I’m moving house soon, so it’s time to re-read books and decide whether to keep them. ‘The Big U’ stands up well to a re-read, I must say. Neal Stephenson is a fantastic writer, so this wasn’t much of a surprise. ‘The Big U’ was his first novel and is quite different to his subsequent, often much longer works. It reminds me, in fact, of a mashup between the oeuvre of J.G. Ballard and the TV series Community. The Ballardian connection comes from the lead character being a structure rather than a person. Although the book is narrated by a junior academic, it is dominated by the Plex, a gargantuan university campus of high rise towers and dank basements, all linked by lifts. As in [b:High-Rise|12331767|High-Rise|J.G. Ballard|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358752559s/12331767.jpg|2270643], these structures precipitate an inexorable mental unravelling amongst their inhabitants. The institutions within the university (‘American Megaversity’) also have their place in the collapse into chaos, though, and individual responsibility isn’t ignored. The Community-esque elements are the ensemble cast of misfits thrown together and the humour of the whole thing. Said humour is extremely dark most of the time, to the point that the back cover compares it to [b:Catch-22|168668|Catch-22|Joseph Heller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463157317s/168668.jpg|814330]. I found the digs at various aspects of student life, Reaganomics, and the media very funny.

The novel is essentially a hyperbolic satire on the American education system. Amongst the bat infestations and 1980s supercomputers (which inevitably age the book slightly), though, there is a thoughtful examination of rape culture. The majority of the characters are male, but the main females Sarah and Hyacinth are handled very well. The ‘Nice Guy’ archetype is deconstructed effectively. The book could also be read as an acerbic comment on America’s obsession with guns, however I genuinely can’t tell whether it was intended as such. Few American authors seem to have much of a sense of irony about widespread gun ownership. Given that at one point a tank is driven through the Plex cafeteria, though, surely Stephenson does. Perhaps a more wide-ranging point about the violence simmering below daily life is being made. That and how easy it can be to improvise weapons with everyday objects.

My own university experience has (so far) been at a collegiate rather than campus institution, so the Plex seems like a dystopian horror structure to me. If you’ve lived in a monolithic block of student accommodation, it might seem more familiar. I love novels which use the idea of physical structures causing a vicious spiral of insane behaviour, which J.G. Ballard is of course famous for. ‘The Big U’ is an excellent entry into the sub-genre and I recommend it to anyone fond of black comedy, urban dystopias, and satires on student life. If you have a phobia of rats, however, read with care beyond the halfway mark. Finally, this novel could make a fantastic film and David Fincher should get on that immediately. ( )

I read this the summer before college, when I was reading every college-related book I could get my hands on. That ended up being mostly Big U (giddy, dark, ridiculous, and hilarious) and Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons (his disdain for his own characters dripped off every word).

Both very useful in my college life. Definitely. ( )

In the future, when an author thinks that his book isn't worth reading, I'm going to take his word for it. The Big U is too over the top to be an enjoyable, subtle satire of the large university life, although it had that potential in the beginning. On the other hand, the melodrama and large scale events are too trivial for the novel to be epic. The overall effect is pretty "meh."
The detail and fact finding that Stephenson is known for is all but absent in this book. The only signature Stephenson move that the Big U contains is the litany of story lines and multiple character narratives, but with uncharacteristic brevity and lack of details, the constant storyline switching is irritating and makes the novel shallower rather than deeper.
Also, Stephenson should know that his fans are the physics majors, hackers and LARPers of the universe and be a little more careful with the negative stereotyping ( )

He should have called it The Big Red Go Fan. That is what this book will always be to me. Like Snowcrash, I will never forget it. Unlike Snowcrash, I did not like it. I LOVED Snowcrash. There was little character development. Then, I want action. There was action, but it was very strange action, which is what one can expect from a Neal Stephenson novel. I don't even remember the end. I should read it again. But I just can't make myself read the last few pages so that I can finish this review. Then why did I give it four stars? Was it well written? Yes. Did it tell the story of a year in the big university? Yes. Four stars. Did it do everything a four-star book does and bring that something extra that makes this book stand out as great? No.
It was very clever. However, it was lost in too many characters and subplots, which were never resolved. ( )

um. What did I just read? ( )