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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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 Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 3:47 am Post subject: |
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For the fans of Neal Stephenson, I'll be bringing The Big U, one of his early works.
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Neal Stephenson's ethnological imagination makes hash of the usual campus clans, clones and clowns in The Big U. A month by month deconstruction of the not-so-typical academic year in a very typical Midwestern University, The Big U is probably most interesting to three different groups: Neal Stephenson's readers, readers of academic satire, and anyone traumatized by a college experience in the '80's.
Stephenson readers may be most disappointed in the tenor of the book. Although it doesn't live up to the standards of his later novels, however, The Big U is a microscopic look at the germs of ideas that Stephenson more fully developed in Snow Crash. Most notable of these: the Worm, a powerful computer virus that only one Ubergeek can successfully battle. But the very elements most interesting to Stephenson fans may baffle fans of academic satire, who would probably prefer a straightforward romp, such as Jane Smiley's Moo U.
This novel cannot be evaluated outside of the context of the 1980's, when the words "date rape" were just beginning to be uttered. In colleges across the midwest, the world was divided between the Reaganites and those who lived in constant awareness that Missouri housed at least 165 nuclear missiles. Something called AIDS hit the news, and there were some projections that huge numbers of the general population would be dead in 10 years. Anybody who knew what a mouse was was automatically a geek and proud to be one. The Big U is probably most valuable for its sociological grasp of all the factions and campus groups coming to a head in that time.
Because I am a Neal Stephenson reader, a fan of academic satire and a survivor of the '80's, I found The Big U a wonderful read, and couldn't put it down. I liked the characters all the way through, stayed interested in the plot, and couldn't wait to find out what happened. I wasn't disappointed, but did find some of the scenes a bit violent. Thus, the four-star rating. |
From Amazon.com reader |
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Harpeau
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
Location: Coquitlam, BC
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| Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 7:43 am Post subject: |
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| Should be a good aft. |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:02 am Post subject: |
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| Don't forget, it's tomorrow. |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 4:50 am Post subject: |
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| It's this Sunday |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 1:19 am Post subject: |
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| bump directions in first post |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 1:10 pm Post subject: |
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| this Sunday |
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crusher_of_heads
Joined: 23 Feb 2007
Location: kimbop and kimchi for kimberly!!!!
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| Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Got it! |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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| bump |
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Okibum
Joined: 28 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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| I will be there. |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:37 am Post subject: |
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| Coming up on the 13th( a week away)--I won't be there as I am heading to Thailand tomorrow. |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:54 pm Post subject: |
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| bump |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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| This Sunday |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:34 am Post subject: |
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| bump |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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| See you there |
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lawyertood
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul, Incheon and the World--working undercover for the MOJ
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Another reminder |
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