With the publication of Don DeLillo’s eighth novel, White Noise, in 1985, The New York Times declared the author “no longer the well-kept secret of a dedicated following.” Set during a single school year, the novel focuses on Jack Gladney, a professor of Hitler studies at The-College-on-the-Hill. Having been married five times to four wives—his latest is Babette—he lives with a blended brood of children. Jack, as a man focused on one of history’s most prolific murderers, and Babette, as a 1980s American homemaker, are obsessed with death even before a train crash unleashes a toxic cloud over their town. DeLillo’s been writing novels since 1971, but it wasn’t until 2016 that Hollywood took notice, adapting The Body Artist (2001) into Never Ever. This latest movie adaptation of his work premieres today at the Venice Film Festival. Noah Baumbach directs; Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig star. —Jensen Davis