Anathem is a story set on another world where many people live out their lives as sort of scientist-philosopher-mathemetician monks who are cut off from the outside world for years at a time. “I think Anathem may be my favourite book of all time!” is what I said when I first read this Neal Stephenson novel a couple of years ago. Now that I’m a third of the way through it for a second time, I still think that. I also feel the need to defend it a little because it’s had a bit of criticism from a few places.
The main criticism seems to be that there are ‘too many made up words.’ I’ll agree that having a lot of unnecessary made up words in order to make a world seem more alien can be a big annoyance, but I think Anathem justifies it in several ways.
1) It ties into the plot
Without going into spoilers, some plot elements of Anathem revolve around the way language is used and what it represents. Later in the story it becomes more obvious still why Stephenson made this choice.
2) The words aren’t all straightforward translations
When words are introduced in the book they have a history, an etymology that gives them their own set of connotations and imagery seperate from those of the words we use. So, while the word ‘praxis’ essentially means ‘technology,’ it doesn’t exactly mean that, it’s a bit more nuanced, a little more tailored to suit the world the book is set in, in the same way that a foreign word doesn’t always translate precisely into English.
3) The words are introduced rather well.
Because of 2), Stephenson seems to have employed a strategy for introducing the most commonly used words. First, he’ll have a character use it in context so some of the meaning can be inferred. Then he’ll later break up the story with a dictionary entry which describes the history of the word and its meanings over time, which is often interesting in itself. Then quickly after that he’ll have someone use it again, by which time the reader should have a good idea about how the word is used.
4) They’re good words.
Speelycaptor. Praxis. Avout. Yeah, I like the words.
What the new words do mean is that the book requires a little investment. It’s a long book and it can seem a little daunting at first with its words. But I’d be surprised if you still find the language confusing by a hundred pages in.
The reason I think it’s worth it is that it’s such a rewarding read. It builds a world I genuinely wish existed. Some of the conversations the characters had made me want to jump in and offer my own response - only to have another character jump in and offer precisely the sort of thing I had in mind.
If that doesn’t work for you, try this: there’s another book in my to-read queue, one I haven’t read before and so I’m keen to get into. I reached a part in Anathem that I thought might make a natural stopping point. I thought “I could read this other book now, then go back to Anathem later.” So I went to begin the other book but only got about two sentences in before feeling an overwhelming desire to get back to Anathem. I wondered what this feeling was, and decided that the closest word to describe it is homesickness.
Look, read Anathem, okay? I don’t have enough people to talk about it with.
