Finally finished picrel. Took me almost 4 months. I had read White Noise and found it great, especially as a book to recommend. Its clear and efficient. Underworld sprawls the entire distance of White Noise in its prologue, a piece of writing no litizen should go without reading. From there it explodes, bouncing around in time to tell a convoluted and bleak story, analyzing cold war effects, class struggle, and Delillo's trademark character loneliness.
It is not easily digested. I feel like to even conceive of central ideas, you need to ignore sections of the book. It's just too big. That said, he keeps it engaging. Delillo is a master of description. Passages will roll on, never without an enticing verb or simile. Plus, you have his Carver-esque brisk dialogue to keep momentum quick. The final chapter, that is, the one before the prologue, dashes towards a tragedy the reader knows is coming.
George. What a character. Shadowed, discarded, and tying scenes to themes without losing believability. His sections with Nick are among my favorites, and the final one will sit in my mind for a long while. He brings a danger to everything, and it's only at the end, at a moment the reader might have begun to doubt whether this feeling of danger was worthwhile, that it culminates into the ultimate wrongness. Why did he smile, bros?
The epilogue confused me. It trashes the previous scene with a huge leap in time, and leads to more of the same. The novels ideas of waste and paranoia. At times it reminded me of Gravity's Rainbow. Rockets, bombs, and sex. In a different world, it supplants GR in the meme trilogy. I understand the epilogue doubles down, but I don't understand why. Then it switches to the running girl and her graphic end. Why? I get the erasure. The billboard is covered up. Time will move forward for the characters as it did for the readers, but what about that scene led to Delillos stamping it at the end of the book? Id love to hear some of anons theories.
But overall, what are your thoughts? How did you digest it, and what parts of it stuck with you?
The best thing I can say about it is that it justifies it's length, and offers value to those willing to dig. It's worth your time as a whole, and it's prologue is something you need to have already read.
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IQfy told me a few days ago that books aren't supposed to have a good story. I'm assuming this would be one of those books? Would it just be me slogging away months of my life on something just because I'm supposed to take a kernel or two out of it? Or would it be wasting away months under the guise of appreciating high-art (which is completely lost on me)?
It's not difficult because of the writing, mainly because of the length. If you like straightforward narrative, it's probably not for you. It's jumbled. That said, it's easy reading. It won't send you defining words or looking up references. I don't think it's up your alley based on what you've said and I wished you wouldn't have commented on my thread
These jumbled books always end up filtering me
Jumbled? Like Naked Lunch?
No. Even easier than that
I've always held that Underworld is 2/3rds of some the greatest, most succinct writing of the 20th century sandwiching 1/3 of the most boring pointless trite DeLillo ever wrote. Shame.
That's interesting. What about the middle third dragged for you?
Delillo used to be my favorite author, he's where I first fell in love with the hypnotic power of words. Honestly I loved Underworld but I barely remember anything from it. I know consider Delillo to be a lot like his 2 main (non-literary) influences, jazz and foreign cinema. It's cool and great but there isn't much there. Or maybe I'm filtered. Regardless, Delillo is a real artists, and you can say that about few people these days
Who's your favorite now
Bane.
Don't really have one. I guess I'd say Tolstoy or Joyce with a gun to my head
Do you know Russian?
I feel like Underworld has a great prologue alongside Infinite Jest, but after that, these books kind of suck afterwards. The same repetitive post modern cynicism that points nowhere.
Glad you enjoyed it however.
>Took me almost 4 months.
So you read like 7 pages a day on average? Woah.
I don't read everyday. I also finished a job, moved, and started a new job. I read maybe 2 to 3 times a week, but some weeks went empty, I'm sad to say. Plan to get back on it
>Carver-esque brisk dialogue
I think Gordon Lish edited both Carver and DeLillo. At least some of DeLillo's earlier work.
Once read this book in a two-man bookclub. We finish the book, and I tell him I'll frick him in his heart, and he just looks at me. Did he not read it? Give it to me straight, that was the most memorable line besides the one about sticking a tongue down jedgar's boytoy's throat to pierce his heart.
>I tell him I'll frick him in his heart
He thought you were hitting on him... were you hitting on him, anon?
It's a good line, but I'll be honest, I forgot it was in there