What is this board's consensus on this book? or just Don

What do you think about Underworld?

Admittedly it's been about a decade since I read it, so the specifics are a little hazy, but I remember liking it a lot.

>>9256857
I have only read White Noise, and am wondering in what direction to go in with Don Delillo's stuff. I've heard Libra and Underworld are two of his other best works, are they worth reading if i liked White Noise?

i haven't read his 'major' works but i liked libra and mao ii a lot.

>>9256850

I like his work. He writes about people caught up in systems - like Ballard without the sense of cold dread that often encompasses his work.

DeLillo recognises people are people first and foremost and therefore act like people regardless of what situation they face. The abstractions of modern life complicate things resulting in foibles and whatever topics he decides his books should cover.

White Noise is all about fear. Not the Immigrants Are Coming For Your Jobs type fear, rather the fear of a lack of social status. It's basically a comic jab at the bullshit American middle-classes swallowed in the 80s.

Two major themes of the book are fear of death (the airborne toxicity event) and fear of social humiliation (the fact the dude tries to hide the fact he can't speak German despite teaching Hitler Studies).

And yeah, it's easily his most 'enjoyable' book.

>>9256865

Yeah, they are my dude. Underworld is phenomenal but long and winding. Libra is a decent size too but it's much easier to read.

>>9256850

The fuck does it matter? It's the same as any other novel or author: some hate it, some like it.

>>9256850
I loved White Noise when I read it ages ago. The Body Artist was a bit 'wat'. Haven't read anything else by him, but have Underworld on my bookshelf.

Is Mao II any good?

>>9256877
White Noise was an easier read than I expected, is Underworld a ""hard"" read?

Love his earlier work. Hate his later work.

>>9256898
Nah, his prose is more refined in Underworld which leads to some breathtaking passages, but it can drag. I feel like he could have shaved a good 150 pages and still have made his statement.

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opinions on this? i read it last week and enjoyed it more than i expected (id heard that his recent stuff was difficult to enjoy if you werent a big delillo fan already). the prose was fantastic and the contrast between the 24 hour psycho chapters and the desert chapters worked so well.