Length is not a function of depth. In this book DeLillo adds a few hundred pages to the somewhat interesting postmodernist take on reality he presented in his more imaginative novel, White Noise. Indeed, since the plots of these novels are similar, there is no excuse for reading Underworld. This does not, however, imply that there is an excuse for reading the other novel. But, if you're looking for something new to read, you could do worse than a 2-star novelist like DeLillo, who is at least trying to be meaningfully relevant.