sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
3.0
The long opening sequence, set at a baseball game, is excellent. The rest of the book doesn't match it. Far too much time is spent on Nick Shay, the book could have benefited from being 200 pages shorter.
Part-way through the book, some characters watch an apocryphal Eisenstein film, called 'Underworld'. This clearly mirrors the book itself, and the viewers have these reactions:
"The plot was hard to follow. There was no plot. Just loneliness."
"I want to be rewarded for this ordeal."
"Admit it, you're bored."
"It was remote and fragmentary and made on the cheap, supposedly personal, and it had a kind of suspense even as it crawled along. How and when would it reveal itself?"
And best of all:
"Do we have to stay for the rest of it?" "I want to see what happens." "What could happen?"
Part-way through the book, some characters watch an apocryphal Eisenstein film, called 'Underworld'. This clearly mirrors the book itself, and the viewers have these reactions:
"The plot was hard to follow. There was no plot. Just loneliness."
"I want to be rewarded for this ordeal."
"Admit it, you're bored."
"It was remote and fragmentary and made on the cheap, supposedly personal, and it had a kind of suspense even as it crawled along. How and when would it reveal itself?"
And best of all:
"Do we have to stay for the rest of it?" "I want to see what happens." "What could happen?"
soulpopped's review against another edition
5.0
nothing got me more excited for baseball season than this book
dllh's review against another edition
5.0
I read maybe half of Underworld nearly a decade ago and put it aside (I forget why). I've read the opening scene a few times since, and it's one of my favorite pieces of writing, so it's weird that I put the whole book aside. Maybe parts of it began to lag for me back then. I've meant ever since to pick the book back up, and I'm glad I did.
My main complaint with DeLillo's other work has been that although his writing is very fine (really, really admirable), the construction of his stories tends to leave me puzzled. Cosmopolis feels at times hackish, Mao II sort of goes off the rails, and Falling Man is just bad. But here DeLillo writes a very big thing composed of a couple of big stories that intersect in ways I find believable and appealing.
This is a book about finding lost things, getting back to origins, trying to grok complexity, grappling with betrayal, baseball, garbage, infidelity, war, and peace. It's lovely at the sentence level, and though at times it feels as if DeLillo might have left a story behind or made a misstep, I think he winds up getting it mostly right. It's worth a read and a reread.
My main complaint with DeLillo's other work has been that although his writing is very fine (really, really admirable), the construction of his stories tends to leave me puzzled. Cosmopolis feels at times hackish, Mao II sort of goes off the rails, and Falling Man is just bad. But here DeLillo writes a very big thing composed of a couple of big stories that intersect in ways I find believable and appealing.
This is a book about finding lost things, getting back to origins, trying to grok complexity, grappling with betrayal, baseball, garbage, infidelity, war, and peace. It's lovely at the sentence level, and though at times it feels as if DeLillo might have left a story behind or made a misstep, I think he winds up getting it mostly right. It's worth a read and a reread.
cody_reads_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ntrodebe's review against another edition
4.0
The prologue describing the 1951 Dodgers-Giants tiebreaker and 'shot heard 'round the world' was fantastic, one of my favorite things I've read in a while.
As for the other 800 pages of the book, I was usually torn. The idea of the 'plot' (if it can be called one) moving back through time and filling in missing pieces was interesting, but seemingly important paths were often abandoned as DeLillo waxed poetic about whatever thought evidently entered his mind at the given moment. The book ends with one of the most blatant word vomits I've read in a long time.
Nonetheless, it was still an engaging read if you're into character exposition over consistent/satisfying plot lines. The development of his themes was at times great, and at other times overwrought. It's likely one of those books I will look back on and enjoy more in retrospect than consistently throughout reading it.
As for the other 800 pages of the book, I was usually torn. The idea of the 'plot' (if it can be called one) moving back through time and filling in missing pieces was interesting, but seemingly important paths were often abandoned as DeLillo waxed poetic about whatever thought evidently entered his mind at the given moment. The book ends with one of the most blatant word vomits I've read in a long time.
Nonetheless, it was still an engaging read if you're into character exposition over consistent/satisfying plot lines. The development of his themes was at times great, and at other times overwrought. It's likely one of those books I will look back on and enjoy more in retrospect than consistently throughout reading it.
cachrisgalloway's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
hugo_ldc's review against another edition
4.0
Colossal reading...
Immersive and disruptive at the same time.
Random stories somehow connected by an apparent illogical line, supported by an ingenious writing.
It’s not about the story, but about the way it’s told. If we can find it, we can start enjoy the world hidden beneath the words.
It takes some courage and bravery to finish this book, but I still think it worths all the hours spent.
Immersive and disruptive at the same time.
Random stories somehow connected by an apparent illogical line, supported by an ingenious writing.
It’s not about the story, but about the way it’s told. If we can find it, we can start enjoy the world hidden beneath the words.
It takes some courage and bravery to finish this book, but I still think it worths all the hours spent.
morgandief13020's review against another edition
DNF, couldn’t get into it. Might try again at some point.
mokey4's review against another edition
5.0
I give it 4 1/2 stars. I loved reading this book, even though it took months and I would sometimes go for a week without getting very far and there were so many characters and plots that I would forget what had happened and get confused. This book does not follow a linear narrative, it can be hard to follow. But the characters are real, the stories are amazing, and the writing is excellent. I feel like a better person for having read this book. The Bronx, Lenny Bruce, the shot heard round the world, it reads like a lesson in american culture with a little politics thrown in.