The novel “Anathem” by Neal Stephenson was published for the first time in 2008. It won the Locus Award as the best science fiction novel of the year.
Fraa Erasmas of the Concent of Saunt Edhar spends his life following the discipline of the avout, the intellectuals who isolate themselves from the outside world renouncing the use of almost all technologies. Also thanks to the guidance of his mentor Fraa Orolo, he tries to assimilate the teachings of the great Saunts of the past.
The activity of the concent is disturbed for reasons Fraa Erasmas doesn’t understand, with important consequences on several avouts. When he discovers that Fraa Orolo was keeping an eye on something in the sky, he ends up involved in a story that will have an impact that needs to be thoroughly assessed and that goes far beyond the planet Arbre.
Neal Stephenson takes us to the planet Arbre, in a sort of monastic community, although not of a religious nature, where the protagonist Fraa Erasmas recounts his studies in the first person. The first part of “Anathem” is mostly made up of philosophical and scientific discussions that may involve various fraa and even various suur, given that both men and women live in the concents. If you’re looking for action, you must decide whether you want to sit through some hundred pages in which very little happens.
The first part of “Anathem” is supposed to be used, so to speak, to acclimatize yourself to the culture of the planet Arbre and the knowledge of the era in which the novel is set. Immersing yourself in that world so similar to ours and at the same time so different is made more difficult by the fact that references such as names and terms may be strongly linked to Arbre. The consequence is that even readers who already have knowledge of quantum physics must interpret the discussions between avouts to understand their considerations on the possible existence of parallel worlds with different ramifications.
One could say that this characteristic is the strong point and at the same time the weak point of “Anathem” because Neal Stephenson doesn’t actually invent anything and just reproduces pieces of science and philosophy already existing but adapts them to the culture, language included, of another world. This means that the first hundreds of pages of the novel are in some ways dull but at the same time lead the reader to immerse themselves in the microcosm of the concent with its culture, learning its language.
It must be said that all the complexity at a philosophical and scientific level is not an end in itself. Readers who have the patience to interpret all the initial discussions and manage to immerse themselves in Arbre’s culture obtain the tools to understand everything that at a certain point starts happening. The pace starts accelerating and it’s even strange to move from intellectual discussions to sometimes frenetic action but these two parts are actually complementary.
The action goes hand in hand with the expansion of the setting, which starts going well beyond the Concent of Saunt Edhar. All of this is always seen from Fraa Erasmas’s point of view, with all the limitations that this implies. In particular, that’s functional to the development of the events but after hundreds of pages of discussions, I think it’s fine like this.
“Anathem” is a well-crafted novel with considerable insights into the plot’s central themes. However, precisely for this reason, it requires considerable effort from the reader. Neal Stephenson included a glossary and appendices to help the reader understand terms used on Arbre and scientific concepts. Due to its length and complexity, I recommend it to readers who are willing to slowly immerse themselves in another planet’s life and culture. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
