That was my sense as well, so trying to gut through it. I had a similar problem with Infinite Jest (i.e., getting into it), but know the payoff is well worth it.

Yeah, long-timescale math monasteries just seemed like an attempt to bore me to death. There's no initial event, no mystery to grab you — but when that does kick in, you're firmly grounded in this world. Then it's a great story, until that ending, which takes it even another step further out.