Bokelskere.no

Yeah, I know, I know, I know. "Neuromancer" is a trailblazing, visionary, unique and amazing-awesome-incredible classic with the right kind of awards to prove so. I just couldn't make heads or tails of it. It seems like you either love it or you hate it. You either get it or you don't.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Jason Flemyng, and I think the book itself deserves at least 3 from me, but because it was - in my opinion - poorly performed, I gave it 2. The narrator is always a major part of my overall experience, so I give credit where credit is due. Same with criticism.

So, I think I disliked this classic for a lot of different reasons. The setting is one. Plot another. The characters are a third reason. I don't think I liked or cared about a single one of them, and I couldn't tell where these people were, both phsyically and mentally, and what they were doing half the time. I had no idea what was happening, what their motivations where, what they were talking about etc.. I really liked the descriptions, but absolutely hated the dialogue. I looked up a summary of the plot afterwards and learned many new and surprising things about the story that way.

It's true. I've never been so aggressively distracted by a book before. Everything was bundled up in a heap of chaotic and confusing mess.

I mean, I constantly had so many questions. Who's jacked in and who's not? Who's human and who's AI? Which body part is real? Why are they doing this? What do they mean? What drugs are they on now?

I don't think listening to "Neuromancer" is a good idea. I think you need to read it, slowly and carefully - even several times - and find your own pacing and synchronize, jack in, to the flow of the prose. I zoned out many times during my listen, due to boredom and frustration, and if I did so, even for just ten seconds, I would lose some crucial detail or a transition from one scene to the next. All of a sudden, without warning, I'd try to listen attentively again and I'd be slapped in the face with bees and weapons and drugs and sex toys and a bunch of tech stuff mentioned seemingly for the hell of it.

Flemyng had some funny voices, but he mixed them up sometimes by using the same voice or tone for two different kinds of characters. Other times he would exaggerate a little too much, and I think he read a little bit too fast and never adjusted his tempo or energy.

It's a bit of a shame, I'm always disappointed when I don't "get" or enjoy a classic. I feel dumb, and it feels like I've failed.

Maybe do I need to read it - in Norwegian - and see if that changes my opinion. I'm not motivated to do it right now, of course, but maybe I'll do that someday. We shall see.