A review by jmarchek
The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson

2.0

This book was bizarre to me, so many things at once. First the author goes to incredible lengths to describe an alternate world of the future in Shanghai, so it's kind of sci fi. The focus of the book is the Young Ladies' Illustrated Primer, an interactive future tech book which is made to help Lord Finkle-McGraw's granddaughter rise to her full potential and educate her. However two extra copies are made, one for the creating engineer's daughter and one falls into the hands of a poor abused girl named Nell. I love Nell's interactions with the primer, there's such a fascinating moral fairy telling with quests and adventures within that section. There are parts that I would love to have my daughter read. But then it just get's really weird with orgies, graphic violence, warring factions, and terrible vulgar language (although the author does have an amazing vocabulary - keep your dictionary at the ready!). The plot does surprise you from time to time, but the author skips time, abandons many characters, and leaves with such a bizarre violent ending that I was very disappointed in the end. I think with about 50 pages of editing this could've been an amazing book, but now I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone, certainly not to any sensitive readers.