h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A521515

Don DeLillo is an important writer who is widely read, popular with academics, but actually quite poorly understood. This entry introduces the writer by talking about an unusual book he wrote under a pseudonym.

Hello,

Fascinating entry for a daunting task. I look forward to reading your entries for other authors (if you write them). My only real quibble is that you should perhaps change the title to reflect more that it's about DeLillo's Amazons, especially since you said you might write entries about DeLillo's other works.

Yours,
Jake

Well, you've undertaken writing about about of my favorite authors! Its nice to find a kindered spirit.
It is a daunting task you've undertaken and I certainly applaud your efforts here.
I do have a few comments to offer for your consideration.
I found this to be less of an introduction to Don DelLillo and more of a discussion of the rather curious circumstances surrounding only one of his works, Amazons. While the supposed mystery surrounding this particular publication may be intriguing, its probably not central to the spirit of DeLillo's work as a whole and consequently may not be a good starting point for an introduction to the author.
If you intend this to be a first installment on this author and his work, I think I would stick to a brief biography and focus on the salient themes that resonnate throughout DeLillo's works. Other wise I would re-cast this entry as a discussion of Amazons.
Now for some pickiness, that may or may not be relevent, depending upon how you go with this piece:
You discuss DeLillo's facination with language and fail to mention the book of his that crystallizes many of these ideas ("The Names").
You mention DeLillo's wonderful ear for dialogue in a very descriptive (and accurate, I thought) way. Copyright issues aside (do these apply here? I'm guessing so... anyone else know for sure?), this would best be served by an example or two.
Thanks for an enjoyable read!
cheers-
Ariel

Thanks for your replies. My response to your points is below.

1. I agree that I should change the title to reflect the fact that the article discusses "Amazons." I do, however, feel that "Amazons" represents an ideal introduction to DeLillo. A book that ostensibly fits into the "sexploitation" genre is, after all, nothing of the kind. The style of its author is unmistakeable; indeed, DeLillo's style is so recognisable here that "Amazons" is the best, and purest case study of it. Perhaps I should add something of this to the article itself. I would also prefer to "introduce" DeLillo in this gentle way, since his major themes and concerns are, for me, debatable. Just as it is a mistake to reduce to the content of a novel to a summary of its contents, I think it is wrong to attempt to summarise 30 years of writing to a traditional lit. crit. headings.

2. I did in fact, excise some comments on The Names (my favourite novel), which I can put back in.

3. I can also add a couple of examples of DD's technique.

Your final paragraph reminded me of one of DeLillo's character's occupations: reading books to find hidden messages embedded in the text. And yah, "The Names" is my favorite as well
Best with the entry; I look forward to seeing it again.
cheers-
Ari

I've now amended the entry as follows:

1. Title now includes reference to Amazons

2. Paragraph about DeLillo's next novel, The Names, has been restored.

3. 2 quotations added reflecting DeLillo's technique/style.

4. One quotation removed (worried about length of article) and another inserted, more properly reflecting ongoing "search for meaning."

I thought I would try to revive this thread as I'm going through some ofthe older peer review pieces.
First, the topic is extremely interesting and the changes you have made are all for the better. As a whole the piece is well written.

Be careful about using "I", "me" and "my"... you generally don't but they are in there.
Since you are considering a sreies of articles would this fall under the rubric of "University Project?"
Other thoughts out there?
-Ariel

Editorial Note: This thread has been moved out of the Peer Review forum because this entry has now been recommended for the Edited Guide.

If they have not been along already, the Scout who recommended your entry will post here soon, to let you know what happens next. Meanwhile you can find out what will happen to your entry here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/SubEditors-Process

Congratulations!

I'm pleased to inform you that this entry has been recommended for the Edited Guide. It will go to the sub-eds for minor tweaking, and you'll be notified via e-mail when it's due to appear. Thank you for writing such a great article - please keep up the good work!