Underworld

De: Don DeLillo

Narrado por: Richard Poe

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
Finalist for the National Book Award
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award
Winner of the Howell’s Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
One of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books

“A great American novel, a masterpiece, a thrilling page-turner.” —San Francisco Chronicle

*With a new preface by Don DeLillo on the 25th anniversary of publication*

Don DeLillo's mesmerizing novel was a major bestseller when it was published in 1997 and was the most widely reviewed novel of the year. It opens with a legendary baseball game played between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants in 1951. The home run that won the game was called the Shot Heard Round the World, and was shadowed by the terrifying news that on the same day, Russia tested its first hydrogen bomb. Underworld then tells the story of Klara Sax and Nick Shay, and of a half century of American life during the Cold War and beyond.

“A dazzling, phosphorescent work of art.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“This is a novel that draws together baseball, the Bomb, J. Edgar Hoover, waste disposal, drugs, gangs, Vietnam, fathers and sons, comic Lenny Bruce and the Cuban Missile Crisis. It also depicts passionate adultery, weapons testing, the care of aging mothers, the postwar Bronx, '60s civil rights demonstrations, advertising, graffiti artists at work, Catholic education, chess and murder. There's a viewing of a lost Eisenstein film, meditations on the Watts Tower, an evening at Truman Capote's Black & White Ball, a hot-air balloon ride, serial murders in Texas, a camping trip in the Southwest, a nun on the Internet, reflections on history, one hit (or possibly two) by the New York mob and an apparent miracle. As DeLillo says and proves, ‘Everything is connected in the end.’" —Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Book World

“Underworld is an amazing performance, a novel that encompasses some five decades of history, both the hard, bright world of public events and the more subterranean world of private emotions. It is the story of one man, one family, but it is also the story of what happened to America in the second half of the 20th century.” —The New York Times

“Astonishing…A benchmark of twentieth-century fiction, Underworld is stunningly beautiful in its generous humanity, locating the true power of history not in tyranny, collective political movements or history books, but inside each of us.” —Greg Burkman, The Seattle Times

“It’s hard to imagine a way people might better understand American life in the second half of the twentieth century and beginning of the twenty-first than by reading Don DeLillo. The scale of his inquiry is global and historic… His work is astounding, made of stealthy blessings… it proves to my generation of writers that fiction can still do anything it wants.” —Jennifer Egan, in her presentation of the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters

“Underworld is a page-turner and a masterwork, a sublime novel and a delight to read.” —Joan Mellen, The Baltimore Sun

Great storytelling, fluid prose, snappy dialog

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. There are many different characters in this long novel and Delillo interweaves their stories brillianly. They keep popping up at unexpected and yet absolutely correct spots in the novel.

I don't know of another writer who writes better dialog than Don Delillo.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Underworld?

As another reviewer noted, the long opening set piece in the Polo Grounds during the final 1951 national league playoff game between the Giants and the Dodgers is truely great writing. Delillo's imagined banter among Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason and Toots Shor, who in reality did attend the playoff game together, is very, very funny.

What does Richard Poe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

There is a great deal of sparkling dialog in the novel and Richard Poe does an excellent job in giving each character his or her own voice. I especially enjoyed his rendering of Marv Lundy, the retired sports memorabilia collector. Almost everying that Marv says sounds off the wall, yet hilarious. You don't get the full effect without Richard Poe's voice inflections.

If you could rename Underworld, what would you call it?

I wouldn't rename it. I like Delillo's metaphor. No matter how deeply you bury nuclear or other toxic waste, eventually some of it is bound to rise to the surface. So too, no matter how far under the surface emotional pain and trauma is buried, it still has a great deal to do with what we do and who we are.

Any additional comments?

This is a great novel with snappy, yet absolutely authentic-sounding dialog.

Delillo and King

Reminded me of King's The Stand. Found an article comparing Delillo's White Noise to King's Roadwork. As well an interview where Delillo lists King as a major influence.

Thank You

One of the peaks of contemporary literature, rendered perfectly by master narrator Richard Poe, who will always be the voice of Delillo for me. Thank you for bringing this beautiful work of art to life.

Complex

I found this novel to be a complex marathon of stories set in the second part of XX Century America. While the tread of the story seems to follow a set of characters, the truth is that there is no single story been narrated but a collection of them. Characters come and go as the book matures and then are lost in the maze of the timeline. I liked the book but I failed to grasp its greatness.

Don Delillo's Best, Flawlessly read

Would you listen to Underworld again? Why?

Absolutely. In fact, I've gone back and re-listened to several chapters. It took me forever to get through this as I kept going back to savor passages.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Underworld?

The parts of a shoe, Matt's chats with his colleague at the desert lab, Clara Sax "ride" with her "childhood" friend, Nick's chat with his co-worker re: "dietrologia." DeLillo's overall fascination with language stirred me to many lookups. The sisters in the 'hood.

Which character – as performed by Richard Poe – was your favorite?

Like other male readers, he's weak on women. But his readings for Nick and the priest were my favorites.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just dread of the impending end. It's hard for me to break up with a book I love when I reach the end.

Any additional comments?

Just additional kudos to the reader. Nuance, accents (not overdone), Poe really evoked each character individually. His voice is narcotic with inducing sleep.

Great book and narration

Loved it. DeLillo is a master! Sprawling and engrossing tale that defies easy interpretation. Beautiful descriptive language.

riveting storytelling

DeLillo's gift for vivid description is wonderful. He makes the scene come alive. His work is like Proust with a plot.

Interconnection

Thing together disparate events and people over many decades. Philosophical approach to life’s joys and tragedies.

Masterful performance of a masterpiece

Underworld is a great book, a sprawling nonlinear narrative encompassing the great themes of the second half of the 20th century in America portrayed in the intimate lives of many characters. I read it when it first came out, and recently decided to listen to it on a long road trip. This performance is mesmerizing, Richard Poe always sounds as though he's speaking the words, not reading them, with variations appropriate to the many different characters. The audio quality on this recording is top notch as well, all around a very well done audiobook, highly recommended!

I love this audiobook

This is probably my favorite audiobook. DeLillo's gift for language is truly special, and nobody writes like he does in this book, which has an almost jazz-like quality. On a sentence by sentence level, reading (or listening) to this book is a pleasure. The story is absorbing at times, and it's engaging to piece together the ways the various characters are connected to each other--but really it's not about the story. It's about following some characters through the second half of the 20th century, getting hyper-convincing, often moving peaks into their lives and characers, and hearing, through them, some fascinating and moving reflections on a huge variety of important topics. Richard Poe reads this superb writing beautifully, and his performance of this book made him my absolute favorite narrator.

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys literary fiction. It's unforgettable.