The Understory is the debut novel by American author Pamela Erens published in 2007 by Ironweed Press, and republished in 2014 by Tin House Books following the success of her second novel, The Virgins.

[2] The story concerns Jack Gorse, a lonely unemployed lawyer with obsessive-compulsive traits[3] whose life is controlled with routine and ritual.

His routine in Manhattan includes visiting the same diner and bookstore every day and walking the same route to Brooklyn Bridge and through Central Park whilst searching for identical twins.

But his equilibrium is upset when he is threatened with eviction from his long-term Upper West Side apartment and he becomes attracted to Patrick, the architect planning its redevelopment.

As explained by the protagonist whilst considering the flora of Central Park: What speaks to me most is close to the ground: the shrubs and vines, rather than the great elms, oaks, and maples.