Cosmopolis (novel): Difference between revisions

Cosmopolis
Author	Don DeLillo
Language	English
Genre	Novel
Publisher	Scribner
Publication date	14 April 2003
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	224 (hardcover first edition)
ISBN	0-7432-4424-9 (hardcover first edition)
OCLC	50441437
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 21
LC Class	PS3554.E4425 C67 2003

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Cosmopolis is a novel by American writer Don DeLillo. His thirteenth novel, it was published by Scribner on April 14, 2003.

Plot summary

Cosmopolis is the story of Eric Packer, a 28-year-old multi-billionaire and asset manager who makes an odyssey across midtown Manhattan to get a haircut. He drives around in a stretch limo, which is richly described as luxurious, spacious and highly technical, filled with television screens and computer monitors, bulletproofed and floored with Carrara marble. It is also cork-lined to eliminate (although unsuccessfully, as Packer notes) the intrusion of street noise.

Packer's voyage is obstructed by various traffic jams caused by a presidential visit to the city, a full-fledged anti-capitalist riot, and a funeral procession for a Sufi rap star. Along the way, the hero has several chance meetings with his wife and sexual encounters with other women. Packer is also stalked by two men, a comical "pastry assassin" and an unstable "credible threat". Through the course of the day, the protagonist loses incredible amounts of money for his clients by betting against the rise of the Yen.

Reception

Reviews for Cosmopolis were generally mixed, especially compared to many of DeLillo's previous novels. Peter Wolfe of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called the book "eerily brilliant" and that it "confirms Don DeLillo's place among [the best writers] elite."^[1] John Updike wrote in The New Yorker that "DeLillo's fervent intelligence and his fastidious, edgy prose... weave halos of import around every event".^[2] Walter Kirn criticized the novel in The New York Times, writing "Beware the novel of ideas, particularly when the ideas come first and all the novel stuff (like the story) comes second. Cosmopolis is an intellectual turkey shoot, sending up a succession of fat targets just in time for its author to aim and fire the rounds he loaded before he started writing."^[3] Also in The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani described the novel as "a major dud", with a "hokey, contrived storyline".^[4]

Several reviewers praised DeLillo's style, including David Kipen of the San Francisco Chronicle who wrote "DeLillo continues to think about the modern world in language and images as quizzically beautiful as any writer now going".^[5] Jessica Slater of the Rocky Mountain News also liked the prose but was overall dissatisfied, writing "His style, as always, is unique and insightful, but for all he packs into that one day in April, he fails to show us anything we haven't seen before".^[6]

Film adaptation

Canadian director David Cronenberg adapted the novel for the screen in 2011, starring Robert Pattinson as Eric Packer. Cronenberg's film version premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 25, 2012, and met with mixed reviews.

References

^ Wolfe, Peter (March 23, 2003). "Cosmopolis". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 22, 2006.
^ Updike, John (March 31, 2003). "One-Way Street". The New Yorker.
^ Kim, Walter (April 13, 2003). "Long Day's Journey Into Haircut". The New York Times.
^ Kakutani, Michiko (March 24, 2003). "Headed Toward a Crash, Of Sorts, in a Stretch Limo". New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
^ Kipen, David (2003-03-30). "DeLillo's high-style on cruise control". The San Francisco Chronicle.
^ Slater, Jessica (2003-04-04). "A Surreal Day with DeLillo". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 2009-08-02. Retrieved 2008-01-22.

External links

de Lillo, Don, Cosmopolis (excerpt), Simon & Schuster.
Cosmopolis (2012) IMDB Page.

[1] Wolfe, Peter (March 23, 2003). "Cosmopolis". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 22, 2006.

[2] Updike, John (March 31, 2003). "One-Way Street". The New Yorker.

[3] Kim, Walter (April 13, 2003). "Long Day's Journey Into Haircut". The New York Times.

[michiko-4] Kakutani, Michiko (March 24, 2003). "Headed Toward a Crash, Of Sorts, in a Stretch Limo". New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2014.

[5] Kipen, David (2003-03-30). "DeLillo's high-style on cruise control". The San Francisco Chronicle.

[6] Slater, Jessica (2003-04-04). "A Surreal Day with DeLillo". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 2009-08-02. Retrieved 2008-01-22.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Short description|Novel by Don DeLillo}}
+{{Short description|2003 novel by Don DeLillo}}
 {{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
 | name         = Cosmopolis
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 }}
-'''''Cosmopolis''''' is [[Don DeLillo]]'s thirteenth novel. It was published by [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]] on  April 14, 2003.
+'''''Cosmopolis''''' is a novel by American writer [[Don DeLillo]]. His thirteenth novel, it was published by [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]] on  April 14, 2003.
 == Plot summary ==
-''Cosmopolis'' is the story of Eric Packer, a 28-year-old multi-billionaire asset manager who makes an odyssey across midtown [[Manhattan]] to get a haircut. He drives around in a stretch [[Limousine|limo]], which is richly described as luxurious, spacious and highly technical, filled with television screens and computer monitors, bulletproofed and floored with [[Carrara marble]]. It is also cork-lined to eliminate (although unsuccessfully, as Packer notes) the intrusion of street noise.
+''Cosmopolis'' is the story of Eric Packer, a 28-year-old multi-billionaire and asset manager who makes an odyssey across midtown [[Manhattan]] to get a haircut. He drives around in a stretch [[Limousine|limo]], which is richly described as luxurious, spacious and highly technical, filled with television screens and computer monitors, bulletproofed and floored with [[Carrara marble]]. It is also cork-lined to eliminate (although unsuccessfully, as Packer notes) the intrusion of street noise.
 Packer's voyage is obstructed by various traffic jams caused by a presidential visit to the city, a full-fledged [[Anti-capitalism|anti-capitalist]] riot, and a funeral procession for a [[Sufism|Sufi]] [[Rapping|rap]] star. Along the way, the hero has several chance meetings with his wife and sexual encounters with other women. Packer is also stalked by two men, a comical "pastry assassin" and an unstable "[[credible threat]]". Through the course of the day, the protagonist loses incredible amounts of money for his clients by betting against the rise of the Yen.
 == Reception ==
-Reviews for ''Cosmopolis'' were generally mixed, especially compared to many of DeLillo's previous novels. Peter Wolfe of the ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' called the book "eerily brilliant" and that it "confirms Don DeLillo's place among [the best writers] elite."<ref>{{cite web| last = Wolfe| first = Peter| title = Cosmopolis| work = St. Louis Post-Dispatch| date = March 23, 2003| url = http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/Entertainment/Books/9E86F1B59F7782F386256CEF006563D3?OpenDocument | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060222003813/http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/Entertainment/Books/9E86F1B59F7782F386256CEF006563D3?OpenDocument | archivedate= February 22, 2006}}</ref> [[John Updike]] wrote in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' that "DeLillo's fervent intelligence and his fastidious, edgy prose... weave halos of import around every event".<ref>{{cite web| last = Updike| first = John| title = One-Way Street| work = The New Yorker| date = March 31, 2003| url = http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/03/31/030331crbo_books1?currentPage=1}}</ref> Walter Kirn criticized the novel in ''[[The New York Times]]'', writing "Beware the novel of ideas, particularly when the ideas come first and all the novel stuff (like the story) comes second. ''Cosmopolis'' is an intellectual turkey shoot, sending up a succession of fat targets just in time for its author to aim and fire the rounds he loaded before he started writing."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/13/books/long-day-s-journey-into-haircut.html?pagewanted=all|title=Long Day's Journey Into Haircut|last=Kim|first=Walter|date=April 13, 2003|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Also in the ''New York Times'', [[Michiko Kakutani]] described the novel as "a major dud", with a "hokey, contrived storyline".<ref name=michiko>{{cite news|last=Kakutani|first=Michiko|title=Headed Toward a Crash, Of Sorts, in a Stretch Limo|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/24/books/books-of-the-times-headed-toward-a-crash-of-sorts-in-a-stretch-limo.html|accessdate=April 13, 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=March 24, 2003}}</ref>
+Reviews for ''Cosmopolis'' were generally mixed, especially compared to many of DeLillo's previous novels. Peter Wolfe of the ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' called the book "eerily brilliant" and that it "confirms Don DeLillo's place among [the best writers] elite."<ref>{{cite web| last = Wolfe| first = Peter| title = Cosmopolis| work = St. Louis Post-Dispatch| date = March 23, 2003| url = http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/Entertainment/Books/9E86F1B59F7782F386256CEF006563D3?OpenDocument | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060222003813/http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/Entertainment/Books/9E86F1B59F7782F386256CEF006563D3?OpenDocument | archivedate= February 22, 2006}}</ref> [[John Updike]] wrote in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' that "DeLillo's fervent intelligence and his fastidious, edgy prose... weave halos of import around every event".<ref>{{cite web| last = Updike| first = John| title = One-Way Street| work = The New Yorker| date = March 31, 2003| url = http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/03/31/030331crbo_books1?currentPage=1}}</ref> Walter Kirn criticized the novel in ''[[The New York Times]]'', writing "Beware the novel of ideas, particularly when the ideas come first and all the novel stuff (like the story) comes second. ''Cosmopolis'' is an intellectual turkey shoot, sending up a succession of fat targets just in time for its author to aim and fire the rounds he loaded before he started writing."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/13/books/long-day-s-journey-into-haircut.html?pagewanted=all|title=Long Day's Journey Into Haircut|last=Kim|first=Walter|date=April 13, 2003|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Also in ''The New York Times'', [[Michiko Kakutani]] described the novel as "a major dud", with a "hokey, contrived storyline".<ref name=michiko>{{cite news|last=Kakutani|first=Michiko|title=Headed Toward a Crash, Of Sorts, in a Stretch Limo|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/24/books/books-of-the-times-headed-toward-a-crash-of-sorts-in-a-stretch-limo.html|accessdate=April 13, 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=March 24, 2003}}</ref>
 Several reviewers praised DeLillo's style, including David Kipen of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' who wrote "DeLillo continues to think about the modern world in language and images as quizzically beautiful as any writer now going".<ref>{{cite news| last = Kipen| first = David| title = DeLillo's high-style on cruise control| work = The San Francisco Chronicle| date = 2003-03-30| url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/30/RV173930.DTL}}</ref> Jessica Slater of the ''[[Rocky Mountain News]]'' also liked the prose but was overall dissatisfied, writing "His style, as always, is unique and insightful, but for all he packs into that one day in April, he fails to show us anything we haven't seen before".<ref>{{cite web| last = Slater| first = Jessica| title = A Surreal Day with DeLillo| work = Rocky Mountain News| date = 2003-04-04| url = http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/books/article/0,1299,DRMN_63_1859927,00.html| access-date = 2008-01-22| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090802152828/http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/books/article/0,1299,DRMN_63_1859927,00.html| archive-date = 2009-08-02| url-status = dead}}</ref>
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 [[Category:Novels by Don DeLillo]]
 [[Category:Novels set in Manhattan]]
-[[Category:Novels about traders]]
+[[Category:Novels about stock traders]]
+[[Category:Novels set in one day]]

v t e Don DeLillo
Novels	Americana (1971) End Zone (1972) Great Jones Street (1973) Ratner's Star (1976) Players (1977) Running Dog (1978) Amazons (1980) The Names (1982) White Noise (1985) Libra (1988) Mao II (1991) Underworld (1997) The Body Artist (2001) Pafko at the Wall (2001) Cosmopolis (2003) Falling Man (2007) Point Omega (2010) Zero K (2016) The Silence (2020)
Short stories	The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories (2011)
Plays	The Day Room (1986) Valparaiso (1999) Love-Lies-Bleeding (2005) The Word for Snow (2007)
Screenplays	Game 6 (2005)
Film adaptations	Cosmopolis (2012) Never Ever (2016) White Noise (2022)