Breaking onto the American Literary scene in 1971 with the publishing of his book "Americana", Don DeLillo was initially well-regarded as a cult writer before the issue of his ninth book "White Noise" fourteen years later. Receiving the National Book Award and hailed by TIME as one of the "Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005", the book is revered as one of the finest examples of Postmodernist literature in the United States.

Going on to become a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his works "Mao II" and "Underworld", DeLillo's incisive examination of consumerism, underground conspiracies, novelty intellectualism, and rebirth through violence beneath the lens of satire has lead scholars and critics to deem him as one of the four major American Novelists of his time -- an honor he shares with Philip Roth, Thomas Pynchon, and Cormac McCarthy. Here are five of the best lines delivered by one, if not the foremost figure of the Postmodernist movement:

At 82, death draws ever nigh for Don DeLillo, although it has yet to decide when to claim him. Leaving him around for much longer in his attempt to outlive the inevitable. However, what is inevitable, are those among the dying touched by his words, inspired to believe they will outlive something.