Ratner's Star

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Ratner's Star
Ratners star.jpg
Author Don DeLillo
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Science fiction novel
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf
Publication date
June 1976
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages438 pp (hardback first edition)
ISBN 0-394-40083-6

Ratner's Star is a 1976 novel by Don DeLillo. It relates the story of a child prodigy mathematician who arrives at a secret installation to work on the problem of deciphering a mysterious message that appears to come from outer space. The novel has been described as "famously impenetrable". [1]

The novel is described as Menippean satire and akin to the works of Thomas Pynchon. [2] In critical reviews, the protagonist, Billy Twillig, is compared to Vonnegut's Billy Pilgrim. [3]

The novel is told in two parts; the first is a conventional narrative, the second is less so. The author has said that the structural model was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass . [4] The novel develops the idea that science, mathematics, and logic—in parting from mysticism—do not contain the fear of death, and therefore offer no respite.

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Ratner may refer to:

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References

  1. Taylor, Christopher (5 May 2016). "Pure Vibe". London Review of Books. p. 15.
  2. "Lifetimes". archive.nytimes.com.
  3. "RATNER'S STAR | Kirkus Reviews" via www.kirkusreviews.com.
  4. LeClair, Thomas; DeLillo, Don (2005). Thomas DiPietro (ed.). Conversations with Don DeLillo. University Press of Mississippi. p. 11. ISBN   1578067049.