Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Big U  By  cover art

The Big U

By: Neal Stephenson
Narrated by: Fred Berman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The New York Times Book Review called Neal Stephenson's most recent novel "electrifying" and "hilarious". But if you want to know what Stephenson was doing 20 years before he wrote the epic Cryptonomicon, it's back-to-school time. Back to The Big U, that is, an hilarious send-up of American college life, starring 30-year-old junior Casimir Radon. Now reissued after years out of print, The Big U is required listening for anyone interested in the early work of this singular writer.

©2001 Neal Stephenson (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"An entertaining and sometimes murderous satire on campus life." (New York Times Book Review)
"Satire is Stephenson's major." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)

What listeners say about The Big U

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    62
  • 4 Stars
    64
  • 3 Stars
    50
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    73
  • 4 Stars
    57
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    55
  • 4 Stars
    37
  • 3 Stars
    46
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Bad first novel by great writer

Stephenson himself does not like this novel, and I wish I had known that before starting it (see the Wikipedia entry for The Big U.) it’s incredibly hard to follow. I’ve lived every Stephenson book I’ve read until now, but Eve if you love his work, I encourage you to skip this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

So many mistakes

Many university details were messed up. Associate professor title cannot be given to a fresh PHD. Emeritus professor is the retired professor, not the active one. Did not expect such sloppiness

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting, very strange

I think I am going to have to read it again. The story is one of escalating insanity and fantasy. I love his other books but I am not sure about this book.
he sets up the world to be a place of vivid reallity,that exaggerated uni life. Well written and well preformed, but I'm not sure
It may resonate better with people that went to Uni in the states.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not your usual Stephenson's epic

This got more fantastical and darker than many of his previous stories. I contemplated aborting and returning several times.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fred Berman Deserves Death

What made the experience of listening to The Big U the most enjoyable?

The story I guess; the performance is horrible and aggravating.

What did you like best about this story?

There's too much to list; like all Stephenson's work, the writing ranges from the silly to the sublime. Many people think this is a very 'juvenile' work, and certainly I can appreciate that Stephenson's style has matured, but it's also just fun-as-hell to read, which I can't say for some of his other work (system of the world).

What didn’t you like about Fred Berman’s performance?

I love this book. I've loved it since it came out, and I've looked for an audiobook at least every year since then. Imagine my delight then, when I learned it was available.

And imagine my frustration when one of the main characters, Ephraim, has his (biblical) name slaughtered by the reader every time (he pronounces it e-FRY-eem). Fred Berman also says "flat lux" when faced with "fiat lux" - a reasonable mistake, you might say, but it's shockingly unprofessional to my ears. You're being _paid_ to read aloud; you might want to pay a little attention to context, and ask someone when you're not sure know how to pronounce something.

Who was the most memorable character of The Big U and why?

One of the joys of this book is that it's full of memorable and fun-to-read characters. I guess I'd pick Fred Fine.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good for context, but not great in itself

The only reason I would recommend this book is because it serves as a map of the seed ideas Stephenson used for other, better books. There's very little plot, and he seems to proceed with the narrative in terms of what is the most shocking. I'm glad this isn't my first encounter with his work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Madness.Delusion.Brilliance.Weirdness. Confusion.

A strange road down the rabbit hole. It begins as an easy to follow college story and ends in a confusing, yet entertaining clash of pure insanity.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Precient of today yet written a while ago.

if you attended a larger university, it's a what you imagined might be happening when sitting with your friends, drinking beer, and wondering how anything ever got done.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

one of Stephenson earliest books and his style was not as well developed. Uses a somewhat contrived situation near the end to draw in many of the plot points.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!