Book Review
Sep. 21st, 2010 11:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariQuicksilver
by Neal Stephenson
This is the first volume of the epic Baroque Cycle, and I really enjoyed it. It's set mostly in the 1680s, primarily in England and the Netherlands. It's a very long book, with a large cast and an immense amount of plot, which, rather than rendering it cumbersome, made it fascinating.
The first section centers around Daniel Waterhouse, Puritan scholar and aspiring Natural Philosopher, following him as he goes from Cambridge scholar to member of the Royal Society and courtier. He is a colleague of Hooke, Newton, Wilkins, Huygens, and Leibniz. Daniel's story allows for a really interesting exploration of early science and scientists. In school, I remember learning about these men, and they were presented as sober, rational, and methodical Men of Science. Stephenson portrays them as having a bit of the mad scientist about them, thinking up wild experiments and then enthusiastically carrying them out. It's all a lot of fun to read about. I also liked the way Stephenson looks at the intersection of scientific discovery and politics, an issue that is certainly still relevant today. Daniel is also a very sympathetic character, intelligent, humane, and engaging.
The second section is almost like plunging into a completely different novel. This time it's a picaresque adventure featuring the Vagabond Half-Cocked Jack and former harem slave Eliza. Jack is entirely entertaining in his roguishness, and Eliza proves to be extremely sharp and focused. The two of them meet up at the siege of Vienna and end up traveling together across Europe, eventually reaching Amsterdam. There Eliza becomes a skillful manipulator of the new stock markets and financial trading, making a lot of money in the process. I think there is a parallel being set up between physical adventuring and financial adventuring, which is a neat commentary on the development of modern finance and business.
The final section of the book pulls the first two sections together a bit, as Daniel and Eliza are linked through their friendship with Leibniz, and their separate involvements with the politics leading up to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Although Daniel And Eliza share the stage for only two brief scenes, there are a lot of parallels between their respective narrative trajectories. a lot of threads get bound together, but without resolution, since this is the first of three novels.
Quicksilver is a particular delight for a rather nerdy person like me. The novel not only has great characters and a compelling plot, it also contains cool intellectual digression and clever wit. There's a wonderful explanation of calculus, several geometrical diagrams, and illuminating discussion of certain aspects of the work of Newton, Hooke, and Leibniz. Stephenson also includes humorous anachronistic references to things such as Spinal Tap and memorable quotes from recent presidential debates. These could have ended up being annoying, but Stephenson has the right sense of timing and placement to make them highly amusing.
by Neal Stephenson
This is the first volume of the epic Baroque Cycle, and I really enjoyed it. It's set mostly in the 1680s, primarily in England and the Netherlands. It's a very long book, with a large cast and an immense amount of plot, which, rather than rendering it cumbersome, made it fascinating.
The first section centers around Daniel Waterhouse, Puritan scholar and aspiring Natural Philosopher, following him as he goes from Cambridge scholar to member of the Royal Society and courtier. He is a colleague of Hooke, Newton, Wilkins, Huygens, and Leibniz. Daniel's story allows for a really interesting exploration of early science and scientists. In school, I remember learning about these men, and they were presented as sober, rational, and methodical Men of Science. Stephenson portrays them as having a bit of the mad scientist about them, thinking up wild experiments and then enthusiastically carrying them out. It's all a lot of fun to read about. I also liked the way Stephenson looks at the intersection of scientific discovery and politics, an issue that is certainly still relevant today. Daniel is also a very sympathetic character, intelligent, humane, and engaging.
The second section is almost like plunging into a completely different novel. This time it's a picaresque adventure featuring the Vagabond Half-Cocked Jack and former harem slave Eliza. Jack is entirely entertaining in his roguishness, and Eliza proves to be extremely sharp and focused. The two of them meet up at the siege of Vienna and end up traveling together across Europe, eventually reaching Amsterdam. There Eliza becomes a skillful manipulator of the new stock markets and financial trading, making a lot of money in the process. I think there is a parallel being set up between physical adventuring and financial adventuring, which is a neat commentary on the development of modern finance and business.
The final section of the book pulls the first two sections together a bit, as Daniel and Eliza are linked through their friendship with Leibniz, and their separate involvements with the politics leading up to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Although Daniel And Eliza share the stage for only two brief scenes, there are a lot of parallels between their respective narrative trajectories. a lot of threads get bound together, but without resolution, since this is the first of three novels.
Quicksilver is a particular delight for a rather nerdy person like me. The novel not only has great characters and a compelling plot, it also contains cool intellectual digression and clever wit. There's a wonderful explanation of calculus, several geometrical diagrams, and illuminating discussion of certain aspects of the work of Newton, Hooke, and Leibniz. Stephenson also includes humorous anachronistic references to things such as Spinal Tap and memorable quotes from recent presidential debates. These could have ended up being annoying, but Stephenson has the right sense of timing and placement to make them highly amusing.
