I really enjoyed Anathem, but I don’t think that the vocabulary is supposed to be an obstacle; it is supposed to be a clue. The word “anathem” in the title shou

I really enjoyed Anathem, but I don’t think that the vocabulary is supposed to be an obstacle; it is supposed to be a clue. The word “anathem” in the title should be a mystery but should also remind you of both “anathema” and “anthem”. Once you finally find out exactly what it means in the world of the book then you should see how those words both fit really well. At that point you probably won’t have any idea _why_ those words fit so well, but once you’ve finished the book you should be able to see that it is not merely the author’s contrivance; it was a clue to the deeper plot of the book (or to the nature of reality, if you take it seriously enough…).