Looking Back: Don DeLillo's Falling Man

Where were you when 9-11 happened?  In the moment the the planes hit, or the towers fell, did you know what was happening, or why, or by or to whom?  Probably it was chaos—and that’s exactly the feeling you get when you read Falling Man.  Delillo is considered a master writer and has the credentials to back that up (National Book Award, Pen/Faulkner Award, his novel Underworld was named one of the three best novels of the last 25 years by NYTBR).  The reason you may not keep track of who the characters are or what they’re doing is that DeLillo doesn’t really want you to.  The Falling Man of the novel is a performance artist in New York who dangles, suspended in the air.  Yet he could be anyone, including Keith—who walks away from the Twin Towers after they fall, his estranged wife Lianne, who struggles to understand the new version of Keith who walks back into her life, or their young son Justin, who with his friends continuously scan the skies waiting for more planes to arrive.  DeLillo’s skill as a writer keeps you off balance, unsure, and struggling to find reason.  You might come away with more questions than answers, but ultimately you know something of profound importance has just occurred.