22 October 2008

Review: To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis


If you could travel back in time, would your very presence change the future? Connie Willis's novel To Say Nothing of the Dog, Or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last addresses this question and more. The book is almost impossible to describe: It's a farce, a mystery, and little bit sci-fi. And one of the mysteries is, Just what the heck is a "bird stump"?

In mid-21st-century England, historian Ned Henry is sent to the 1940s to track down the bishop's bird stump, which was lost during a World War II air raid. Because he begins to suffer time lag (similar to jet lag) as a result of making too many trips to the past, Ned is sent to the Victorian era for some R&R. But a good night's sleep and peaceful days are hard to come by in any time period.

Willis has written a brilliant take-off on Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (which I reviewed here). Ned Henry's misadventures begin with what should have been a relaxing boat trip up the Thames. The adventures of another time-traveling historian, the beautiful Verity Kindle, begin when she takes a cat through time to contemporary Britain. Ned and Verity must return the cat to its Victorian owner, Tossie Mering, before the whole course of history is changed.

At the Merings' country home, Ned and Verity do their best to set history back on track, but they can't seem to get it right. While trying to break up a mismatched couple, fit in to Victorian society, manipulate seances, and force the Mering family to visit Conventry, Ned finds himself getting hopelessly tangled in the nuances of the space-time continuum. Along the way, he uncovers the mystery of the bird stump, revealing the surprising source of the unraveling of history.

I loved To Say Nothing of the Dog. Willis's book is the perfect blend of madcap adventure, mystery, and history. The humor doesn't overwhelm the story, and the relationships and action kept me interested throughout. Although the frame story takes place in the future, this is not science fiction in the traditional sense, and although there is a mystery, the book is not a "detective" novel. The book will keep you laughing (or chuckling), guessing, thinking, and well entertained.

I read Jerome's Three Men in a Boat before reading Willis's book, but there is really no need to do so. Some scenes in Willis's book are derived from the earlier book, and familiarity with Jerome enhances the humor in those places. On the other hand, To Say Nothing of the Dog stands firmly on its own. I highly recommend it.

I listened to the Recorded Books version of this book. Steven Crossley did an amazing job: Each voice was distinct and recognizable, and the inflections, pauses, and expression were near perfect.

This book was part of Katrina's Fall into Reading challenge. To see what others in this challenge have read, click here.

Published by Bantam Books, 1998
ISBN-13: 9780553575385
Challenge: Fall into Reading
Rating: A

6 comments:

Anonymous,  10/22/08, 7:59 AM  

Your review makes the book sound very intriguing. Thanks for a great review!

Lenore Appelhans 10/25/08, 10:52 AM  

I've had this on my wishlist for years because I loved her Doomsday Book so much. You've encouraged me to take the leap to actually purchase and read it :)

DebD 10/25/08, 1:23 PM  

I have not heard of this book and it sounds like its right up my alley. Thanks for the review.. and thanks for visiting my blog and commenting.

BTW, I love your header..it reminds me of Cambridge, England.

Beth F 10/25/08, 1:34 PM  

My header is Brugge, Belgium -- the photo was taken in May 2008 (by me!)

Jill 10/25/08, 10:58 PM  

I read this one when it first came out (and first reread the Jerome K Jerome book, just like you did!) and enjoyed it very much. In fact, it's been such a long time that I think I might have to reread it! Have you read Inside Job? I read it a few months ago and thought it was hilarious!

Beth F 10/26/08, 6:58 AM  

Thanks for the recommendation, Darla. I also need to read Doomsday Book.

Thanks for stopping by. I read all comments and may respond here, via e-mail, or on your blog. I visit everyone who comments, but not necessarily right away.

I cannot turn off word verification, but if you are logged into Blogger you can ignore the captcha. I have set posts older than 14 days to be on moderation. I can no longer accept anonymous comments. I'm so sorry if this means you have to register or if you have trouble commenting.

Copyright

All content and photos (except where noted) copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads 2008-2020. All rights reserved.

Quantcast

Thanks!

To The Blogger Guide, Blogger Buster, Tips Blogger, Our Blogger Templates, BlogU, and Exploding Boy for the code for customizing my blog. To Old Book Illustrations for my ID photo. To SEO for meta-tag analysis. To Blogger Widgets for the avatars in my comments and sidebar gadgets. To Review of the Web for more gadgets. To SuziQ from Whimpulsive for help with my comments section. To Cool Tricks N Tips for my Google +1 button.

Quick Linker

Services

SEO

  © Blogger template Coozie by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP