Cosmopolis

For other uses, see Cosmopolis (disambiguation).

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

Cosmopolis is Don DeLillo's thirteenth novel. It was published by Scribner on 14 April 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 in order to get a haircut. The stretch limo which adorns the cover of the book is richly described as highly technical and very luxurious, filled with television screens and computer monitors, bulletproofed and floored with Carrara marble. It is also cork lined to eliminate (though unsuccessfully, as Packer notes) the intrusion of street noise.

Like James Joyce's Ulysses, Cosmopolis covers roughly one day of time and includes highly sexed women and the theme of father-son separation. Packer's voyage is obstructed by various traffic jams caused by a presidential visit to the city, a funeral procession for a Sufi rap star and a full-fledged riot. Along the way, the hero has several chance meetings with his wife, seeing her in a taxi, a bookstore, and lying naked in the street, taking part in a movie as an extra. Meanwhile, Packer is 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, a loss that parallels his own fall. Packer seems to relish being unburdened by the loss of so much money, even stopping to make sure he loses his wife's fortune as well, to ensure his ruin is inevitable.

Reception

Reviews for Cosmopolis were generally mixed to negative, especially compared to many of DeLillo's previous novels. While Peter Wolfe of the StlToday.com called the book "eerily brilliant" and that it "confirms Don DeLillo's place among [the best writers] elite",^[1] other reviewers weren't as enthusiastic. John Updike wrote in The New Yorker that while "DeLillo’s fervent intelligence and his fastidious, edgy prose... weave halos of import around every event", that "The trouble with a tale where anything can happen is that somehow nothing happens."^[2]

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"^[3] Kipen otherwise panned the novel. 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."^[4]

Film adaptation

Main article: Cosmopolis (film)

News about a film adaptation of Cosmopolis first emerged on 10 February 2009 when Geoffrey Macnab, writing for Screendaily.com, reported that "In his most ambitious project to date, international producer Paulo Branco is plotting a $10m-12m film based on the novel Cosmopolis by legendary US writer Don DeLillo. Branco's Alfama Films is producing the film about a day in the life of a young billionaire financier who, over the course of a traumatic day, loses all his wealth. A director will be named shortly and DeLillo is on board to collaborate."^[5]

On July 26, 2009, it was announced that Canadian director David Cronenberg had become involved in the project and would now bring the novel to the screen. The film is scheduled to begin filming in 2010, with Paulo Branco's Paris-based production house Alfama Films co-producing with Cronenberg's Toronto Antenna Ltd.^[6]

On September 3, 2009, Paulo Branco officially confirmed to Screendaily.com that "Cronenberg has now finished his screenplay and is now looking to cast the film."^[7]

On January 13, 2010, The Canadian Press revealed that Cronenberg was still committed to the film, although a cast and a starting date for production are yet to be announced:

"Everyone's happy with the script," [Cronenberg] said, noting they haven't cast it yet. "It's a project I'm very fond of," added Cronenberg. "It's a terrific book and plans are in the works to make that movie. "I have a couple of possible films, none of which has jelled completely yet, so that's why I'm writing as well - I've got to do something."^[8]

The filming took place in Toronto and was completed in July 2011.^{[citation needed]}

The actor who is going to play Eric Packer is Robert Pattinson.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Excerpt of the book from the publisher

References

1. ^ Wolfe, Peter (2003-03-23). "Cosmopolis". Stltoday.com. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/Entertainment/Books/9E86F1B59F7782F386256CEF006563D3?OpenDocument. 
2. ^ Updike, John (2003-03-31). "One-Way Street". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/03/31/030331crbo_books1?currentPage=1. 
3. ^ Kipen, David (2003-03-30). "DeLillo's high-style on cruise control". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/30/RV173930.DTL. 
4. ^ Slater, Jessica (2003-04-04). "A Surreal Day with DeLillo". Rocky Mountain News. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/books/article/0,1299,DRMN_63_1859927,00.html. 
5. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey, http://www.screendaily.com/paolo-branco-plots-cosmopolis/4043226.article
6. ^ "Director David Cronenberg takes on 'Cosmopolis'". Yahoo Canada News. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090726/entertainment/centertainment_us_cronenberg. 
7. ^ Geoffrey Macnab, http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/venice/venice-news/larry-clark-to-direct-troubled-teen-drama-wild-child/5005251.article
8. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gt7bWm4eNcO9BpEZiuzV3gsmb7qg