Bellwether

Rating:
Summary: Endless Trivial Drivel of Science Trivia
Review: From where does Bantam Spectra have the gaul to call this book Science Fiction. It is neither Sceince, nor fiction, it lacks any trace of a plot. The most accurate description that I have for this book is: "Endless trivial drivel of science trivia". No more, no less.

This book was written in 96, and is extemely dated. Willis' writing style is more suited to a "best-seller" then it is to anything scientific. Her sophmoric quips and one-liners miss the target and fail to amuse.

The only redeeming quality that I found in this book was that it is short, and can be read in a few hours. But why waste them? The poor substitute for a plot is as transparent as air. If you're looking for amusement, try a dilbert book, because that's who Willis is trying to emulate here. Unfortunately she doesn't come close to his level.

Rating:
Summary: Not for your run-of-the-mill reader
Review: Have you ever looked around and wondered why everyone seems to be driving an Expedition, forcing their children to play soccer, reading exclusively from Oprah's booklist, and wearing the same Lands End coat?? In Bellwether, Willis explores fads and trends, and examines why people so blindly and reverently fall in line with whatever is currently "trendy." The heroine in the story is a research scientist trying to determine the pattern of fad development using (appropriately enough) sheep. I laughed until I cried, recognizing many people I know -- including the "fad-resistant" researcher who reminds me of the man I married.

Of course, if you drive an Expedition and toss your wailing child onto the soccer field against his will -- then don't bother reading this book. You won't get it.

Rating:
Summary: Fun fads
Review: I thought the information about fads in the beginning of each chapter was really interesting. It was cool how it related to each chapter, and while I was reading I was also learning. The story line was never slow and it kept me wondering what would happen next. As in the topic, the events are unexpected and that makes it interesting.

Rating:
Summary: ill-conceived, awkwardly executed fluff
Review: One star is harsh maybe, but necessary for balance considering that some hyperbolic (smoking) reviewers are calling this small, clumsy bit of fluff "brilliant". On the other hand, not a single review below criticizes it for not being science-fiction. "The Bellwether"'s (smoking) apologists are making a strawman out of this matter. In any case, if this book makes you laugh aloud, all I can say is that you are very easily amused (a very easily amused smoker).

Rating:
Summary: Delightful Read
Review: I suppose the other reviewers are right in that this isn't really science fiction - but it's an absolutely delightful read regardless of genre. One of my favorite things about Connie Willis' books are her fantastic characters and in this aspect she doesn't stray in the least with Bellwether. Being a fairly short book and one that doesn't let up in the least, it's an excellent way to spend a saturday afternoon.

Rating:
Summary: so-so
Review: Let's be clear: There is no reason to fault a science-fiction writer for not writing science fiction, but there is every reason to fault a novel that purports to be about science and isn't. If you want an exciting, light, very readable book that makes you feel you are taking part in an important scientific discovery and teaches you something about science without taxing your powers of concentration, read Watson's "Double Helix". (It may comfort you to know that some consider "Double Helix" as much fiction as "Bellwether". I can't say, but if "Double Helix" is fiction, it is certainly better fiction.)

The anti-anti-smoking tract obtrusively interlaced into the plot (such as it is) of "Bellwether" is not funny or witty or even believable. The author's protagonists, the one a sociologist, the other a scientist (though the author seems insensible of the distinction) are portrayed as non-smokers who are not the least bit discomfited by close-range cigarette smoke. Here's the straight dope, smokers: If any such persons exist in real life, they are strange physiological freaks. (Want to be honest? Next time don't ask, "Do you mind if I smoke?" Ask either, "Are you a smoker too?" or, "Will you suffer my smoking mutely?")

Rating:
Summary: moderately entertaining but flawed
Review: This is an attempt at a Katherine-Hepburn/Spencer-Tracy sort of romantic farce. The Hepburn character is a sociologist researching trying to discover why flappers bobbed their hair in the twenties. This circumstance affords the author the opportunity to skewer various fads circulating in the middle nineties. One problem is that Ms. Willis and her heroine define "fad" very loosely and arbitrarily: for example, a running theme is that legislation which prohibits smoking in public places is a pernicious and monumentally unjust fad--smokers with persecution complexes will be sympathetic, the rest of us simply annoyed. Another problem is that, unlike her Tracy character, whom she exalts for his imperviousness, the author is herself very susceptible to insidious fads of language: I found one "hopefully" pretending to mean "I hope," two "oxymoron"s used incorrectly (an oxymoron is by definition not just any contradiction in terms, but a deliberate literary device), and one "just that" (a perfectly correct but obnoxious rhetorical mannerism prevalent in the eighties). Overall, the prose is glib and perfunctory. The climax and denouement of "The Bellwether" are predictable, unconvincing, unsatisfying, and forced. (On the other hand, the protest about libraries throwing out classics that happen not to have been checked out lately to make room for tens of copies of worthless ephemeral bestsellers is very much on the mark.)

Rating:
Summary: Lots of Fun
Review: Since having this title recommended to me through Amazon, I have since added Connie Willis to my list of favorite authors. I have recommended this book to many friends and have handed out a copy or two. No one has been disatisfied yet! It's a great blend of smart writing and a slice of contemporary life with a bit of science and romance thrown in. It reminds me a bit of the movie Office Space in it's look at corporate life.

Rating:
Summary: Time to Recognize Connie Willis for What She Is
Review: When will America's critics wake up and recognize Ms. Willis for what she is? She stays in the SciFi ghetto where her many fans are happy to have her but where the larger crowd of general readers will never hear of her. Willis can hold her own with the best of them. Doomsday Book was a moving drama which offered wise thoughts on the roles of science and religion in society. Bellwether is wonderful social satire. C'mon you eggheads! Time to wake up and smell the genius!

Rating:
Summary: I told two friends and they told two friends...
Review: This is the kind of book you can't keep to yourself. After I read it I forced it on as many friends as I could, who in turn lent it out to their friends and co-workers. By the time I got it back probably 20 people had read it and loved it. I won't get into details of the plot, as lots of others have done that, but suffice it to say that this is a brilliant read. I often had to stop reading because I was laughing so hard, and I tried (unsuccessfully) to take several days to read it so it wouldn't end so quickly. Connie Willis is wickedly funny, and spot-on in her depiction of "New Management", as anyone who has worked in a large institution or corporation will attest. I Flip-ed for this book!