“Willis effortlessly juggles comedy of manners, chaos theory and a wide range of literary allusions [with a] near flawlessness of plot, character and prose.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
From Connie Willis, winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards, comes a comedic romp through an unpredictable world of mystery, love, and time travel.
Ned Henry is badly in need of a rest. He’s been shuttling between the twenty-first century and the 1940s in search of a hideous Victorian vase called “the bishop’s bird stump” as part of a project to restore the famed Coventry Cathedral, destroyed in a Nazi air raid.
But then Verity Kindle, a fellow time traveler, inadvertently brings back something from the past. Now Ned must jump to the Victorian era to help Verity put things right—not only to save the project but also to prevent altering history itself.
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To Say Nothing of the Dog: A novel of the Oxford Time Travel series
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To Say Nothing of the Dog: A novel of the Oxford Time Travel series
“How can a modern American capture so perfectly the lyrical beauty, the tumult of thought, the arrogance, prejudice and charm, the sheer Englishness of Oxford in 1888? . . . It is all a journey of wit, humor, love and the sheer joy of life.”—Anne Perry, The Wall Street Journal
“Swiftly paced and full of laughter, Willis’ comedy of manners (and errors) is the most hilarious book of its kind since John Irving’s The Water-Method Man and A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.”—Des Moines Sunday Register
“I have long thought that Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men In A Boat is one of the highest points of Inimitable British Humor. I chuckle; I gurgle; I know those three men—to say nothing of the dog. And now I am convinced there was a woman concealed in that boat, too: Connie Willis.”—Laurie R. King
Overall rating: 3.75 / 5 from 4 reviews.
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Reviews
Great author's scope of story ideas stretches again
"I'm not far into it yet but finding it very interesting and engaging so far. Interesting premise. Think read somewhere it is a comedy of errors. . . agree setting up to be in the style of ""The Importance of Being Earnest"". I really like this author and always look for any books by her that I've missed."
— PAM (5/5)
scifi
"This book is still about returning a cat in hopes that time anomalies don't destroy the universe. It's not near as exciting as you would hope. I can't muster the interest to continue."
— Theicecamel (1/5)
One of my favourite books
"To Say Nothing of the Dog is one of my favourites. Connie Willis combines all the aspects that I like from mystery novels, dramas, and exciting science fiction, and it pretty much checks all the boxes I look for in a novel: it's very well-written novel, it has a range of great characters, and it's got a gripping, character-driven plot. The internal logic of the time travel is also quite clever, and the characters approach it in an intelligent way. Of course, backward time travel is about as impossible as anything you can think of, so if there's a science nerd in you, you're going to have to turn him/her off and just try to enjoy yourself. I'm still not quite sold on the idea that human affairs are somehow more important to the spacetime continuum than natural events, but if you accept that initial premise, it's mostly lacking paradoxes, which is pretty impressive for this kind of story. It should be noted that, while I found it to be funny, To Say Nothing of the Dog is more a comedy of errors than a full-blown comedy. The term ""comedy of errors"" fits it quite well, as the humour mostly comes from in situtions caused by mistakes the characters make, as well as some witty writing and sarcastic narration from the protagonist. It can be hard to find really good sci-fi. Often, I'll find a novel with a great hook, but it isn't very well written, or the writing is over-stylized and feels disjointed, or the characters are flat and boring, or (particularly in older science fiction) it's flat out sexist and women are either objects or sheep. When I first read this book, I found it to be a refreshing change from the sorts of books I'd been reading at the time, and I'd definitely recommend it."
— Nate (5/5)
To Say Nothing of the Dog
"I always enjoy Willis' time travelling world, this is a great addition to it. Lighthearted, not really funny in my opinion but maybe I'm just not on that humour train."
— Melanie (4/5)
Q&A
Published date: Oct 31, 2023
Language: English
No. of Pages: 608
Publisher: Random House Worlds
ISBN: 9780593724347
Dimensions:
5.46" W x
1.3" L x
8.26" H
Connie Willis has won six Nebula and Six Hugo Awards (more than any other science fiction writer) and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for her first novel, Lincoln’s Dreams. Her novel Doomsday Book won both the Nebula and Hugo Awards, and her first short-story collection, Fire Watch, was a New York Times Notable Book. Her other works include Bellwether, Impossible Things, Remake, and Uncharted Territory. Ms. Willis lives in Greeley, Colorado, with her family.
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