The Diamond Age: Welcome to reality

 Sometimes a book comes into your possession without you ever intending to read it or really being aware of it previously. Only for it to change your entire world. For me, that book definitely has to be 'The Diamond Age', by Neal Stephenson. Who I used to snow only vaguely from his apparently more famous 'Snowcrash'. Which I coincidentally have not read yet.

What can I say about 'The Diamond Age'? It starts off rather quirky, without giving you much to work with. The world feels kind of Steampunk-ish, but with a Victorian, sci-fi vibe. The use of summary headings instead of chapters and the lack of any obvious main character(s) at first feel somewhat alienating. Yet I think that the brilliance of this approach is that these brief glimpses of this brave new world make it easier to grasp the scope of it. Instead of being limited to the point of view of a singular main character, the experience is instead more multi-faceted.

It depicts a world that's neither good nor evil at its core. A world in which basic economics and clan affiliations rule every day life. A world which makes sense in how far it reflects what exists today, last year, a hundred years ago, a hundred years into the future. Because people do not change, even if societies change their appearance, it is merely the perception through a kaleidoscope. Or through the many facets of a diamond.

Each of the characters followed throughout the story feel almost brutally human. Not as caricatures, or as a plot convenience, but as the logical conclusion of who and what they are. Their goals and dreams in life. This leads to unlikely small details affecting another small detail somewhere else, which cascades into a series of completely logical happenings that ultimately end up affecting the life of little Nell. Poor little Nell.


It's impossible not to feel pangs of sympathy and worry for Nell, as the little girl deals with the dregs of life. Even as the actions of others in this large world begin to affect and steer her future, it's at no point a foregone conclusion what will happen next. The worries and concerns of others around Nell sometimes touch her, sometimes changing things for the better, sometimes for the worse. Meanwhile a world which makes perfect sense while at the same time being completely fantastic unfolds in front of and around Nell and the others.

Looking back on this... experience, I can't say that I really knew how things would work out in the end. When the final scenes go down, it does not really feel like a vocal experience any more, performed through lines spoken by characters on a stage as was the case for most of the book. Instead these scenes unfold like some epic film, where it are the actions on-screen that tell everything.

The final note is one of hope and optimism. Of promise and a new understanding of the world and the people in it. And the bitter-sweet realisation that as one turns the final page, one will have to say farewell to Nell and all of these other characters who have become such an integral part of oneself.


'The Diamond Age' is a story which I will cherish forever, for all that it has given me.


Maya