★★★★★ A girl and her book

The Diamond Age

Neal Stephenson

The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is my favorite of Neal Stephenson's books. By that I don't mean that it is the best, or most intellectually compelling, or has the best characters or world-building (although some of those things may be true). I mean only that it is the one that gives me the most pleasure to read. I have read it at least three times, once in paperback shortly after it came out, then again 23-Nov-2012 (exactly ten years ago) and 11-Oct-2020.

If you read five-star reviews of romance novels on Goodreads, you'll see a lot of long gif-filled squeals of swoony love for the romantic relationships described. I can't read such reviews, because every one of them seems exactly like all the others. And I am certainly not about to write one. I mention them because that is how I feel about the relationship between Nell and her book.

Am I seriously comparing a girl's love for a book to a romantic relationship? (In fact, the relationship between A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer and Nell is more a mother-daughter relationship.) Yes, I am. What can I say? I am a book-lover. A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is truly a book to be loved. Given that I can't have one of my own, The Diamond Age is the next best thing.

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