Cryptonomicon

This was a long adventure with many characters and themes and pages, two timelines (WWII and 90s), and all the genres. An enjoyable read, but the 1000+ pages contain both gems and some disappointments. I think the cover called this book a thriller. I find it very hard to pidgeonhole it in any genre simply because they all seem to be there. I was surprised by a much more humorous tone than I had expected after reading [b:Anathem|2845024|Anathem|Neal Stephenson|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1224107150s/2845024.jpg|6163095], which seemed to be more about ideas and less about just being geeky. Then again, there is an unforgettable jungle march which is probably the most gruesome, sad, and disturbing description of the absurdity of war I have ever read. There are real war heroes with some real traumas and a some undeniable suspense on the code-breaking front. However, the deadpan family drama isn't really funny and the "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" undertone gets really painful at times. (Lawrence's conspiracy theory about masturbation would be funny if every single character in the story didn't seem to think along the same lines.) I loved some of the characters. Lawrence Waterhouse, for example, is portrayed as this exceptional mathematician who isn't very socially skilled, but because the narrative is from his perspective, the reader can't always be sure just how awkward the situation is. On the other hand, Randy at times reminds me of all the things I didn't like about [b:Microserfs|2748|Microserfs|Douglas Coupland|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1298412013s/2748.jpg|851428], and Amy never develops to be much more than a tough-looking sidekick-girlfriend.