''Zero K'' is a 2016 novel by American author

Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as television, nuclear war, sports, the complexities of language, per ...

Plot summary

The novel concerns a

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

, Ross Lockhart, who is inspired by the

terminal illness Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced he ...

of his wife Artis to seek

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

for both of them through

cryopreservation Cryo-preservation or cryo-conservation is a process where Organism, organisms, organelles, cell (biology), cells, Biological tissue, tissues, extracellular matrix, Organ (anatomy), organs, or any other biological constructs susceptible to damage ...

. The novel is narrated by Ross' son, Jeffrey. DeLillo has described ''Zero K'' as 'a leap out of the bare-skinned narratives of ''Point Omega'' and ''The Body Artist''.'

Reception

''Zero K'' received positive reviews from critics.

Audiobook

The audiobook is read by

Thomas Sadoski Thomas Christian Sadoski (born July 1, 1976) is an American stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Don Keefer in the HBO series '' The Newsroom'' and as Matt Short in the sitcom television series ''Life in Pieces''. ...

Television adaptation

In March 2017, filmmaker

Charlie McDowell Charles Malcolm McDowell (born July 10, 1983) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is most known for his film ''The One I Love (film), The One I Love'' (2014). Early life McDowell was born on July 10, 1983, in Los Angeles, Californi ...

announced he was adapting ''Zero K'' as a limited series for FX with

Noah Hawley Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

and

Scott Rudin Scott Rudin (born July 14, 1958) is an American film, television, and theatre producer. His films include the Academy Award-winning Best Picture ''No Country for Old Men,'' as well as ''Uncut Gems'', '' Lady Bird, Fences, The Girl with the Dragon ...

producing.

References

2016 American novels Novels about death Novels by Don DeLillo Charles Scribner's Sons books Cryonics in fiction {{2010s-novel-stub