. But “Solar” complicates the theme of accidental change that McEwan returns to so often by incorporating a new idea of willful self-deception. Though Beard believes that “barring accidents, life does not change,” he is constantly going through self-imposed reincarnations of his character. Beard is unaware of these changes in himself because he is able to convince himself that his new persona always existed...
...aware of the singularity by which the tiny vehicle of his talent, a child’s tricycle say, had hitched a ride behind the juggernaut of a world historical genius.” Beard’s whole life has been spent unsuccessfully trying to surpass his youthful self who captivated the world with his brilliant achievements...
...times Merriweather reaches beyond Ronson’s impeccably polished production to make something that feels new, as with the self-deprecating amble of a highlight, “Cigarettes,” and the surprisingly poignant, slowly-building “Live by Night.” Though many choruses are frustratingly unoriginal, “Chainsaw” thoroughly breaks this pattern with the bizarre refrain, “Giving myself to you is like giving myself to a chainsaw.” Though this line falls flat, Merriweather has the benefit of a sound big enough...
...book is working against an inclination to condense—a reasonable concern for a story that, despite its size, centers itself around big questions, such as the unknowable power of space and time to erase, restructure, recreate. As usual, DeLillo’s concern for the shadow of self-consciousness falls over this work, altering the gravity of his story’s simple plot...
...first chapter opens: “The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we’re alone, thinking, feeling, lost in memory, dreamingly self-aware, the submicroscopic moments.” This, the abstract framework, is the most important aspect of DeLillo’s novel, more so than a development of characters or the lack thereof, the progression of plot or its absence altogether...