Before I met my husband, I was not a reader of Science Fiction. He not-so-gently introduced me to the genre with Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game and William Gibson’s Neuromancer. I haven’t looked back.
While my husband has done most of the introductions of scifi writers into our reading lives, I like to take credit for bringing one great author onto our “must read” list: Neal Stephenson. I don’t recall whether a friend recommended the book or I heard a review on NPR or I just picked up the book at a bookstore, but Stephenson’s Snow Crash was a roller coaster ride of a book that grabbed me from the get-go. I wanted more and soon read Zodiac then later Cryptonomicon.
Stephenson’s work has gotten longer, deeper, and more philosophical while retaining the action. Snow Crash and Zodiac, earlier works, are heavily on the scifi action end - not exactly fluff and certainly not cheesy but driven more by the action than by the characters' thoughts. They're relatively short, fast reads. Cryptonomicon trended more thoughtful, relied less on constant action to drive the reader on, and was a more difficult read for me as a result. Stephenson's latest work, Anathem, is no exception to the trend.
At about 953 pages, the book was a smooth, engaging read (far more so than the comparably sized Moby Dick, which I finished over Christmas. Bleh). Like Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, I initially was unable to get into the book fully, but the effort was worth it. Anathem takes place in a world similar to our own but with its own vocabulary. For about the first 100 pages, I felt I was constantly referring to the glossary Stephenson kindly included at the back, which was mildly irritating. Once I inevitably got caught up in the storyline, in the worldview of the characters, especially of the protagonist Erasmus, and in the characters’ adventures, the weird words all suddenly didn't matter. They didn't always make instant sense, but I couldn't tear myself away from the page to flip to the glossary!
The book isn’t all adventure, though. While Stephenson has honed his ability to keep readers on the edge of their seats, this book is as much about philosophy as it is about typical scifi action. As a philosophy minor in college, I found the book refreshed my recollection of ideas I hadn’t (at least consciously and actively) thought about in some time. For anyone familiar with basic concepts of Philosophy – from the classic Platonic ideals to modern theories of consciousness and knowledge – this book will ring those same bells.
It was so enjoyable that I may have to hit some more Stephenson. I’ve been putting off reading his Baroque Cycle (which dear hubby greatly enjoyed) for some time. It’s three times as long as Anathem and, apparently, just as philosophical, but I think it’s time!
100. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
99. The Cat Who Covered the World by Christopher S. Wren
98. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
97. Emily the Strange by Anonymous
96. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
1 comment:
My lovely wife left out another good one from Stephenson-- the most comparable of his previous works to Anathem-- The Diamond Age. Neal Stephenson is definitely one of my favorite authors ever, and I immensely enjoyed Anathem, precisely for the reason that NSTAHM writes about-- the philosophy. The action is always good, too. Stephenson honed that aspect his writing early on.
The Baroque cycle is less philosophical but actually more discursive than Anathem. Anyone seeking an introduction to Stephenson should start with Snow Crash, move on to The Diamond Age and perhaps Cryptonomicon, then Anathem, then the Baroque Cycle.
Thank you to whomever introduced us to him.
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