A necessary result of the con-fusion of Bonanza and The Juncto (the two component novels that comprise this volume) is that the narrative meanders back and forth between the dealings of erudite Eliza (in Europe) and daring Jack Shaftoe (pretty much everywhere else). Both stories are equally compelling but in totally different ways: the swashbuckling adventures of a maritime cabal of pirates and slaves couldn't be more different from the sensitive and precise financial, political and scientific intrigues of the contingent of Natural Philosophers. Unforgettable characters are forged, given rich stories, and sometimes discarded so many times that the reader can't help but get confused themselves at times, but it all contributes to the breadth and span of this Baroque epic. Impossibly the two stories begin to converge - around Phosphorous, of all things - setting the stage for the much anticipated final act!

2020 review: I don't like this one as much as Quicksilver, though I definitely like this one a lot too. Maybe too much jumping back and forth? Because I want to complain that there's not enough Daniel, or Eliza, but there are plenty of them. And I like Jack's Cabal and I like reading about them, too. I dunno.

Stephenson paints many things as farcical and absurd, and when he's doing it to European practices it feels okay, but when he's doing it in "Hindoostan" it started to feel a little icky to me. Like the bit with Jack in the pit of the animal hospital, feeding the bloodsuckers. A little Othering. Or the bit with the pirate queen of Malabar. But maybe I just think that because I'm the one who's white, so I'm the one doing the Othering? I'm not sure.

All in all though, still pretty great, not too much discussion of guns or money in this one, which is nice.

Oh, and Gabriel Goto is underdrawn and underused, and feels shoehorned in just to make a Cryptonomicon connection. Sorry, Father Gabriel. I wish I knew ye better.

2011 review: Loved it once again the second time through. I think I'll bump it up to five stars, in fact. My enjoyment doesn't get much more total than this.

Finished the second time on our honeymoon, around February 28, 2011. (Yes, I lugged this thing across Costa Rica and back.)

finished the reread of Confusion and while the short review I wrote on the original read is still relevant, the book like the whole Baroque cycle benefits so much on the reread as now I can appreciate the little details too;

this being said, The Confusion (the title word itself having quite a few apparitions in the text as the "transition" word from the old to the new) is the most epic adventure/intrigue/picaresque novel of the three, told in chronological order alternating between action in Europe from Eliza's pov with a few interludes from Daniel - under the heading Juncto - and action across the world (from Algiers and Cairo to India, Japan and much more) from Jack and his Cabal of Barbary Coast galley slaves with a (desperate) plan to get free and rich - under the heading Bonanza

the action starts immediately at the end of Odalisque (third part of Quicksilver) just after the Glorious Revolution in 1689 and ends in 1702 at the start of the second round of the war of Leroy (as the Sun King is colloquially known to Jack especially since their memorable personal encounter at a Paris party of 1685) against the rest of the (European) world (this round known as the Spanish Succession war)

large scale, full of dramatic action, incredible escapes, double crosses, continual reversals of fortunes (in Mogul India, Jack even becomes a temporary king which makes him a sort of cousin of Leroy himself while Eliza, ennobled by both Leroy - ennobling involving a fake sexual encounter masking the king's hemorrhoid surgery - and his nemesis William of Orange - ennobling involving this time a real intimate encounter though of the kind doable with either men or women as William is impartial there and even invites his handsome personal squire to watch and "take notes" as it were - needs to consolidate her position as her enemies are still of higher rank and ready to pounce) and all around fun, with some of the best secondary characters in fiction - some of which we actually have encountered in the future/present (1713-4) part that starts the trilogy in Quicksilver (novel and part 1 of the same name) not realizing who they are

So after a book starting in Boston 1713 and alternating between that and the personal story of Daniel Waterhouse (and Isaac Newton) from the 1650's to 1673, jumping to 1683, the Siege of Vienna and Jack saving a harem slave of the Grand Vizier and then having her quickly take charge of their joint fortunes and traveling Europe together and then apart until 1685 and Jack's ill considered decision to enter the slave trade (and Eliza's emphatic response to that) and then a third book following Eliza's ascent in Europe and Daniel's conspiring to bring a newfangled revolution in England until 1689, tales which connect but also jump sometimes in disconcerting ways - especially on first read - Confusion by its chapter split between its two tales brings a different and more coherent feel to the book while offering the most spectacular action of the trilogy

These two volumes (Quicksilver and The Confusion) in 5 parts and 3 tales offer together a fairly coherent story with a clear (temporary) ending (though again we know from the beginning that we will have action in 1713-1714) and are as spectacular and exciting as anything I've read


(2008 review on first read)

Superb sequel to Quicksilver. Continues the (mis) adventures of Jack Shaftoe and an assorted odd group of Pirate slaves that conceive a crazy plan to get freedom and a treasure, plan that develops a hitch when one of Jack's noble sworn enemies turns out to be involved deeply in.

In the other main thread Elisa is still looking to establish herself in high society and revenge on the unknown noble that led to her and her mother's enslavement.

On the way we have tragedy, joy, action and lots of digressions of the creation of money and the modern banking system, with the natural philosophy more in the background than in the first volume.

Excellent.

Dokázal jsem to! Přečetl 900 stránkovou knihu, která se vám fakt nesnaží čtení zrovna ulehčovat. Barokní cyklus je historický epos pro lidi, kteří se už v historii vyznají. Nic moc se tu nevysvětluje, předpokládá se, že víte, kdo byl kde panovníkem, jaké měli historické postavy mezi sebou vazby, kdo je kdo... a tudíž se autor může věnovat tomu opravdu důležitému - ekonomii. Jo, série je v podstatě o vzniku moderní ekonomie a vědy (se spoustou slepých odboček). Druhý díl se odehrává na ploše nějakých dvaceti let a sleduje dvě linie, dva hlavní hrdiny (v podstatě to jsou dvě knihy v jedné, které se ovlivňují jen mírně), takže autor dost často základní situace prostě přeskakuje. V jedné chvíli vidíme hrdiny v určité situace, v druhé už je někde úplně jinde, kupříkladu v zajetí a jen se zpětně vysvětlí, že je mezitím přepadli piráti a prodali do otroctví. V jedné scéně vidíte ženu těhotnou, v druhé má dítě... ale ne to, se kterým byla těhotná, to už stihlo umřít, prostě nějaké další. Pár akčních scén tam je, ale stejně se kniha víc věnuje odborným rozpravám.
A i když to vypadá spíš, že tu knihu odstřeluju, tak se mi Zmatení dost líbilo. Jak kvůli skvělému, lehce sarkastickému stylu Neala Stephensona, díky kterému se četly příjemně i statické pasáže (změna překladatele knize opravdu hodně prospěla), tak kvůli zajímavým informacím o fascinující době konce sedmnáctého století. Jak mě moc nevzalo Stephensonovo sci-fi Seveneves, ani čistý thriller REAMDE, tak tohle si mě zase získalo. Už jen proto, že tohle je styl historického románu, který si asi jinde nepřečtete. Sice si troufám tvrdit, že jsem pochopil tak třetinu z toho, co mi Stephenson naservíroval, ale i tak mě to bavilo.

“When a thing such as wax, or gold, or silver, turns liquid from heat, we say that it has fused,” Eliza said to her son, “and when such liquids run together and mix, we say they are con-fused.”
- Neal Stephenson, The Confusion



Part Two of Stephenson's massive Baroque Cycle consists of Books 4 and 5 (Part One, if it isn't obvious, consisted of Books 1-3). Since both books 4. Bonanza and5. Juncto are concurrent, Stephenson threads/interleaves the two books together (hence Con-Fusion).

This volume continues with the major characters: Daniel Waterhouse, Eliza, Bob Shaftoe, & Jack Shaftoe, along with a host of other fantastic characters both real (Newton, Leibniz, Louis IV, Pepys) and imagined. Like the previous volume, 'The Confusion' takes place during the end of the Nine Years' War (and the period shortly after) and explores the beginning of the Enlightenment, complete with politics, war, modern economics, science and the scientific method, currency, information technology, trade, religion and cryptography. Usually, when Newton or Leibniz are discoursing, Stephenson is waxing philosophic about atoms, thinking machines, or currency.

Fundamentally, these books are historical fiction for geeks. He pushes some people and events to the point of soft-SF/mysticism (I'm thinking of Enoch Root, a man who appears and disappears and acts as a catalyst for change throughout time). It wasn't perfect and there were some points where I was a turned-off by the jocular humor, but these were minor issues. It isn't close to high art, but it is a fascinating read.

Fantastic book! As long as _Quicksilver_, this book feels shorter. There is less natural philosophy and more swashbuckling (including a complete circumnavigation of the globe). There's a bit about the alchemical properties of King Solomon's gold and some pre-Enlightenment chemical engineering. Additionally, there is a significant amount of banking, as many of the events in the book orbit the disintegration of the traditional feudal land economy of Europe and the rise to dominance of a market economy driven by international trade. We also are clued in to the conceptualization and creation of the first computing machines. Other than that, this novel is all over the place. So far, The Baroque Cycle is a really great story. Give it a chance if you have a lot of time on your hands.

I remember like it was yesterday when I first read Neal Stephenson. I learned about him from a lit blog in 2004 when I had started reading blogs but had not yet started my own. I read Snow Crash (1992) and was blown away. He opened up a whole new world of reading for me called "cyber punk" and led me to William Gibson and on from there.

I have read Stephenson's books in the order he wrote them: The Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon, Quicksilver. The only glitch is that his books are so long and take me over a week to read. I never seem to catch up. Every time a new Stephenson comes out (Reamde came out last September) I read another one, but I am still behind by three.

Cryptonomicon (1999) was his first venture into the past, with part of the action taking place in the present, being the 1990s at that point, and the remainder during World War II. The infamous Bobby Shaftoe makes his first appearance.

Then in 2003 came Quicksilver (the first volume of a trilogy, The Baroque Cycle.) These books are set in the 1600s. We meet the original Bobby Shaftoe, aka King of the Vagabonds, aka Half-cocked Jack, due to an unfortunate incident involving his cock. We also meet the indomitable Eliza, Isaac Newton, Leibniz, Louis XIV, and a lesser known member of the Royal Society, Daniel Waterhouse, whose descendant is a major player in Crytonomicon.

I got to meet Neal Stephenson once, the year that Books Expo America was held in Los Angeles. I blurted out garbled gushing phrases about what a big fan I was and got an autographed copy of Anathem. I will read that one of these days. He is a tiny, slim guy with no hair on his head but a dark beard on his face. He exudes a calm intelligence and is possessed of a shy nature. Hard to believe that he can hold all that he knows in his head--proof to me that the mind is not the brain.

So The Confusion is volume two of The Baroque Cycle. In 815 pages the story moves along a mere four years. Eliza has her tale of woes and triumphs centered in the court of Louis XIV; alternating chapters follow Bobby Shaftoe and his pirate adventures from Spain to Mexico to the Middle East to India and back to England.

Though the volume is packed with action, adventure, sorrow, and history, it seemed just a tad slow compared to Stephenson's earlier books. However, it has been four years since I read Quicksilver. I do remember in each earlier book times when I felt held back by his torrents of words.

I think he is laying a strong and sturdy foundation that will support the conclusions he comes to in the final volume, The System of the World. While these books are hyper-active historical fiction, they are also a look at the foundations of the political, monetary, and scientific issues we now live and grapple with in our daily lives. Never have I had so much fun learning history.

Thoughts on rereading in 2020: I hardly remembered anything. It was like reading it for the first time. Not slow moving! I think I might have been too ignorant about the world, history, and geography to take it all in the first time. This one is all about trade, finance and treachery. It is for sure the set up for the third book and I now feel set up to read it and understand it. We think lately, or worry, that the world is getting worse, but truly human beings on planet Earth have always been leading a mostly insane course and what we have going on now is still following that trajectory. Will Leibnitz and Newton ever get along? I will find out in The System of the World.

As the first book of the Baroque Cycle (Quicksiver) was a bit of a slog but good, this second one is fast, flowing and hard to put down. All the extensive setting up and disposition of the first volume finally starts to reap its rewards and deliver on the characters and their various journeys across a 10 year period. Stephenson flits back and forwards between the charcters as events and consequences affect each other and build towards a dramatic third volume. He is able to make the time period come alive and shows how the start of the Enlightenment made dramatic impacts upon society and the politics of the day while not letting the story become a history text. Well recomended.

The Confusion is a typical second book of an atypical trilogy, and that is not at all a criticism. The second book of trilogies always bridge the gap between the first and the last with a focus on character, plot development and building the framework for the payoff. When this is done well, as with The Two Towers, the second installment can hold its own with any installment in the trilogy; when this is done very well, as with Empire Strikes Back (I apologize for the movie reference), it can outshine any installment in the trilogy. When it comes to Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, I am not sure which of these two models The Confusion follows, but it is, at least, one of them.

And now I will digress: I have heard from many that this is one of the most original works they have ever read. I don't doubt that it is the most original work that these folks have read, but that doesn't make it "original." Saying that it is not original is again, however, not a criticism, and it is certainly not a failing in Stephenson's work.

I love Stephenson's Cycle, but as a fan of classic literature, particularly the work of Hugo and Dumas, I know that Stephenson is borrowing greatly from his forebears (who were borrowing from theirs, like Cervantes). I cannot stress enough that this is not a bad thing. It is what makes Stephenson's series compulsively readable. Everything old is new again, to borrow an old cliche. Which is precisely what makes The Baroque Cycle so "original" for today's audiences. It is sprawling, larger than any possible life, packed full of historical figures made characters, it is fiction and fact writ together as crazed adventure.

What Stephenson does is brilliant, modernizing classic story-telling forms to remind us just how great the classics remain. Anyone who loves a good yarn or just plain loves books should read the Cycle and revel in its sheer audacious brilliance.

But don't tell me it has never been done before. Just read it, love it and then start reading everyone who came before.

Bello.
Meno interessante del primo, perché è un seguito, perché manca la sorpresa, perché i personaggi sono più vecchi e stanchi, ma resta un viaggio affascinante e barocco in un'epoca splendida, meschina e violenta.
Ora sono costretto a leggere il terzo volume che, a quanto mi sembra di aver capito, è stato il primo ad essere scritto.

Tahle trilogie je vážně monumentální věc jakých moc není, všechna čest a klobouk dolů před panem Stephensonem. Co se týká Zmatení, oproti prvnímu dílu je v něm daleko více cestování, obchodu a ekonomie, nechybí ale ani humor, dobrodružství a intriky.
S Jackem se podíváte daleko za hranice Evropy, ten je tu koneckonců na to dobrodružství, Eliza vás uvede do tajů mezinárodního bankovnictví, což je zase její parketa, a pokud by vám to bylo málo, je tu pořád i Daniel Waterhouse, Isaac Newton, Gottfried Leibnitz...
Četl jsem to sice před pár lety v originále, ale byl to tenkrát těžký boj, přece jen to není žádná brožurka... Pořádně jsem si to užil až teď, a doufám, že brzy vyjde i překlad třetího dílu.

"Son yirmi senenin karışıklıkları inanılmaz oldu; İngiltere, Hollanda ve İspanya krallıkları bir tiyatrodaki sahneler kadar hızla değişime uğradı. İlerideki nesiller tarihimizi okudukları zaman, bir roman okuduklarını zannedecek ve tek kelimesine dahi inanmayacaklar."

Cunta ve Bonanza'dan oluşan Karışıklık'nın son bölümü Orléans düşesi Liselotte'un Hanover elektresi Sophie'ye 1706'da yazdığı bir mektuptan bu alıntı ile başlıyor ve Barok Döngü Üçlemesi'nin son kitabı Dünyanın Sistemi'nin de girişini oluşturuyor.

Üçlemenin ilk kitabı Cıva'ya yazılan (olumsuz) yorumlardan bazıları, bin sayfalık kitapta okurun saatler süren okumada bir türlü bir olay örgüsünü yakalayamadığı (çünkü anlatılan bir olay olmadığı) eleştirileri içeriyordu. Karışıklık'ı okuyanlar, yaklaşık bin sayfalık Cıva'nın sadece bir giriş olduğunu, gelişmelerin Karışıklık'da şekillendiğini ve (henüz okumadığım için) muhtemelen sonucun da üçüncü kitap olan Dünyanın Sistemi'nde anlatılacağını fark edecektir.

Karışıklık iki kitaptan oluşuyor: Cunta ve Bonanza. Cunta'da kurgusal karakter Eliza, Bonanza'da diğer kurgusal karakter Jack'in öyküsünü izliyoruz. XVII. yüzyılın sonu ile XVIII. yüzyılın başı arasında geçen 10-15 yıllık dönemde Eliza Avrupa'nın bir şehrinden diğerine gezerek karmaşanın Avrupa boyutlarını, Jack ise Cezayir sahillerinden Mısır'a, Hindustan'a, Filipinler'e, Japonya ve Meksika'ya uzanan bir macera öyküsü ile dünyanın geri kalanındaki boyutlarını anlatıyor. Isaac Newton, Leibniz, XIV. Louis, Orange'lı William, Büyük Petro bu kitapta da boy gösteriyor. Onlara Cezayir ve Hint denizi korsanları, Japon şogunları, cizvitler, Huguenot'lar, Alman prens ve prensesleri, Yahudi ve Ermeni tüccarlar, Afrika köleleri eşlik ediyor. Gerçek tarihsel olaylar zaman zaman Eliza ile Leibniz (ve kurgusal karakter Daniel Waterhouse) arasındaki mektuplar, zaman zaman da Stephenson'un renkli anlatımı ile kurgusal gelişmelerle resmediliyor. Bir taraftan bilim ve felsefedeki gelişmeleri, bir taraftan Avrupa'daki siyasi gelişmeleri, bir taraftan da Meksika'dan Avrupa'ya, oradan da Asya'ya akan gümüş ve altın ticaretini, Avrupa'da banker ağlarını, itibari para ve kredi sisteminin ortaya çıkışını ve "borsa manipülasyonlarını" izliyoruz.

Böylece Liselotte'un mektubunda bahsettiği karmaşadan, ordo ab chao'nun, kaosun içinden doğan tarihsel düzenin ekonomi-politiğini öğreniyoruz. Stephenson modern dünyanın doğum sancılarını olağanüstü renkli ve eğlenceli sahnelerle anlatıyor. Tarih kitaplarının ve ansiklopedilerin yüzbinlerce sayfada anlattığı bu "karışıklık" dönemi, muazzam bir edebi eserle çok kolay anlaşılır hale geliyor.

Meksika'da engizisyonun zindanlarına düşen Moseh ve Jack arasında geçen bir diyalogda, onları engizisyonun karanlığından kurtaracak olan "aydınlanma" da ima ediliyor. Jack pek inandırıcı bulmasa da Moseh, Meksika'da engizisyon zindanlarında ağır işkencelerden geçerken, daha 1701 yılında XVIII. yüzyılın "aydınlanma yüzyılı" olacağını müjdeliyor.

Özellikle Jack'in maceraları Zaman zaman "Kamçılı Adam Indiana Jones" filmlerindeki fantastik olay örgüsüne benzer biçimde anlatılsa da, Karışıklık'ı büyük bir keyifle sadece eğlenerek değil, aynı zamanda tarihsel gelişmeleri öğrenerek okudum.

Kitabın edebi değerini merak edenler için de küçük bir alıntı yapmak isterim:

"Tik güvertenin rengi, yıpranmış demir grisinden daha sıcak bir tona dönüşüyordu, sanki güverte altında bir ateş yakılmış gibiydi. Jack körfezin çıkışına doğru baktı ve nedenini gördü: artık ufkun bir karış üstünde olan güneş, körfezin üstündeki buhar bulutlarının arasından bir delik açmıştı. Hala gölgelerde ve silah deposunun temellerini çevreleyen durgun koylarda gizlenen ufak buhar kümeleri, rüzgarın sürüklediği tozlar gibi ani ısıdan kaçıyordu. Buna rağmen hava durgundu. Ama belli belirsiz bir gümbürtü Jack'in dönüp doğuya bakmasına neden oldu. Manila artık apaçık görünüyordu, duvarları ve kale burçları amberden yontulmuş ve arkadan yakılmış bir ateşle aydınlatılmış gibiydi. Şehrin arkasındaki dağlar görülebiliyordu, ki bu çok nadir bir durumdu. Onlarla karşılaştırınca, İspanyolların en yüksek binaları bile döşeme taşı kadar alçak ve yassı görünüyordu. Ama bu dağlardan da büyük, yukarıdaki sonsuz gökyüzünden kendilerini doğuran, birbirine geçmiş gerçekdışı bulut formasyonları vardı, sanki takımyıldızların şahsiyetleri ve hayvanları, sönük yıldızlarla tasvir edilmekten bıkıp evrenden aşağı inmiş ve tayfunlardan yapılmış kıyafetlere bürünmeye karar vermişti. Ama aralarında kimin en nefis ve parlak buharlara sahip olacağı konusunda bir anlaşmazlık var gibiydi ve tartışma her an şiddetli bir hal alabilirdi. Henüz yere hiç yıldırım düşmemişti ve bazı bulutların bıraktığı yağmur çağlayanları, daha dağların seviyesine inemeden başka bulutlar tarafından yutuluyordu." (S. 766-767)

Turgut Berkes'in çok başarılı çevirisinin de hakkını teslim etmek gerekiyor.

Edebiyat zevki almak isteyenlere, tarih meraklılarına, ticaret ve paranın tarihine ilgi duyanlara, tarihsel kurgu, spekülatif kurgu severlere hararetle tavsiye olunur.