To Say Nothing of the Dog

Author: Connie Willis
Genre: fiction, sf
Publication info: Bantam Books, 1998
Pages: 493

I loved this book. Connie Willis has not disappointed me yet. My first encounter with her work was several years ago when I read Doomsday Book. I don't know why it took me so long to come back to her because I loved that one as well. The two books actually take place in the same universe, so to speak, but whereas Doomsday Book has a more or less serious theme, To Say Nothing of the Dog is lighthearted most of the way through.

And not just lighthearted. It's downright hilarious. Imagine P. G. Wodehouse writing science fiction, and this book is what you get. Rarely does a book make me laugh out loud, but this one did many, many times. The narrator's dry and witty voice, the quirky characters, the very human-like animals---they all combined to make one heck of a funny story. I also really liked the "summaries" at the beginning of every chapter.

The premise is a little hard to explain, mainly because it is based on the most complex idea of time travel I have ever heard of in science fiction. Willis really has thought it through, which is nice, but it's also a little confusing because sometimes the plot turns on a concept I don't entirely understand (incongruities and slippage, for example). But I enjoyed the story so much that I trusted her and kept going.

Basically, a historian from 2057 named Ned Henry is on the hunt for something called the bishop's bird stump. He has to travel back to 1940 to find out what became of it. But trouble arises when another historian, Verity Kindle, brings through time a cat from 1888. Now Ned has to go back to Victorian England and together with Verity prevent history from changing---because it's amazing what difference a single cat can make.

Most of the action takes place in the Victorian Period, and Willis does a great job portraying that era, not to mention subtly making fun of it. Her style makes the book a lot of fun to read. She seems to know England very well, even though she herself is American.

What more can I say? I loved this book, and I highly recommend it anyone---even to those not terribly interested in science fiction. It's the story that makes it. The story makes it great.