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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
CQD, November 18, 2001
Connie Willis has established a fine reputation within the science fiction field for her satires, her mixtures of finely-detailed, fully researched history and the speculative, and her treatment of emotionally charged thematic material. This book is not only no exception, it should enhance her reputation even more. The basic scientific point of departure here is the 'near death experience' (NDE), the 'light at the end of the tunnel' that many people have related in one form or another after close brushes with death. Joanna Lander is investigating the phenomenon from the psychological point of view and Richard Wright from the bio-chemical aspect. Dr. Wright has discovered a chemical that allows the apparent simulation of an NDE, and teams with Joanna as an expert interviewer for his test subjects. Due to a lack of suitable test subjects, Joanna eventually decides to try it herself, starting down a long road that leads by Pompeii, the Hindenberg disaster, the Great Molasses Flood, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and for a large portion of the book, the Titanic. Willis' main characters are exceptionally vivid. Most of the book is told from Joanna's point of view, and it is very hard not to get drawn in to her slow spiral to near-obsession with NDE's and the Titanic. Maize, a young girl with a major heart problem, will endear herself to you within two pages, possibly because of her unflinching, almost gleeful interest in the most horrible disasters of all time. Within the secondary characters we find all the usual Willis trademark intentional caricatures, from the snake-oil self-aggrandizing Mr. Mandrake, to the super-gullible matron of Mrs. Davenport, to the over-protective mother of Maize, to the over-talkative not-totally-truthful WWII veteran Mr. Wojakowski. These characters are mainly good for sticking pins in, along with some sharp spikes directed at hospital bureaucracies (and hospital buildings!), depicted here as so far removed from reality as to be almost surrealistic. But the satire is truly secondary to the main thrust of this book, which is a real investigation into not only what death is and what may lie beyond it, but what living is all about, even in the face of accident, pain, and tragedy. Along the way are some very interesting thoughts about how long-term associational memory works. The title of this review is an example: I had seen those three letters before, and recognized them the first time I encountered them in the book, but I couldn't remember when or where I had learned about them or what they meant. Later in the book when I saw them in context, I said "That's where I saw them!" (they have to do with some of the messages that were sent by the Titanic). Willis does a good job of explaining why this type of memory problem occurs, and also why certain 'coincidences' seem to occur (numbers players will not be happy with this). True to form, Willis' historical research is impressive, not just about details of the Titanic disaster, but several others as well, and her chapter titles of the last words of famous people are extremely interesting. My favorite was Beethoven's: "I shall hear in heaven". This book may be just a smidgen less excellent that her Doomsday Book, but both are high powered, emotional looks at the business of both living and dying, at religion and belief, at heroism and banality, and will find a secure lodging in both your brain and your heart.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intense ..., June 18, 2005
This review is from: Passage (Mass Market Paperback)
Despite the length of this and some of her other works, Connie Willis proves herself, in Passage, to be a writer for whom less is truly more. The plot of this book is relatively simple: Joanna Lander, a psychiatrist who researches Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) at the tortuous Mercy General Hospital, teams up with a young and brilliant neurologist named Richard Wright who has taken NDE research to the next level by administering drugs that simulate the near-death state. Together, they hope to uncover an explanation for why the mind sees strange visions for the several minutes before brain-death occurs, in order to better be able to revive patients. When most of the research volunteers turn out to be crackpots and lunatics, Joanna begins undergoing the tests herself in order to further the project. The rest of the book deals with what she sees during the sessions and the seemingly fruitless search for an explanation.
Willis fills this simple plot arc with a series of deliberately caricatured minor characters such as the credulous Mr. Mandrake, publisher of works with names like "Messages from the Other Side," who goes about the hospital trying to make sure patients' NDEs match up with his pre-conceived notions of the afterlife. Even the more sympathetic minor characters, like young Maisie Nellis, a girl with a severe heart condition, tell stories that are largely repetetive. It is almost possible to predict exactly what each character will say to another by halfway through the book. All this, I'm convinced, is intentional: through the use of repetition, garrulous and unvaried minor characters, and by harping on themes like the confusing tortuousness of the hospital and Dr. Wright's continual reading of brain scans, Willis builds the tension and cluastrophobia to the breaking point. She keeps the reader hooked by slowly, stubbornly ceding details about Joanna's own NDEs and repeatedly moving important information just out of the characters' -- and the reader's -- grasp.
She then proceeds to shatter this tense situation with a plot-twist all the more unbelieveable due to the claustrophobic repetition used up to that point; from there, you will not be able to put the work down until the very last page.
I've read many books and this is one of the few that I have willingly sacrificed hours of sleep for. Willis puts a lot on the line: she sets up a situation in which she basically needs to settle questions of faith and doubt, materialism and spiriutalism, life, death, and the afterlife in order to effect a satisfying resolution. The book is actually philosophically exciting, which is unusual in a "thriller." And, somehow, she manages to write a satisfying conclusion both on the level of characters and ideas -- not to mention bringing out some of the rich and beautiful prose for the first time; the writing everywhere else is terse and minimal, like the book as a whole.
I suppose I needn't add that I highly recommend this novel. It is a satisfying read on every level and not to be missed.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A thinking novel - it has everything except the kitchen sink, June 25, 2001
I promise to try to review this without going to plot details that might ruin it. I am an admitted fan of Connie Willis, and looked forward to reading Passage. I had only read the first chapter prior to buying it, and while I was a bit hesitant at the concept of NDEs, I thought, "Hey, its Connie Willis!" and plunked down my credit card to buy it. Took it home, and started reading. Here's my two cents: The bad: Yes, there does seem to be a lot of "ducking down hallways". Yes, it is busy and does get tedious at parts. Yes, it does involve the Titantic. Yes, someone ought to buy Connie Willis a thesaurus for the word 'confabulation'. And yes, there are some stereotypes in here. But the good outweighs it. I genuinely cared for Joanna, Richard, Vielle and Maisie. The emotional attachment I develop for the characters is one of those factors in what I think a good book is. Willis also manages to poke fun at so much in the genre, that a few times I had to just pause and laugh myself silly. (The quips about Celine Dion and 'Flatliners' really got to me.) To me, humor is a vital book element in dealing with a serious subject. Characterization is classic Willis. With a few simple words, she can almost sum up a whole person. Even the character stereotypes that Willis has included are not your standard cliches. (Mandrake comes to my mind first.) She manages to make them seem fresh and interesting. Also, there are no real "bad" guys in Passage. I find that refreshing as opposed to the classic megalomanical or serial murderer plot threads that seem to permeate science fiction these days. The story itself is well thought, and layered with meaning. As other people have pointed out in their reviews, this is definitely a thinking novel. There is so much going on from page one, that I think it will definitely require multiple readings just to pick up on her ideas. I started reading Passage with one set of ideas about near-death and after-death experiences...and have come away realizing that my thoughts and beliefs aren't as evolved out as I thought. So when you can laugh and cry and root for the characters, even through the tedious parts....And can come away from the ending going "wow, I never thought of that, I wish I had before!" That to me, is a sign of a good book. And Passage has it in spades. I'd give this book a rating of 5 stars, but it wasn't perfect (for the bad reasons I mentioned earlier). If only Amazon let me give half stars in addtion. As another reviewer mentioned: when you get down to the last 100 pages... Plan on reading them uninterrupted. There. My two cents. Take 'em baby, or leave 'em.
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