Cover of Underworld

Underworld

Don DeLillo, 1997

American novelist, born 1936. Won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1985.

Underworld is a 1997 novel by Don DeLillo. It was shortlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction in 1997.

Acclaimed
  • Critics' Darling

On 4 of the 18 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Don DeLillo
First published
1997
Length
832 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Literary fiction, Postmodern, Political

Is Underworld worth reading?

4 of the 18 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph) and the National Book Award for Fiction.

ListPlaceOriginal
100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph, 2009)No. 51See the list
National Book Award for Fiction (winners and finalists) (National Book Foundation, 1997)ShortlistSee the list
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (winners and finalists) (Columbia University, 1998)ShortlistSee the list
The 100 best novels written in English (The Guardian / Observer, 2015)ListedSee the list

Best edition of Underworld

The edition we link to is the Picador paperback (2022), 832 pages.

Publisher
Picador (paperback, 2022)
Pages
832
ISBN
9781529092097

How critics, prizes and readers rate Underworld

Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 44% of the points available on prize lists, against 17% on critics' lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
17%
Prizes
44%
Readers and booksellers
0%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like Underworld

If you liked Underworld, try White Noise, The Remains of the Day or The Accidental.

Lists used on this page