The second and final DeLillo Underworld meeting is Tuesday, July 30 at the Tap (not Frank's). As best as I can tell, two of us have finished it (so far), while the rest of you dawdlers have been hanging out at the kickball Game of the Week. But come join us anyway. Chances are, we'll probably mostly talk about the impending PBR Book Club logo. You'll want to put your order in for a T-shirt and coozie.
Central questions: The title has a literal historical reference at one point (though it seems to be entirely fabricated) but how do various "underworlds" resonate throughout the novel?
and...
The phrase "everything is connected" pops up a few times: but which aspects of the novel are ultimately connected and which are not?
Drinking game if anyone is still plugging along in this sumbitch: Shotgun a PBR every time Lenny Bruce shouts, "We're all gonna die!!"
Research project: Is DeLillo's use of Lenny Bruce as a prophet figure modeled specifically on T.S. Eliot's use of Tiresias in The Waste Land? (there's an article about this somewhere...it makes more sense than you think).
Essential quotes?
"Everyday things represent the most overlooked knowledge."
"Todo y nada."
Next up:
August selection: David Benioff's City of Thieves.. B-Suit insists that it's awesome. It's about Russia. And eggs?
September selection: Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time. Yeah, it's hardly our usual fare, but if Read Across Lawrence AND KU's Common Book program are doing it, far be it from us to miss out on this sweet action and chances at publicity.
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