Bellwether

Rating:
Summary: Bitter fun
Review: It's hard to whole-heartedly laugh at the humor in Bellwether, as it's probably too close to a nerve for most of its readers daily lives. The way Willis takes on subjects as disparate as corporate policy, the politics of research, fads and trends, and (of course) sheep should be recognizable for many folks out there.

It's possibly a little bit slight, and I didn't think it was as complete as a book like _To Say Nothing of the Dog_, but it's still well worth the time to read. Particularly recommended for people who have read Willis before or people who have a career interest in research.

Rating:
Summary: A very funny book to make you look at life differently.
Review: This book will Flip you out. And you'll have to read it to truly appreciate this comment. :) If this book is indicative of Connie's writing I can see why she has won six Nebulas and five Hugos (including short stories, novellas etc).

The story revolves around Sandy, a research scientist working at HiTek. She is searching for the cause of fads. There would be a lot of money for the people who could predict the next fad. She is focusing on the fad of 'hair bobbing' that afflicted women in the 1920s. If she can find what caused it she can apply the model to fads in general.

When the story starts things aren't going to well for Sandy. She's found lots of leads, but nothing conclusive. Her investigations are hampered and conversely helped by the conditions and environment she is forced to work in.

'Bellwether' is written with a wickedly cynical sense of humour. I had to stop reading in a couple of places as I was laughing so hard. The characters have to be read to be believed. Even the incidental people in the book are beautifully described. They are the sort of people you never want to meet, but that you know are out there.

Some of the characters don't have names, but this is because they don't need them. The most notable example is Sandy's boss, he (the gender is specified) is simply the Management. He is the epitome of everything that you think off when you think about corporate management. I won't go into detail as it would take some of the fun out of the book, but Connie has captured the concept with breathtaking accuracy.

Connie manages to include huge amounts of information about both fads and chaos theory without being boring or impenetrable.

Each chapter has a paragraph at the start about one fad. I'm astounded at some of the things Connie has managed to dig up. Some of the fads we have indulged in in the past are utterly ridiculous. You wouldn't think anyone would ever do anything like some of the things Connie describes, but they are (sadly) all to true.

Chaos is a central theme to this book in both theory and practice. Chaos theory is central to Sandy's study of how fads get started and chaos is central to how her life operates. It's just one bewildering, inexplicable thing after the other. Don't despair about this book being incomprehensible, though, Connie's leads you though it all with skill and wit, I never felt lost, and ties everything together at the end.

Being a fad researcher one thing that Sandy notices, and frequently comments on, is that people don't think for themselves, they simply follow the fad. A fad that Sandy would like to see start amongst the insanity she is researching, is people thinking for themselves. I dare say this is something Connie would like to see as well and I wholeheartedly agree. It's a pity that the only people who are capable of understanding what Connie is saying probably don't follow fads anyhow. But if this book gets at least one person thinking for themselves rather then following the trend then I'm sure Connie would be delighted.

When I was half way through I was seriously thinking this would be a five star book. So what went wrong, why have I only given it four? Towards the end the humour starts to disappear. The book never becomes uninteresting or dull, it is a delight to read right through to the last page, but it doesn't quite have the bite at the end as it has in the initial two thirds. Still I highly recommend you read 'Bellwether'. It is a damn good book, quite definitely four stars and quite nearly five.

Rating:
Summary: Fun and interesting
Review: After reading the Doomsday book, I was not prepared for such a light-hearted and witty book on fads, chaos theory with just a dollop of romance. After the large scale carnage of the Doomsday book, it was a relief to find everybody surviving at the end of this one ( more or less retaining their sanity)!
I give this book 5 stars because I think it is a lot harder to write a funny book than it is to write an apocalyptic one. I also have a deep respect for authors who explore different writing styles and subjects. Can't wait to get hold of another of her books..I'm sure it will be as refreshingly different.

Rating:
Summary: Fluffy, but fun
Review: This one is the modern, fully developed Connie Willis, firing her wit at your boots to keep you dancing. Chaos theory, the origins of fads, Dilbertesque management methods, sheep, and fashion impairment, Alexander Fleming, latte, Winston Churchill, pineapple upside-down cake, this book has it all . . . even though, in many ways, it's more of a very long short story than a novel. Sandra Foster is the fads researcher, Bennett O'Reilly is the chaos-driven sheepherder (sort of), and everything comes out all right in the end. A light, fluffy read -- but lots of fun, with the author's usual great grasp of characterization and some interesting points to make about the nature of scientific discovery.

Rating:
Summary: Fair
Review: I read this book for a Book Club and was disappointed because it really is not discussion material. There is one clever idea about society having bellwether individuals which is belabored to death. This book is adequate for it's genre - that being low-brow sci-fi with some slap-stick humor. Other than that it is formulaic and repetitive. Even for summer reading it's a lightweight. I give it two stars because it does have one good idea, and it is a nice example of how to stick tightly to a formula when writing fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Cruelly Accurate
Review: Somewhat lighter than her usual style and very funny. Her Dilbertian portrayal of the workplace, and in particular the relationship between those obsessed with their jobs and those obsessed with themselves, is instantly recognizable. One wonders where she worked. I particularly liked the concept of people acting as chaos vortices, again an instantly recognizable concept. My only problem with this book was that at times it is so cruelly accurate that I felt guilty at laughing.

Rating:
Summary: Witty and Fun
Review: Dr. Sandy Foster works for HiTek Corporation, researching the phenomenon of the fad--her current preoccupations revolve around why women bobbed their hair in the 1920s and, more practical to her status as HiTek employee, how to fill out the monstrously huge funding application without flying off the handle at the grossly inept, fad-following clerical assistant, Flip. When she meets Dr. Bennett O'Reilly, a chaos theorist, Sandy thinks she has met the one person immune to the herd instinct who may finally provide the insight needed to crack the fad conundrum. As they embark upon a chance project combining both their strengths observing the habits of a flock of not-so-terribly-bright sheep, Sandy discovers that she is following a fad far older than any of the fads she has previously analysed and hits upon an answer that ties all of the story's strengths and sidebars into a clever satisfying conclusion.

Bellwether is the first Connie Willis novel I have read; I found her style straight humorous and thoroughly engaging. All the characters entertain; even the most stereotypical---Flip, Management, the "time-out" moms and the aghast waiters from Boulder's trendiest coffee shops and restaraunts manage to convey the lemming effect quite realistically and yet imaginatively. Willis' depiction of HiTek's paperwork debacle, use of synergistic phrases as motivation tools and the overkill touchy-feely employee relations meetings typifies real life in big corporation in a way that more frightening than Hallowe'en.

If you are looking for a short novel that satirizes the media effect on modern life, amuses, yet doesn't get too perplexing, "Bellwether" is just such a read. Based on this reading experience and the positive comments provided by the other reviewers, another Connie Willis novel will find its way into my shopping cart again soon. If you are in the mood for fun, do read it.

Rating:
Summary: A Clever Dilbertian Tale
Review: Bellwether is a novel about some of the folks who work at HiTek corporation, a humorously portrayed workplace whose bureaucracy and dysfunctional operations seem to be ripped right from the pages of Dilbert. The primary characters are researchers who scramble to keep up with the changes in the paperwork they are required to file to obtain funding for their projects. They are joined by a hilariously written gofer who does just about everything except the tasks she is given.

Connie Willis hits the nail on the head with her portrayal of our society as a herd mentality bent on following the latest trend without thinking about what they are doing or why. At many points in the story her satire would have had me laughing out loud had it not been so soberingly dead-on. In the midst of this insanity, a researcher attempts to discover where fads originate and becomes intrigued by a coworker who seems to be "immune" to them. Their resulting collaboration injects notions from chaos theory into her fad research and, in the end, yields a clever answer.

There is nothing profound about the conclusion that Willis comes to - in fact, it is as much tongue-in-cheek as anything in this story. She makes some minor points regarding chaos theory and the behavior of nonlinear systems, but nothing earth-shattering - this is far from being hard science fiction. Rather, I found it a clever and very enjoyable tale of the chaos that goes on in our everyday lives, both in the workplace and our personal lives, and how some semblance of order emerges from that chaos.

I you're looking for something light and humorous, yet clever and thoughtful, give Bellwether a read. I truly enjoyed it!

Rating:
Summary: fads and chaos theory.
Review: Meet Sandra Foster. She works at the HiTek corporation, where she studies fads: to discover their roots and what, exactly, they mean. This isn't a completely good thing, however; she becomes so used to the idea of fads that she notices them everywhere. No one, not even the most minor of characters, is excluded from her notice.

The story really picks up when a package meant for someone who worked halfway across the building fell into Sandra's lap, thanks to Flip, the apathetic and trendy mail-girl.

Meet Bennett O'Reilly. He is a chaos theorist, working for HiTek, ever since the funding for his project at the Loue river in France fell through. All he really wants are a few monkeys to teach the hula hoop to... but when Flip loses his funding packet, Bennett and Sandra lose - and gain - a lot more.

Some sheep, for example. And a breakthrough in science (similar to Messier, Galvani, Roentgen, and even Einstein's theories). And true love.

Bellwether is a novel that is essentially a satire of the world as we know it; the idiocy of people who just don't seem to get it, the trends and fads that are seemingly far more common than you'd think, even how one person can change the outcome of their surroundings just by existing.

This is, in my opinion, Connie Willis' best book. Not only is it the one that I discovered Ms. Willis by, but it is also a fantastic love story, mystery, and heck - even educational, what with the paragraphs on fads of the past at the beginning of each chapter. Even if you do not think this novel is of the sort that you normally like, you should still read it. It will be worth it.

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining little read.
Review: It's amazing that every book Connie Willis writes is completely different from any other. My personal favorites are her time travel books, particularly "To Say Nothing of the Dog." In length, Bellweather falls between her short stories and her longer novels. You can't read this with the same mentality you read her long novels. This is really a light and fun long-short-story. Each chapter begins with an interesting paragraph detailing the rise and fall of a fad from some period of history. I enjoyed the book for those alone. The story itself was entertaining, but not riveting. The ending was wonderful and was the highlight of the book for me. (I was so relaxed I didn't see it coming!) All in all, an enjoyable little book.