Underworld Lit

by Srikanth Reddy

Simultaneously funny and frightful, Srikanth Reddy's Underworld Lit is a multiverse quest through various cultures' realms of the dead. Couched in a literature professor's daily mishaps with family life and his sudden reckoning with mortality, this adventurous serial prose poem moves from the college classroom to the oncologist's office to the mythic underworlds of Mayan civilization, the ancient Egyptian place of judgment and rebirth, the infernal court of Qing dynasty China, and beyond—testing readers along with the way with diabolically demanding quizzes. It unsettles our sense of home as it ferries us back and forth across cultures, languages, epochs, and the shifting border between the living and the dead.

Genres: Poetry, Adult, Fiction, School, Fantasy, Horror

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2020

About the author

Srikanth Reddy is the author of Underworld Lit (Wave Books, 2020), Voyager—named one of the best books of poetry in 2011 by The New Yorker, The Believer, and NPR—and Facts for Visitors, which won the 2005 Asian American Literary Award. He has written on poetry for The New York Times and The New Republic, and his book of literary criticism, Changing Subjects: Digressions in Modern American Poetry, was published by Oxford University Press in 2012. The NEA, the Creative Capital Foundation, and the Guggenheim Foundation have awarded him grants and fellowships, and in Fall 2015, he delivered the Bagley Wright Lectures in Poetry. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the doctoral program in English at Harvard University, he is currently an Associate Professor of English at the University of Chicago.

Reviews

[S P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reasons to enjoy this book: it's a hybrid, serial collection of prose-poetry, pictures and quizzes; it's genuinely funny and witty; it's the poetry approximation of a postmodern 'college-campus' novel; it's an inspired book that plays with the idea of translation and rebirth; it focuses on the character of a college literary professor struggling with the banality of teaching, and his simultaneous experiences with cancer and depression; it juxtaposes this narrative with Chen's multiverse quest through the mystical underworlds of Mayan, Egyptian and Chinese mythology; in the combination of these imaginative, zany adventures Reddy touches upon a range of moments and movements, ferrying us across ideas of home, safety, language, the borderland between the living and the dead.

[Allison Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inventive, engaging, strange, funny

[Molly ripa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Combined my love of multiple choice assessments and death.

[Hulttio · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting novella-length ‘prose poem’ by Srikanth Reddy, Underworld Lit is a delightful mix of ramblings adjacent to academia, underworld mythology, and the spaces between family and mortality. I was drawn to this book by the frequent interruptions of ‘quizzes’, which were presumably provided by the main character, a literary professor, to his students. The narrative is told as a mix of the professor’s story and that of the ‘weird or strange’ Chinese text that he is translating, a surreal adventure that happens to a certain time-and-space-traveling administrative functionary named Chen.

It is safe to say that this is unlike anything else I have read. And yet it managed to charm and hook me completely into finishing it over the course of two afternoons. The characters and the plot aren’t necessarily that strong; since it’s a poem, there is a lot more in the way of atmosphere and ambiance than there is in character development or narrative progression. At its core, its an examination of the feelings that surround you when something akin to the events in the book happen—that is to say, the nature of mortality, grief, and struggling to find your place, with a dash of cosmic justice in for good measure.

I am glad I was able to get this with interlibrary loan. I don’t think the experience of reading the ebook provides quite the same experience, because of the nature of the mixed materials involved. There were several images of an old French translation or the original Chinese text displayed alongside the standard English accompaniment (not necessarily its translation). I am impressed by how much I was able to get the sense of dread and reluctant acceptance that one finds so often in academia and those who are suffused with it. Moreover, the elements of underworld mythology were at the same time familiar and excitingly new—I did not know much about (indigenous) American underworld stories, for example. This is one of those books that is a rare mix of all the right things that appeal to me as an individual, so I can’t say if this will work for everyone—but if any of the aspects of the blurb call to you, give it a try.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

GOT ONE LAST BOOK IN BEFORE THE NEW YEAR

4.5/5

This book is wacky and witty and smart and filled with pretty sentences all interconnected and layered, and it makes me realize how I’ve missed reading poetry where each and every word is incredibly thoughtfully chosen.

I guess a star down because there wasn’t too much to say in the way of the characters? A weird eclectic cast for sure. The plot was funky and while I liked the writing on a line and chapter level, overall I felt kinda lost by what was going on, especially since at some level the story just IS kinda absurd. I did really like the motorized staircase and Mira and Chen’s repeat motifs, and the twins with their weird ritual and revenge (?), and the professor’s weird “underworld lit” quiz-like chapters.

[mwana]

I've seen this in a comment section where the user recommended this as what we wished Katabasis was. Adding this note so I don't come back months from now wondering why this is on my tbr.

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quietly surreal little novel about death, reincarnation, the hellscape that is academia under capitalism, occasional interludes of exam questions and academic correspondence. Picked this up remaindered from a local bookstore, and for that, was absolutely worth it.

[Jed · Rating 5 out of 5]

interview tk @fullstopmag

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darn! I read this book a month ago and wrote a review and somehow managed not to submit or save it. In any case, Underworld Lit is a very funny book, one that had me laughing out loud. It is also a page turner, thanks to the contrasting threads of narrative. I HAD to find out what happens to the contemporary narrator, a literature professor who gets a cancer diagnosis at the same time that he might lose his job. Domestic life (such as scenes with the daughter Mira) is rendered with tenderness and humility, and the satire of academia is acute and (sadly) not far-fetched. Underworld Lit is also compendium of forms, including quizzes, sight gags, letters, and documents in other languages. I need to read the book again to appreciate the travel into the literature of the dead of other civilizations, and I will, because, like the best novels, this book's carefully constructed layers reward re-reading. I predict I'll be swept away again by the tone that binds this book, that makes it whole: an attitude both sincere and keen, like the edge of knife and a wail of grief.

[Diana Arterian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've tumbled out the other side of this book totally amazed. Reddy touches on so many themes: illness, translation, death, underworlds, the academy. The ways in which these concerns coalesce is with a remarkable patience. The pace is measured, almost stately—yet I found myself completely rapt. A compelling, novel book in its form and approach to, ultimately, anxiety in the face of mortality—and what it threatens.

[Benjamin Niespodziany · Rating 4 out of 5]

From classroom to household to belly of the underworld, this book-length poem (split up into prose blocks arranged by school quarters) feels like a syllabus, a pop quiz, a doctor's appointment, and a quiet Sunday rolled into one. To call it a whirlwind is an understatement.

[juch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rly liked this book but don’t feel super motivated to review it, wonder what that says about my zest for life?? I guess I’m just tired from traveling. Anyway great great premise, loved the magical realism based in various traditions around the underworld, loved what he did w the exam format and feel inspired to write by that, loved the stuff about his daughter and childhood tho found some other elements of his personal life less compelling. All in all so fun and rich, I’ve been on such a great streak reading narrative but experimental poetry

There’s an underlying question of, what to do w the guilt and responsibility of being a citizen of the US that’s so painful rn, I wonder if I wanted a lil more on that? Or like it felt most live earlier in the book around Guatemala. Felt like it got carried forward in Chen’s official role/failure to stop some massacre during late imperial China but actually didn’t want this theme to be generalized beyond the US - like at the end of the day, it’s the US we’re talking about. Gonna read the popol vuh!

[Matt Maielli · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In this course, students will be ferried across the river of sorrow, subsist on a diet of clay, weigh their hearts on a feather against the infernal balance, and ascend a viewing pagoda in order to gaze upon their homelands until emptied of all emotion. … The goals of the seminar are to introduce students to the posthumous disciplinary regimes of various cultures, and to help them develop the communication skills that are crucial for success in today’s global marketplace.”

not for everyone, but certainly for me. Haven’t devoured a book like this in awhile, let alone a book of poetry. Loved the extremely dry humor about academia and death. Really 3 different books, which seems to be Reddy’s MO, but I didn’t mind. Wish the multi-underworld trek was novel-length, but it all blends beautifully.

[Alex Nonymous · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Underworld Lit in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not even going to pretend I fully understood this book because it's far, far, more intelligent than me, but it was a good read nonetheless. Following a university professor between his classroom to his house to the oncologists and various underworlds and told in prose, facts, and quizzes, this is a truly unique book.

At times incredibly comedic, always incredibly contemplative, you'll never find anything quite like this.

[Sayuri Conley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if the author looks at reviews on goodreads, but I wanted to let you know that I read this as an assigned text for a university class on underworld literature! It was definitely difficult to grasp the concepts in this book at first, and I had to read it twice, but once I understood what was happening, I could appreciate the intricacies and depth of this story. The way the story is structured is artistic and innovative. It has plenty of comedy too that I actually shared with my friends.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

God. This is a perfect book.

[Margarita A]

This completely original book of poems with its wit and serious humor was a such a gift to read during a time when I was feeling stagnant and uninspired.

[JLucasey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just didn’t appeal to me at all.

[sushiladybug · Rating 4 out of 5]

It made me LOL it made me T_T because of its sublime use of language. Srikanth Reddy is my favorite poet.

[Andrew Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very weird book. But in a good way. Fun mix of prose and poetry. Interesting setting. Almost reminded me of Marquez.

[Marshall Woodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the premise and it started with so much clever energy that ended up being hard to sustain / follow. Still an amazing template for genre defying poetics

[ironinas · Rating 5 out of 5]

clever and thought-provoking romp through the dantesque realms of academia and the afterlife