The Angel Esmeralda

September 26, 2011
The nine short stories of DeLillo’s first-ever collection span 30 years. Grouped around three historical moments and ranging in subject and setting from an earthquake in Athens to a snowbound college town, they offer both a compact way to observe the evolution of DeLillo’s writing and a highly palatable entrée into the work of the National Book Award winner (for White Noise) for the uninitiated. “Human Moments in World War III” features two Americans manning an orbital intelligence-gathering craft who begin receiving old-time radio signals while considering humanity at war; “war, among other things, is a form of longing.” In the title story, two nuns in the South Bronx encounter the near-feral Esmeralda Lopez, who, for a brief time, is transfigured into a rallying symbol for the impoverished community. And in “Hammer and Sickle,” a white-collar criminal in a minimum-security facility watches his two young daughters deliver financial news on a children’s program. DeLillo’s keen interest in the human experience of American historical and cultural moments is on clear display, and his full expressive range—from steady spareness (sometimes verging on disorienting frigidity) to roguish attitude and tender intimacy—is showcased well. While there aren’t any surprises, this is a welcome addition to DeLillo’s oeuvre for fans and newcomers alike.

A medley of voices from five narrators generates a compelling presentation of DeLillo's evocative short stories, written between 1979 and 2011. As a myriad of characters--such as nuns, astronauts, students, terrorists--delve beneath the surface of strangers' lives, the narrators' deliver satisfying tones of irony, inquiry, and discovery. In the title story, Mercedes Ruehl's voice deftly shifts from strident youth to aged nun as sisters, street thugs, and neighbors confront a miracle on a billboard in the Bronx. Michael Cerveris draws listeners through the limbo of travel delays in "Creation" and into the future with "Human Moments in World War II." Peter Friedman reads "The Starveling" and "Hammer and Sickle"; Heather Lind reads "The Ivory Acrobat" and "Baader-Meinhoff." Aaron Tveit carries listeners through "The Runner" and "Midnight in Dostoevsky." D.P.D. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine