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Book Review of The Big U

The Big U
The Big U
Author: Neal Stephenson
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
jeffp avatar reviewed on + 201 more book reviews


The Big U is a farcical view of college. The setting is a major urban university. The entire place is contained in one vast building - the plex - in which myriad crazy things happen.

Stephenson's writing is light, even when things take a serious twist. His vision of human affairs in the vast place he describes is both funny and poignant. Things just happen here, usually with no repercussions. Pianos are thrown onto distant roofs, people are factionalized in crazy ways, drugs and booze run rampant, and actions rarely have any basis in reality.

Be sure to avoid the Crotobaltislavonians!