Review: Underworld

Underworld by Don DeLillo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I like other Don Delillo, and I really, really wanted to like this. However, in good conscience I could not recommend Underworld to anyone, due to the following:
Many characters feel like irrelevant tangents, and you will marvel at the scope of the cast and wonder how it all these stories could possibly wrap up. They don't.
You may find yourself disoriented by the way the narrative flips from story to story like a compulsive channel surfer, skipping away in the middle of a scene, a thought, a sentence.
There will be plots you look forward to returning to that you will never see again.
Be prepared for lengthy musings on garbage.

These things being said, I can sed that many hardcore Don Delillo fans may take all these in stride. You could argue that art reflects life, which is sometimes uncertain and frustrating and at best a jumble of experiences onto which we try to impose a story that give our lives meaning. I believe the rave reviews of the critics are sincere (I think) but it was determination, not enjoyment, that got me through the last two thirds of this book.

Libra, Delillo's JFK assassination fever dream, was a similar kaleidoscope of scenes and characters and forces, but the inevitable climax gave everything momentum and purpose. In Underworld, I couldn't find any of that same purpose.

I feel glad to have finished it, because I abandoned it twice in the past. It's a testament to the strength of the opening chapters that I came back, but I read on hoping for a payoff that never paid off. (I'm also glad I got to the end because the epilogue, while unsatisfying, is absolutely bizarre.)

There are passages that are really powerful, and scenes that are memorable, but they are in the minority. I didn't hate it like many seem to, but I certainly won't recommend it to anyone.

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