Name: Underworld by Don DeLillo
SKU: 978-0684848150
Availability: InStock

“Underworld” by Don DeLillo is a sprawling, ambitious novel that weaves together history, culture, politics, and personal stories to form a complex portrait of America in the second half of the 20th century. Published in 1997, this postmodern epic is a sweeping exploration of American society, moving across decades and geographical locations, from the Cold War era to the dawn of the digital age. At its core, Underworld examines the intertwining of personal lives with larger historical forces, offering a meditation on memory, identity, and the interconnectedness of human experience.

The novel begins with a legendary prologue set during a 1951 baseball game between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers, a momentous event in American sports history, where Bobby Thomson hits the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” This symbolic baseball, which becomes a recurring motif throughout the novel, is passed through various hands over the decades, symbolizing the invisible threads connecting disparate lives and events. The baseball serves as a metaphor for the way history itself is passed down, shaped, and interpreted by individuals over time.

Underworld follows numerous characters and storylines, but at its heart is Nick Shay, a waste management executive living in New York City. Nick is haunted by his past—his troubled youth, his involvement in a murder, and his complex relationship with his family. Through Nick’s perspective, the novel delves into the theme of waste and decay, both literal and metaphorical. The concept of “underworld” refers not only to the physical layers of garbage that pile up in landfills but also to the hidden, suppressed aspects of human life—personal secrets, societal tensions, and historical traumas that lie beneath the surface.

Throughout the novel, DeLillo shifts between different time periods and locations, incorporating real historical figures such as J. Edgar Hoover and Lenny Bruce, and touching on significant events like nuclear tests, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and urban decay. These historical touchpoints are blended with the lives of fictional characters, reflecting DeLillo’s theme of the interconnectedness of people, technology, and history.

The novel also explores the pervasive influence of mass media and the emerging technological landscape of the late 20th century. DeLillo presents media and technology as both a unifying and alienating force in modern life, capable of connecting people across distances but also fostering disconnection and existential anxiety.

With its fragmented structure, lyrical prose, and expansive scope, Underworld is an intricate mosaic of narratives that captures the complexity of modern America. It is a meditation on the past’s inescapability, the weight of history, and the hidden undercurrents that shape lives and societies. DeLillo’s novel is both a critique and celebration of American culture, offering readers a deep, multifaceted exploration of what lies beneath the surface of contemporary life.