The novel of ‘(dis)quiet’

This chapter first examines historical and cultural notions of urban noise and asks how Teju Cole and Ben Lerner integrate the din of the city into the body of their quiet texts. It then explores what kinds of information can be read as quiet and what exactly determines a novel's volume. The terms of the author's quiet aesthetic are applied to close readings of Open City and Leaving the Atocha Station with brief consideration of Every Day is for the Thief (2007; 2014) and 10:04 (2014). Building on the four quiet criteria prioritised throughout this book, the chapter argues that all four texts privilege the depiction of quiet characters, locations and interior life. It concludes by reflecting on the relationship between the principles of the author's quiet aesthetic, the novel form and the act of walking.