''Running Dog'' is a 1978 novel by
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 consumerism, nuclear war, the complexities of language, art, televi ...
. The book concerns Moll Robbins, a reporter for the eponymous magazine – a fictional underground, once-radical magazine which satirizes ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' – whose investigation into the suspicious activities of a member of the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
uncover the possible existence of a pornographic film of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
, purportedly filmed in his
bunker
A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...
in the climactic days of Berlin's fall. As Robbins digs deeper into the film's existence and whereabouts, more and more individuals become obsessed with finding it, including underground art collectors and the Mafia, leading to a surreal and violent series of events.
The book is a loose sequel to DeLillo's third novel ''
Great Jones Street
Great Jones Street is a street in New York City's NoHo district in Manhattan, essentially another name for 3rd Street between Broadway and the Bowery.
The street was named for Samuel Jones, a lawyer who became known as "The Father of The ...
'', which also featured the staff of ''Running Dog'' as characters.
Reviewing the book for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'',
Michael Wood wrote: "the work itself has an air of weariness, of routine violence and acceptable paranoia, of intrigue without point or profit, which strikes me as a very accurate reflection of a contemporary mood."
[Wood M.]
''Politics and Families''
NYT, Nov. 12, 1978
References
See also
*
Running dog
1978 American novels
Novels by Don DeLillo
Novels about Nazi Germany
Alfred A. Knopf books
Novels about Adolf Hitler
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