To Say Nothing of the Dog

Rating:
Summary: Period piece, mystery, sci-fi, and a pinch of romance.
Review: I've never read Connie Willis before, and getting into this book is difficult. You spend the first 50 pages trying to figure out what exactly a Bishop's Bird Stump is. However, once the ball starts rolling, the novel is engrossing. While it is billed as sci-fi, and indeed involves a healthy amount of time travelling, the book is mainly a humorous look at Victorian England and its absurdity. Willis's writing style lends itself to a sardonic humor that takes endless jabs at the prim and proper British upper crust.

This book is far more than a sci-fi version of a period piece however. There is quite a bit of mystery to it. There is an incongruity in the space-time continuum, there is history that must be corrected, and the question of the Bishop's bird stump becomes more and more confusing.

I've read a lot of sci-fi in the past, and this book is not your typical sci-fi. Willis has broken out of the sterotypical mold for science fiction, and this book enjoys a universal appeal that a lot of sci-fi lacks. I think that this novel will appeal to a wide audience, and if it sounds interesting to you, then you should give it a try.

Rating:
Summary: Mystery, comedy and time-travel
Review: It isn't often that I read a book for the first time and it instantly becomes one of my favorites. "To Say Nothing of the Dog" did that, though. I love this novel!

Connie Willis flawlessly combines so many elements in this book: It's part mystery novel, part sci-fi, part time-travel drama, part Victorian romance, part comedy. The characters and situations are extremely funny, but at the same time, there is a deep and serious plot going on.

Ned Henry goes back to the Victorian era to get some rest -- he is time-lagged from going back and forth from 2057 to 1940 to locate an ugly piece of Victorian art. But, he also has an important mission to complete in 1888. Verity Kindle, a fellow time-traveler, inadvertently brought something back from the past. Ned and Verity must put things right before the course of history is changed and the space-time continuum breaks down. Ms. Willis portrays the worlds of 2057, 1940 and 1888 with equal ease and vivid descriptions.

There is mystery (Why was Verity able to bring what she did through the time-travel apparatus? What was it? How does it relate to the Bishop's Bird Stump? What is the Bishop's Bird Stump and why is it important?). There is science fiction (More about the "net" and how it works than in Doomsday Book). And, there is comedy. Ms. Willis' witty characterizations are reminiscent of Oscar Wilde or Jane Austen (Tossie is Cecily from The Importance of Being Earnest. Colonel and Mrs. Mering are Mr. and Mrs. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice.) Ned is hysterical as he struggles through an era he knows nothing about.

Fans of Doomsday Book will enjoy the return of Dunworthy and Finch. But, in my opinion, To Say Nothing of the Dog is much better than Doomsday Book.

I couldn't put this book down, and I was extremely satisfied with the ending. All the mysteries are solved and the facts are presented -- but a twist at the end leaves a new mystery unsolved. A fantastic book! I hope for more time-travel novels from Connie Willis.

Rating:
Summary: A romp down the Thames to save the universe
Review: To Say Nothing of the Dog is my second foray into the writings of Connie Willis, and I was considerably happier this time around (than with Doomsday Book, though it's pretty good too). Perhaps this is because Willis's style lends itself well to humorous writing. I wouldn't call this a comedy per se, but it was certainly a very lighthearted romp through Victorian England by a couple of hapless time traveling historians. As they try to set right events inadvertently set wrong during their own travels, they must continually interact with the very proper locals, trying to steer actions back on track without saying anything improper.

In the end (figuratively, this is not a spoiler), the story turns into a mystery spanning several centuries, and seemingly filler events turn out to have some real importance to the plot. Overall, I'd say this is intended as very low-key British humor. And although a devoted examiner can pick out points where he simply has to say "Hey, shouldn't these two think about such-and-such right about now?", this does not detract in any meaningful way from the plot. Consider it, if you like, a reward for paying attention. So if you find pleasing the thought of a boat trip down the Thames whilst keeping the fabric of time and space from unraveling, go ahead and dive right in.

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Summary: Time lag, extinct cats and jumble sales; oh my!
Review: All Ned Henry wants is a nap. About a two week long nap. But Lady Schrapnell won't let him, in fact she is the reason for the exhaustion--sending him to jumble sales and various time jumps all to find some hideously ugly bird stump for her rebuilt Cathedral. So Ned is sent to Victorian England for a little R&R only to find himself right in the biggest mystery of them all.

"To Say Nothing of the Dog" is a hard book to classify. Equal parts sci-fi, mystery and a little romance thrown in, you find yourself completely engrossed in the minutiae of England; as long as you can wrap your noodle around time travel, time lag, incontunity and self-corrections.

You'll love the characters from Mrs. Kindle (the lovely wet naid a very groggy Ned sees), Terrence, Tossie, Professor Peddick and more. Despite trying to correct history and the future, Ned manages to get a bit of sleep, despite sharing the bed with a kitty Princess Arjumand and bulldog Cyril; and manages the treasure dig at the jumble sale; and manages to get the girl.

This is truly a fun, quirky, unique novel sure to make you laugh and cheer.

Rating:
Summary: The funniest book in the SFF genre that I've read in years!
Review: _To Say Nothing of the Dog_ takes place in the same time-traveling world that Willis describes in _Doomsday Book_, but is much, MUCH more lighthearted in tone.

Ned Henry, a time traveler of the 21st century, is sent to the Victorian Age for some badly needed rest.

He doesn't find it. Instead he is drawn into a mission with fellow historian Verity Kindle: stop history from altering itself AND find the most hideous of all hideous Victorian monstrosities, the bishop's bird stump.

This fabulous novel, while at heart always SFF, is also a mystery, romance, comedy-of-manners, and adventure at the same time. With plenty of allusions to Jerome K. Jerome, Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins (and a spoiler for _The Moonstone_!), and Dorothy L. Sayers, as well as unforgettable secondary characters like Lady Shrapnell, Cecil, and Lady Arjumand, you will find yourself finishing this 400+ page book in record time.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book!
Review: It's witty & intelligent. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This has to be one of the best novels I've read in a long time. Given that I like History and SciFi, "Literary References I Must Look Up", 1930's Detective fiction, and some intriguing time-space theory, of course!
I think I work for Lady Shrapnell, though.

Rating:
Summary: I Can't Say Enough About "To Say Nothing"
Review: What a marvelous romp!

Of course, I'm a sci-fi fan who loves Victorian novels and prefers well-written works in the comic idiom, so this book is about as up-my-personal-alley as one can get.

If you're coming to this book from Willis' other work you should know that it's really quite different--it's really very funny, unlike her brilliantly moving Doomsday book--and if you're moving on from her earlier, slighter, lighter books, you should know this is much, much better, a fully mature classic of its genre.

The style, despite the Victorian setting of much of the novel, it more Edwardian in its humour (Wodehouse, Benson) than Victorian (Dickens, for example). The sci-fi components are more fi than sci, so it's not really worth reading if that's your sole interest in this book.

The characters are well-drawn and differentiated, the plot's constantly absorbing, the satire on Victorian England astonishingly clever, and it's really quite moving as well. It's worth reading just for the symptoms of time lag (I know several people who seem to perpetually suffer from this condition!) A joy throughout.

Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.

Rating:
Summary: Screwball comedy and Chaos theory in the Victorian era
Review: Connie Willis' books tend to combine her love of history, literature, chaos theory and Preston Sturges-type screwball comedies to varying effect. In "To Say Nothing of the Dog," her sort-of-squel to "The Doomsday Book," she finally perfects the combination. Following the format of Victorian era books such as Jerome K. Jerome's "Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)", from which she takes the books name, Connie takes us on a romp through time to locate an urn called the Bishop's Bird Stump, which a wealthy American crackpot wants for her true-to-the-tiniest-detail 22nd century reconstruction of Coventry Cathedtral, which was bombed during World War II. But a time traveller coming back from the Victorian era has made a critical and previously thought impossible mistake by bringing something back through with her, something that must be returned or the entire space time conintinuum might fall apart.

Ned Henry is sent back to the Victorian era to rest and recover from a bad case of time lag, and to return the object before it's absend can rip apart the fabric of time and causality. But almost from the moment of his arrival, things go wrong, and Ned and the beautiful time-travelling Verity have to think on their feet, while juggling an overbearing Victorian matricarch, a possibily murderous butler, thieving mediums, a bulldog, a cat that likes exotic fish, and Verity's ditzy "cousin" Tossie, an ideal example of Victorian womanhood and the nexus around whom everything turns.

History, science, math, poetry, chaos theory, time travel and animal husbandry all come together in a terribly clever way to help Ned and Verity solve a mystery, while several young loves blossom in spite of a host of obstacles. A clever, engaging and literate adventure that just gets better everytime I read it.

Rating:
Summary: Time travel exploitation done well
Review: You need to understand that our poor hero, Ned, starts this book not quite in his right mind. Not only is he over-worked and low on sleep, but numerous recent trips through time have left him a few cards short of a full deck. This mental state (as well as quite a bit of miscommunication) sets in motion a Victorian farce, and eventually resolves a thorny time-travel puzzle.

As someone who ordinarily doesn't like time-travel stories (because they so often ignore gaping logic holes), I quite liked this book. While the tone is generally light, our time-travelling protagonists spend much of their time worrying about issues of huge portent, such as "Have I messed up the past such that Germany will win WWII?" The juxtaposition of the idyllic Victorian summer with these pressing concerns makes for a well-plotted book as well as a thoroughly enjoying yarn.