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dogofthesun 's review for:
Underworld
by Don DeLillo
okay. some things are true about this novel: it's a bit dense, the characters aren't good or ideal people (and there's nothing wrong with that in my humble opinion), the plot seems to lose itself from time to time, it's longer than it should be, and yes, it's a bit vulgar.
but every single good thing is also true. it's a novel of warning: it speaks of waste, the accumulation of garbage, the ever increasing onset of nuclear weaponry, the stupidity of capitalism, the validity of art in the shape of death and landscapes, and overall, of how every single human being plays a role in the life of every other, of how a moment of hesitation, consideration, compassion or malice can change the way the world spins, just like that, and there's no way for us to know.
there are a couple gripes i have, however. first, a couple parts do nothing for the plot. the Bronzini chapters in part 2 are irrelevant, and so are Klara's in part 4 (excepting the very last time she shows up). some parts are longer than they should be despite being very well written. at some points it feels like Delillo wants to tackle racism but he falls superbly flat, because all that happens is that either a black character speaks on something that genuinely affects black people and the other characters do not give it any consideration and neither does the narrator; or, he shows a scene of protest of the Civil Rights Movement and a character suffers police brutality but that character is never seen again despite the fact that we know they're very much alive, as if the consequences for the parties involved in such an act are just pushed aside and never again discussed. it feels so weird because Delillo isn't dumb, he could've done a much better job at it if he truly wanted to.
everything else that i did enjoy, i enjoyed a lot. my favorite parts were the epilogue (best part of the book by far, especially the billboard section), whenever Ismael Muñoz showed up, and the standups of Lenny Bruce. i would recommend this novel if you're into a bit of cynical realism during the Cold War and like points of nuclear proliferation and the futility of capital. i swear, it's a good novel even if it slogs at some points, and the good parts are good enough to make me give it four stars despite its flaws. and the writing is absolutely superb in every page, do not doubt me there.
but every single good thing is also true. it's a novel of warning: it speaks of waste, the accumulation of garbage, the ever increasing onset of nuclear weaponry, the stupidity of capitalism, the validity of art in the shape of death and landscapes, and overall, of how every single human being plays a role in the life of every other, of how a moment of hesitation, consideration, compassion or malice can change the way the world spins, just like that, and there's no way for us to know.
there are a couple gripes i have, however. first, a couple parts do nothing for the plot. the Bronzini chapters in part 2 are irrelevant, and so are Klara's in part 4 (excepting the very last time she shows up). some parts are longer than they should be despite being very well written. at some points it feels like Delillo wants to tackle racism but he falls superbly flat, because all that happens is that either a black character speaks on something that genuinely affects black people and the other characters do not give it any consideration and neither does the narrator; or, he shows a scene of protest of the Civil Rights Movement and a character suffers police brutality but that character is never seen again despite the fact that we know they're very much alive, as if the consequences for the parties involved in such an act are just pushed aside and never again discussed. it feels so weird because Delillo isn't dumb, he could've done a much better job at it if he truly wanted to.
everything else that i did enjoy, i enjoyed a lot. my favorite parts were the epilogue (best part of the book by far, especially the billboard section), whenever Ismael Muñoz showed up, and the standups of Lenny Bruce. i would recommend this novel if you're into a bit of cynical realism during the Cold War and like points of nuclear proliferation and the futility of capital. i swear, it's a good novel even if it slogs at some points, and the good parts are good enough to make me give it four stars despite its flaws. and the writing is absolutely superb in every page, do not doubt me there.