I picked up 'Falling Man' by Don DeLillo a few years ago, and it’s one of those books that sticks with you long after you’ve turned the last page. At its core, it’s a novel, but it’s deeply rooted in the aftermath of 9/11, which gives it this haunting, almost documentary-like feel. The way DeLillo weaves fiction with the raw emotions of that day is masterful—it doesn’t just tell a story; it captures a collective trauma. The title itself refers to that infamous photograph of a man falling from the Twin Towers, and the book explores how art, memory, and reality blur in the wake of tragedy.
What’s fascinating is how DeLillo doesn’t just focus on the event but dives into the psychic rubble left behind. The protagonist, Keith, survives the towers and drifts through a life that feels both fragile and surreal. It’s not a literal retelling of true events, but it’s steeped in them, like a ghost story where the ghost is history itself. I’ve reread sections just to soak up the prose—it’s sparse but heavy, like walking through smoke.