36 Books like Underworld

Gravity’s Rainbow

by Thomas Pynchon • 1973

In wartime London, a lieutenant's affairs map onto missile strikes. Rival spy agencies want him.

4.02

49k+

🌀 Postmodern Epic 🕵️ Paranoid Conspiracy 🧩 Fragmented Narrative

Gravity’s Rainbow 92%

In wartime London, a lieutenant's affairs map onto missile strikes. Rival spy agencies want him.

by Thomas Pynchon 1973

4.02

49k+ ratings

🌀 Postmodern Epic 🕵️ Paranoid Conspiracy 🧩 Fragmented Narrative

Speedboat

by Renata Adler • 1976

A reporter drifts through parties, lovers, and city chaos, searching for whatever might hold weight.

3.75

8k+

🌀 Postmodern Fiction 🧩 Fragmented Narrative 🏙️ Urban Dislocation

Speedboat 92%

A reporter drifts through parties, lovers, and city chaos, searching for whatever might hold weight.

by Renata Adler 1976

3.75

8k+ ratings

🌀 Postmodern Fiction 🧩 Fragmented Narrative 🏙️ Urban Dislocation

by Thomas Pynchon • 1963

One man chases a woman who keeps appearing across history, each time less human than before.

3.97

26k+

🔍 Conspiracy Quest 🎭 Identity As Performance 🧿 Object Fetishism

V. 92%

One man chases a woman who keeps appearing across history, each time less human than before.

by Thomas Pynchon 1963

3.97

26k+ ratings

🔍 Conspiracy Quest 🎭 Identity As Performance 🧿 Object Fetishism

J R

by William Gaddis • 1975

From a payphone, a sixth-grader builds a paper empire that consumes a struggling composer.

4.32

4k+

📡 Postmodern Satire 🎨 Art Vs Commerce 🤝 Reluctant Accomplice

J R 91%

From a payphone, a sixth-grader builds a paper empire that consumes a struggling composer.

by William Gaddis 1975

4.32

4k+ ratings

📡 Postmodern Satire 🎨 Art Vs Commerce 🤝 Reluctant Accomplice

White Noise

by Don DeLillo • 1985

A chemical cloud, a wife's hidden pills, and a professor whose subject is death itself.

3.86

128k+

🎭 Postmodern Satire 🏫 Campus Novel 🛒 Consumer Culture

White Noise 90%

A chemical cloud, a wife's hidden pills, and a professor whose subject is death itself.

by Don DeLillo 1985

3.86

128k+ ratings

🎭 Postmodern Satire 🏫 Campus Novel 🛒 Consumer Culture

Vineland

by Thomas Pynchon • 1990

A hippie's welfare window jump hooks a fed and his daughter's hunt for her vanished mother.

3.75

18k+

🤣 Postmodern Satire 🕵️ Government Conspiracy 📹 Surveillance State

Vineland 90%

A hippie's welfare window jump hooks a fed and his daughter's hunt for her vanished mother.

by Thomas Pynchon 1990

3.75

18k+ ratings

🤣 Postmodern Satire 🕵️ Government Conspiracy 📹 Surveillance State

Infinite Jest

by David Foster Wallace • 1996

A lethal film, a mute tennis prodigy, a recovering addict, and an America addicted to distraction.

4.25

103k+

🗿 Postmodern Maximalism 💊 Addiction Recovery 🎾 Tennis Prodigy

Infinite Jest 90%

A lethal film, a mute tennis prodigy, a recovering addict, and an America addicted to distraction.

by David Foster Wallace 1996

4.25

103k+ ratings

🗿 Postmodern Maximalism 💊 Addiction Recovery 🎾 Tennis Prodigy

A Confederate General from Big Sur

by Richard Brautigan • 1964

A self-styled Confederate general drags a friend to Big Sur, chasing a ghost that never was.

3.99

4k+

🃏 Postmodern Picaresque 🚬 Bohemian Drifters 🎭 Self-Made Mythologies

A Confederate General from Big Sur Summary

A Confederate General from Big Sur 90%

A self-styled Confederate general drags a friend to Big Sur, chasing a ghost that never was.

by Richard Brautigan 1964

3.99

4k+ ratings

🃏 Postmodern Picaresque 🚬 Bohemian Drifters 🎭 Self-Made Mythologies

City of Glass

by Paul Auster • 1985

A mystery writer borrows a detective's name and shadows a mad linguist through New York.

3.75

24k+

🕵️ Philosophical Mystery 🎭 Dissolving Identity 🗺️ City As Labyrinth

City of Glass 90%

A mystery writer borrows a detective's name and shadows a mad linguist through New York.

by Paul Auster 1985

3.75

24k+ ratings

🕵️ Philosophical Mystery 🎭 Dissolving Identity 🗺️ City As Labyrinth

The Nix

by Nathan Hill • 2016

A failed novelist's vanished mother reappears by attacking a presidential candidate on camera.

4.08

87k+

🏡 Family Saga 💔 Generational Trauma 🚪 Parental Estrangement

The Nix 89%

A failed novelist's vanished mother reappears by attacking a presidential candidate on camera.

by Nathan Hill 2016

4.08

87k+ ratings

🏡 Family Saga 💔 Generational Trauma 🚪 Parental Estrangement

Moon Palace

by Paul Auster • 1989

As the world watches the moon landing, an orphaned student starves alone in New York.

3.98

30k+

🧒 Orphan Protagonist 🫂 Found Family 🤫 Family Secrets

Moon Palace 89%

As the world watches the moon landing, an orphaned student starves alone in New York.

by Paul Auster 1989

3.98

30k+ ratings

🧒 Orphan Protagonist 🫂 Found Family 🤫 Family Secrets

The Broom of the System

by David Foster Wallace • 1987

When her great-grandmother vanishes, a phone operator discovers that words are all she is.

3.85

25k+

🌀 Postmodern Fiction 🪞 Metafiction 🧠 Philosophical Fiction

The Broom of the System 89%

When her great-grandmother vanishes, a phone operator discovers that words are all she is.

by David Foster Wallace 1987

3.85

25k+ ratings

🌀 Postmodern Fiction 🪞 Metafiction 🧠 Philosophical Fiction

Moonglow

by Michael Chabon • 2016

A dying grandfather unearths a life of war, rockets, madness, and a love he never explained.

3.80

35k+

✍️ Fictionalized Memoir 🌳 Multigenerational Saga 🕯️ Deathbed Confessions

Moonglow 89%

A dying grandfather unearths a life of war, rockets, madness, and a love he never explained.

by Michael Chabon 2016

3.80

35k+ ratings

✍️ Fictionalized Memoir 🌳 Multigenerational Saga 🕯️ Deathbed Confessions

Open City

by Teju Cole • 2011

A psychiatrist walks Manhattan, collecting others' stories, until one makes him face his own.

3.49

18k+

🚶‍♂️ FlâNeur Fiction 🌏 Diaspora Fiction 🎭 Unreliable Narrator

Open City 89%

A psychiatrist walks Manhattan, collecting others' stories, until one makes him face his own.

by Teju Cole 2011

3.49

18k+ ratings

🚶‍♂️ FlâNeur Fiction 🌏 Diaspora Fiction 🎭 Unreliable Narrator

The Names

by Don DeLillo • 1982

An American risk analyst in Athens traces a cult whose murders obey the alphabet.

3.64

5k+

🧩 Postmodern Mystery 🔤 Alphabetical Murder 🔍 Cult Investigation

The Names 89%

An American risk analyst in Athens traces a cult whose murders obey the alphabet.

by Don DeLillo 1982

3.64

5k+ ratings

🧩 Postmodern Mystery 🔤 Alphabetical Murder 🔍 Cult Investigation

The Pale King

by David Foster Wallace • 2011

At an Illinois IRS center in 1985, surviving boredom may be the last heroic act.

3.97

20k+

🏢 Bureaucratic Dread 👁️ Attention As Redemption 🪞 Metafictional Narrative

The Pale King 89%

At an Illinois IRS center in 1985, surviving boredom may be the last heroic act.

by David Foster Wallace 2011

3.97

20k+ ratings

🏢 Bureaucratic Dread 👁️ Attention As Redemption 🪞 Metafictional Narrative

Mason & Dixon by Pynchon. Thomas ( 1998 ) Paperback

by Thomas Pynchon • 1997

Two surveyors draw a line across colonial America: the wilderness refuses to be measured.

4.15

13k+

🚶 Picaresque Journey 🤝 Odd Couple Partners 🔭 Science And Empire

Mason & Dixon by Pynchon. Thomas ( 1998 ) Paperback Summary

Mason & Dixon by Pynchon. Thomas ( 1998 ) Paperback 89%

Two surveyors draw a line across colonial America: the wilderness refuses to be measured.

by Thomas Pynchon 1997

4.15

13k+ ratings

🚶 Picaresque Journey 🤝 Odd Couple Partners 🔭 Science And Empire

Ada, or Ardor

by Vladimir Nabokov • 1969

At Ardis Hall, two cousins begin a forbidden affair of language, lust, and loss.

4.12

13k+

📚 Postmodern Literature 💔 Forbidden Love 🏡 Family Saga

Ada, or Ardor 89%

At Ardis Hall, two cousins begin a forbidden affair of language, lust, and loss.

by Vladimir Nabokov 1969

4.12

13k+ ratings

📚 Postmodern Literature 💔 Forbidden Love 🏡 Family Saga

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

by Jonathan Safran Foer • 2005

When his father dies on 9/11, a boy scours New York to find the lock a mysterious key opens.

3.97

437k+

📜 Post 9/11 Fiction 📄 Unusual Formatting 👦 Precocious Child Narrator

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Summary

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close 88%

When his father dies on 9/11, a boy scours New York to find the lock a mysterious key opens.

by Jonathan Safran Foer 2005

3.97

437k+ ratings

📜 Post 9/11 Fiction 📄 Unusual Formatting 👦 Precocious Child Narrator

Trust

by Hernan Diaz • 2022

A ghostwriter for a Jazz Age financier uncovers the story he paid to keep hidden.

3.80

179k+

📜 Competing Narratives 🖊️ Ghostwriting 🎺 Jazz Age New York

Trust 88%

A ghostwriter for a Jazz Age financier uncovers the story he paid to keep hidden.

by Hernan Diaz 2022

3.80

179k+ ratings

📜 Competing Narratives 🖊️ Ghostwriting 🎺 Jazz Age New York

Franny and Zoey

by J.D. Salinger • 1957

Sick of pretense, she collapses at lunch. Her brother must talk her back to the world.

3.96

242k+

🌀 Existential Crisis 👥 Sibling Bond 📚 Precocious Family

Franny and Zoey 88%

Sick of pretense, she collapses at lunch. Her brother must talk her back to the world.

by J.D. Salinger 1957

3.96

242k+ ratings

🌀 Existential Crisis 👥 Sibling Bond 📚 Precocious Family

Hocus Pocus

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. • 1990

Writing on scraps in a library turned prison, he counts his kills and his lovers.

3.83

36k+

🎭 Political Satire 📝 Fictional Memoir 🌀 Unreliable Narrator

Hocus Pocus 88%

Writing on scraps in a library turned prison, he counts his kills and his lovers.

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1990

3.83

36k+ ratings

🎭 Political Satire 📝 Fictional Memoir 🌀 Unreliable Narrator

Slaughterhouse-Five

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. • 1969

Billy Pilgrim drifts through time: the Dresden firebombing, an alien zoo, and his own murder.

4.10

1.5M+

🪖 Anti-War Novel 🔄 Nonlinear Narrative 🎭 Postmodern Fiction

Slaughterhouse-Five 88%

Billy Pilgrim drifts through time: the Dresden firebombing, an alien zoo, and his own murder.

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1969

4.10

1.5M+ ratings

🪖 Anti-War Novel 🔄 Nonlinear Narrative 🎭 Postmodern Fiction

Bleeding Edge

by Thomas Pynchon • 2013

A defrocked investigator follows a tech firm's money into a virtual underworld as catastrophe looms.

3.62

14k+

📖🔍 Postmodern Mystery 🗽 Pre-9/11 New York 👩‍💼 Female Investigator

Bleeding Edge 88%

A defrocked investigator follows a tech firm's money into a virtual underworld as catastrophe looms.

by Thomas Pynchon 2013

3.62

14k+ ratings

📖🔍 Postmodern Mystery 🗽 Pre-9/11 New York 👩‍💼 Female Investigator

Pnin

by Vladimir Nabokov • 1957

Professor Pnin takes the wrong train, loves the wrong woman, and outlives the right country.

3.87

30k+

🏫 Campus Novel 🧳 Exile Fiction 👨‍🏫 Awkward Professor

Pnin 88%

Professor Pnin takes the wrong train, loves the wrong woman, and outlives the right country.

by Vladimir Nabokov 1957

3.87

30k+ ratings

🏫 Campus Novel 🧳 Exile Fiction 👨‍🏫 Awkward Professor

Transcription

by Ben Lerner • 2026

A writer sets out to record his mentor, but without his phone, memory and invention blur.

3.88

10k+

🖋️ Literary Metafiction 🧬 Generational Trauma 🎓 Academic Mentorship

Transcription 88%

A writer sets out to record his mentor, but without his phone, memory and invention blur.

by Ben Lerner 2026

3.88

10k+ ratings

🖋️ Literary Metafiction 🧬 Generational Trauma 🎓 Academic Mentorship

The Topeka School

by Ben Lerner • 2019

A debate prodigy's weaponized words fail him when violence erupts in his 1990s Kansas community.

3.51

29k+

🖋️ Autofiction 🏘️ Midwestern Suburbia 🎤 High School Debate

The Topeka School 88%

A debate prodigy's weaponized words fail him when violence erupts in his 1990s Kansas community.

by Ben Lerner 2019

3.51

29k+ ratings

🖋️ Autofiction 🏘️ Midwestern Suburbia 🎤 High School Debate

Hopscotch

by Julio Cortázar • 1963

An Argentine in Paris obsesses over a woman whose intuition escapes his restless, overthinking mind.

4.20

50k+

🎭 Bohemian Expatriates 🚶 Existential Wandering 📖 Nonlinear Storytelling

Hopscotch 88%

An Argentine in Paris obsesses over a woman whose intuition escapes his restless, overthinking mind.

by Julio Cortázar 1963

4.20

50k+ ratings

🎭 Bohemian Expatriates 🚶 Existential Wandering 📖 Nonlinear Storytelling

Survivor

by Chuck Palahniuk • 1999

A cult survivor turned media star hijacks a plane to confess his life before it crashes.

3.93

125k+

🖤 Transgressive Fiction 🔥 Cult Survival 📺 Media Satire

Survivor 88%

A cult survivor turned media star hijacks a plane to confess his life before it crashes.

by Chuck Palahniuk 1999

3.93

125k+ ratings

🖤 Transgressive Fiction 🔥 Cult Survival 📺 Media Satire

Plowing the Dark

by Richard Powers • 2000

One artist, one hostage, two rooms: a novel about the stories we tell to survive.

3.65

1k+

🖥️ Virtual Reality 🔀 Parallel Narratives 🎨 Art And Technology

Plowing the Dark 88%

One artist, one hostage, two rooms: a novel about the stories we tell to survive.

by Richard Powers 2000

3.65

1k+ ratings

🖥️ Virtual Reality 🔀 Parallel Narratives 🎨 Art And Technology

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

by Milan Kundera • 1979

A dissident burns his letters, a widow chases hers, and a photograph holds a ghost.

3.94

55k+

🧠 Philosophical Fiction 🔗 Interlinked Stories 🗑️ Memory Erasure

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting Summary

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting 88%

A dissident burns his letters, a widow chases hers, and a photograph holds a ghost.

by Milan Kundera 1979

3.94

55k+ ratings

🧠 Philosophical Fiction 🔗 Interlinked Stories 🗑️ Memory Erasure

Mother Night

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. • 1961

A Nazi propagandist awaits trial in Jerusalem, but his deadliest performance was convincing himself.

4.24

108k+

🤥 Unreliable Narrator 🕵️ Double Agent 🖤 Darkly Comic

Mother Night 88%

A Nazi propagandist awaits trial in Jerusalem, but his deadliest performance was convincing himself.

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1961

4.24

108k+ ratings

🤥 Unreliable Narrator 🕵️ Double Agent 🖤 Darkly Comic

Truth in Advertising

by John Kenney • 2013

A copywriter who fakes sincerity for a living must finally show up for his dying father.

3.74

3k+

🎬 Advertising Satire 📖 Literary Satire 👴 Parental Estrangement

Truth in Advertising 88%

A copywriter who fakes sincerity for a living must finally show up for his dying father.

by John Kenney 2013

3.74

3k+ ratings

🎬 Advertising Satire 📖 Literary Satire 👴 Parental Estrangement

God Hates Us All

by Hank Moody • 2009

A cynical young man deals pot from the Chelsea Hotel, chasing love while avoiding adulthood.

3.46

5k+

🗽 Bohemian New York 💔 Toxic Love 😈 Dark Comedy

God Hates Us All 88%

A cynical young man deals pot from the Chelsea Hotel, chasing love while avoiding adulthood.

by Hank Moody 2009

3.46

5k+ ratings

🗽 Bohemian New York 💔 Toxic Love 😈 Dark Comedy

Invisible Man

by Ralph Ellison • 1952

He steals electricity and lives underground because the world above never learned to see him.

3.92

203k+

🎓 Bildungsroman 📚 African American Classic 🎭 Unnamed Narrator

Invisible Man 88%

He steals electricity and lives underground because the world above never learned to see him.

by Ralph Ellison 1952

3.92

203k+ ratings

🎓 Bildungsroman 📚 African American Classic 🎭 Unnamed Narrator

I the Supreme

by Augusto Roa Bastos • 1974

A lampoon on the cathedral door hurls an aging dictator into combat with his own double.

3.90

1k+

🏛️ Dictatorship Fiction 👁️ Paranoid Ruler 📜 Language And Power

I the Supreme 88%

A lampoon on the cathedral door hurls an aging dictator into combat with his own double.

by Augusto Roa Bastos 1974

3.90

1k+ ratings

🏛️ Dictatorship Fiction 👁️ Paranoid Ruler 📜 Language And Power

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