Incomprehensible sums up the first six chapters of this novel. The jerking of scenes, unique language, unfamiliar surroundings, unsure time setting, and inability to relate to any of the characters in any form cause this novel to be difficult. I began to think after the first few chapters I would begin to understand and find a trend between the characters, but no. Gibson has created an inept world where emotional capacity is limited while death and fear dominate.
To start with the explanation of why this novel creates such difficulty for me to understand is present in the very first chapter. Understandable novels create a sense of setting and relate the opening scene to the foundation of the following chapters. Neuromancer did nothing of the like. The opening chapter started with a bar but simply jumped to describing Case’s relation to women, the bartender, drugs; nothing was threaded to an ultimate understanding. You get the sense that Case is from a future world full of robotic parts, modern science, and drug addicted beings, but then language like “cowboy” and “coffin” are used which completely throw me off from what I thought was the right track to understanding the basis of the novel.
I can applaud Gibson on his use of imagery and color relation; but only to a small extent. He creates this world of simplicity by using a thread of “normal” colors; black, white, pink, red,blue. He mostly uses black and white to describe surroundings in which the beings are such as the domes, and he uses pink to describe Ratz’s arm or other bodily like pieces. Red and blue are used to present emphasis on emotion in a sense. When Case is having an orgasm blue surrounds him, a vivid color full of depth. I thought I was onto a cohesive thread, but then Gibson threw a curve ball and chose burgundy for Molly’s nails. Why the color of burgundy? Why not stick to the theme he had already so diligently made? I want to know why Gibson chose such inconsistencies? Why does he want this novel to be so hard to understand? Why does Gibson want to create a world where no one can relate in the simplest way? Why does he create characters that seem so far away from reality?