Book Report: Cosmopolis by Don Delilo

Book Title: Cosmopolis

Author: Don Delilo

Characters:
• Eric Packer ~ Eric is the main character of the book. A 28 year old “self-made” multi-billionaire, who owns Packer Capital. He considers himself as the center of the universe; every single thing must revolve around him. He’s a risk taker; he simply doesn’t passes up with whatever opportunity comes his way. Even if this opportunity might cause his downfall in the business.
• Elise Shifrin ~ Elise is Eric’s wife of twenty two days. She is in her mid-twenties, a poet on her own right and the heiress for the Shrifin banking fortune of Europe and the world.
• Torval ~ Torval is one of the bodyguards of Eric. As a bodyguard, he does every single thing that is needed to secure the safety of Eric.
• Didi Fancher and Kendra Hays ~ Didi is Eric’s longtime lover while Kendra is his bodyguard and at the same time lover.
• Michael Chin, Jane Melman and Vija Kinski ~ They are the Business Advisers of Eric. The currency analyst, chief of finance and chief of theory, respectively.
• Richard Sheets ~ The man who wants to kill him.

Setting: Set in April 2000, on the streets of Manhattan. Traffic jam was all over the place, which means loads of cars and plenty of busy and stressed out people are in the streets.

Summary: (The story covers one whole day of Eric Packer’s life.)

Eric Packer along with his bodyguards embarks on a trip to midtown Manhattan to get his haircut done. A Presidential visit to the city, a funeral procession for the rapper, Brutha Fez and a major global protest, was in its full swing; resulting to a traffic jam and delaying his visit to the barber shop. During his trip, he came across his wife, Elise Shifrin; it was while she was riding a taxi, hiding herself away in an underground bookshop and taking part in the shooting of a movie. Eric and Elise also had breakfast, lunch and dinner together. It was their first time to do things like that; they’ve never interacted with each other after they got married. For their relationship was just based on what was right.

While trapped in the limo, he was met by his doctor and his business advisers; giving him advices regarding on the bet he made regarding the rising of yen. Nobody can stop him, he follows what he thinks is right; risking everything he has. It is also known that there is a person who wants to kill him, so every single bodyguard he has are always on the move and protecting him.

He then eventually arrived at the barber shop and got a ½ haircut, for he decided he doesn’t want his haircut done. Leaving the barber shop, he joined the naked bodies on the street in the shooting of a movie along with his wife. It was then revealed that he lost all his and his wife’s money because he lost the bet. And lastly it came to part where he came face to face with Richard Sheets, the person who wants to kill him.