Americana
David Bell, a handsome, disillusioned young advertising executive in 1960s New York, escapes the suffocating hypocrisy of corporate politics and fractured personal relationships to embark on a cross-country journey. Armed with a 16mm camera, he sets out to make a film that captures the unvarnished truth of America—beyond the glossy ads and polished narratives he’s spent his career selling. Along the way, he confronts the ghosts of war trauma through Glenn Yost’s harrowing Bataan Death March memories, navigates the raw class divides of Texas tire fields, and connects with the quiet resilience of Arizona’s Apache communities. As he moves from bustling cities to desolate small towns, David dismantles his own illusions of success and the American Dream, confronting existential questions about identity, purpose, and the hidden fractures beneath America’s shiny surface. Don DeLillo’s debut novel is a sharp, introspective odyssey that lays bare the absurdity and quiet humanity of modern American life.