El hombre del salto. (Falling Man)

Reviewed by LJ 2/15/06 -- Críticas, 6/15/2008

On 9/11, a man working in the towers, Keith, survives and returns to his estranged wife, Lianne, and young son Justin. Keith self-medicates with poker, flying between casinos and home; Lianne becomes obsessed with Alzheimer’s and the support group she leads for sufferers. This novel is divided into three sections, each named for a character who is unidentified until the end of the section and serves primarily as a thematic element: “Bill Lawton” is Justin’s distorted version of Bin Laden, for whom he searches the sky with binoculars; “Ernst Hechinger” is the real name of Lianne’s mother’s lover (now known as Martin), a former violent demonstrator against the German Democratic Republic, the extent of his crimes unknown; and “David Janiak” is the Falling Man, a controversial performance artist who falls from heights in a suit and a harness. Each section ends with a short chapter on the terrorists; strangely brief, they serve well to humanize the perpetrators without delving into the territory of judgment, sympathy, or demonization. Acclaimed novelist DeLillo offers the definitive creative text on the 9/11 world in a time when most novels were addressing the post-9/11 world. Highly recommended.

Order this title