The sense of disorientation continues to impact the characters years after the two towers have come down with Lianne summing up the feelings of a cit. She moans at one point to her husband Keith, who was in the towers when they were attacked, about the fact she is the one who has gone berserk but she is just displaying the anger and sense of loss more visibly than he is.
The family, which is held together more by memories and habit, continues to plod on but there is a craving to get back to normal. The problem is that can anyone ever get back to normal? With the fundamentalism now out in the open and the consequences of the hatred forcing changes in behaviour it is a very substantial question that DeLillo leaves you pondering.
Although some of the characters are sketchy and some, like Martin the former German terrorist, feel shoe-horned in to challenge the argument, overall this works. The last few pages in particular are incredibly powerful.
A review will follow soon…