![]({"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/416y5kg8uXL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[237,346],"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/416y5kg8uXL._SX340_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[342,499]})
Gnomon is an incredible 400 page novel. The trouble, of course, is that it's actually about 560 pages long.
To be fair to the author, some of that is by intent - if a major theme of your text is information overload, then it makes some sense to overload the reader with a bunch of indecipherable--and irrelevant--information. On the other hand, there is no particular justification for larding the text up with $10 words where a $1 one would've done the trick. Nor is there any particular justification for the long, nonsensical digressions that appear to be more about the sound of the author's voice than advancing the message, or plot, or anything else. In other words, much of reading this book is like dealing with a particularly irritating dream - everything is laden with portentous symbols, you run into random people who say important-seeming things, but none of it makes a lick of sense or SAYS anything. I breathed a sigh of relief at the mention of Baudrillard because it was the first indication that any of this was intentional...and when French post-structuralism comes to you as an oasis of meaning in a desert of absurdity, something has probably gone wrong.
Why, then, 3 stars? Why not 1 or 2? Because, frustratingly, the back half of the book rescues things quite a bit. Things start fitting together (and the incomprehensible structure of the first part even starts making sense), revelations are made that are genuinely astonishing, and certain seeds planted in the first half of the book bear unexpected--and delightful--fruit. (It's possible that other seeds also bore fruit, and I simply forgot them; if you can't tell, dealing with this book is A Lot). In fact, the second half of the book is written so well that I nearly recommended the book to my wife, who had patiently borne my frustration about the first half without complaint. Add in the fact that the book's message is interesting and that it has a refreshing take on a somewhat tired theme--I don't know if you've heard, folks, but mass surveillance might not be as good as we think!--and it's not hard to see why people recommended it to me.
But I cannot do the same. I simply cannot recommend, in good conscience, a book which requires sitting through ~300 pages of incomprehensible nonsense for a payoff that, while strong, is not revolutionary. I read books to change how I view the world, yes, but also for enjoyment. And if I'm going to completely sacrifice the latter, as this book demands, the former better be a near-religious form of epiphany. This book, while quite strong on that front, simply does not meet that standard.
Tl;dr: Gnomon is an unforgettable book with a strong second half. In the hands of a more courageous editor, it might've been a true classic. As it is, though, it's simply not worth the effort it demands.
- Hardcover: 688 pages
- Publisher: Knopf (January 9, 2018)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1524732087
- ISBN-13: 978-1524732080
- Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 1.6 x 9.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 148 customer reviews
-
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#109,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #393 in Psychic Thrillers
- #216 in Censorship & Politics
- #202 in Humorous Science Fiction (Books)
Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?
