Reading the Chunksters discussion
Cryptonomicon
>
Chapters 52-58 Cryptonomicon
date
newest »
newest »
Yes, me too. Some parts definitely have me more interested than others, but it's not because of difficulty. The codes and such are fine. The parts I don't understand in terms of science are the 1990s techy parts. But you've heard me say that often enough :)I can't read this week's chapters until we hit December 1st, because as you say we are half way through, and I can't read more than 50% in November if I want to claim the book for a winter challenge. But I'll catch up with you next weekend.
I have not read D.O.D.O, Lorna. Several of my GR friends read it and all of them rated it only 2-3 stars so I am not too eager to read it. I think part of the problem was that it was co-authored, so it's not a completely Stephenson novel, and I think that showed.I just finished the Lavender Rose chapter. I keep laughing at Randy trying to come up with a dive plan for himself! Super curious what else comes up from the wreckage, and to find out what the history is of this particular U-boat.
This part had me laughing...”What the f*** is going on here?” Shaftoe says — never one to beat around the bush. “Is that a f***ing German you’re with?”
“Yes, I am with a German,” Root says, “as are you.”
“Well, why is your German making such a f***ing spectacle of himself?”
I thought the first half of the Crunch chapter was great. I love super detailed quirky writing like that. The first paragraph was a puzzle in itself, it had me scratching my head about what was actually happening until it slowly dawned on me that Randy was about to eat Cap’n Crunch and then go ballroom dancing.
Lol. Yes, good ol’ Bobby just says what’s on his mind. That last line was funny. :)
I am around halfway through this section. ETA: Aha, it's all in DONITZ!
Finished the section now. I liked this quote from GIRL:"Waterhouse's new roommate is out of town just now, but by glancing over his personal effects, Waterhouse estimates that he is paddling a black kayak from Australia to Yokosuka Naval Base, where he will slip on board a battleship and silently kill its entire crew with his bare hands before doing an Olympic-qualifying dive into the bay, punching out a few sharks, climbing back into his kayak and paddling back to Australia for a beer."
And then Waterhouse meets Mary, and I wasn't sure if this is going to be Randy's Grandma? Because they meet in the roominghouse, but Grandma told Randy she met Lawrence ballroom dancing. In Brisbane, though, and both Grandma and Mary are Australian ... so I just don't know if they are the same person or not.
That was a great quote, Rosemary.Hmmm....good point about Lawrence and Grandma meeting while ballroom dancing, yet Lawrence was just introduced to Mary at the boarding house. I had forgotten that Grandma had told Randy that. Maybe Mary forgets that she had met him previously at the boarding house, but goes dancing later and meets him again, but in her mind it's the first time? I guess we will see.
Oh yes, I assume that Mary is Randy’s grandma too. I’m just not clear on why she would tell him that she met Lawrence ballroom dancing when they actually met at the boarding house. Wasn’t Lawrence suspicious that the woman he “shared” the hammock with was a spy? I can’t remember now. Maybe he wasn’t.
I think it was the regular housekeeper he was suspicious of - the middle-aged lady. Then Margaret(?) came along and he was wowed. But I don't think he would have revealed anything. He was just trained to be too hyper-cautious.I expect you are right about Brisbane, Linda - Mary forgot that first meeting and they will meet again dancing.
I would say that this book has definitely surprised me. I was expecting I would enjoy the scientific stuff. However, I was also expecting it to have more traditional WW2 moments, so I was very surprised by the way some of the characters developed. I absolutely love the twist where Rudy figures everything out but keeps it to himself because he no longer feels a sense of loyalty to the Nazi's. I thought it was a super original and fun twist.
I also like the comparison Stephenson used to describe the way Randy feels when he is reading some old note to Amy's. "The one to Amy has obviously been written by a man who is desperately in love with her. Reading it is like moisturizing with Tabasco."
I remember that Tabasco sauce quote, it was a visual that gave me the shivers!
As to the style of the story, it’s on par with his other novels I’ve read. Two or three storylines with intersecting characters and lots of action. If you want to read another book by Stephenson and want more action, then go for Reamde. But if you’re looking for more math and science (but still plenty of action), then I suggest checking out Anathem.