To Say Nothing of the Dog [Hardcover]

Connie Willis (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Bantam; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (1998)
• ASIN: B000KD5G24
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (290 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,871,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

122 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery, comedy and time-travel, January 10, 2001

By 

Kristin S. (Vermont, U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Say Nothing of the Dog (Mass Market Paperback)

It isn't often that I read a book for the first time and it instantly becomes one of my favorites. "To Say Nothing of the Dog" did that, though. I love this novel!

Connie Willis flawlessly combines so many elements in this book: It's part mystery novel, part sci-fi, part time-travel drama, part Victorian romance, part comedy. The characters and situations are extremely funny, but at the same time, there is a deep and serious plot going on.

Ned Henry goes back to the Victorian era to get some rest -- he is time-lagged from going back and forth from 2057 to 1940 to locate an ugly piece of Victorian art. But, he also has an important mission to complete in 1888. Verity Kindle, a fellow time-traveler, inadvertently brought something back from the past. Ned and Verity must put things right before the course of history is changed and the space-time continuum breaks down. Ms. Willis portrays the worlds of 2057, 1940 and 1888 with equal ease and vivid descriptions.

There is mystery (Why was Verity able to bring what she did through the time-travel apparatus? What was it? How does it relate to the Bishop's Bird Stump? What is the Bishop's Bird Stump and why is it important?). There is science fiction (More about the "net" and how it works than in Doomsday Book). And, there is comedy. Ms. Willis' witty characterizations are reminiscent of Oscar Wilde or Jane Austen (Tossie is Cecily from The Importance of Being Earnest. Colonel and Mrs. Mering are Mr. and Mrs. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice.) Ned is hysterical as he struggles through an era he knows nothing about.

Fans of Doomsday Book will enjoy the return of Dunworthy and Finch. But, in my opinion, To Say Nothing of the Dog is much better than Doomsday Book.

I couldn't put this book down, and I was extremely satisfied with the ending. All the mysteries are solved and the facts are presented -- but a twist at the end leaves a new mystery unsolved. A fantastic book! I hope for more time-travel novels from Connie Willis.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Penwipers, cats and the Luftwaffe, August 3, 2000

By 

Chris Gladis "Chris" (Osaka, JAPAN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Say Nothing of the Dog (Mass Market Paperback)

I swear, Connie Willis must collect awards for fun and profit. I've loved everything of hers that I've read, but this was the first, and still one of my favorites. She's managed to write a historical novel/romance/comedy/mystery/scifi story in one impeccable volume. While trying to unravel the various paradoxes of time travel, you're treated to the inanities of Victorian England, which can (and probably will) have you laughing out loud. With the mystery of the drowned cat, and the atrocity that is the Bishop's Bird Stump, among other things, she keeps you tied to the book up until the end - just when you think everything is sorted out, we find that we're all wrong. Ms. Willis pays perfect homage to the great writers of the past as well, so opick up some Christie and Jerome K. Jerome while you're at it. Highly recommended....

51 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The funniest book in the SFF genre that I've read in years!, April 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: To Say Nothing of the Dog (Mass Market Paperback)

_To Say Nothing of the Dog_ takes place in the same time-traveling world that Willis describes in _Doomsday Book_, but is much, MUCH more lighthearted in tone.

Ned Henry, a time traveler of the 21st century, is sent to the Victorian Age for some badly needed rest.

He doesn't find it. Instead he is drawn into a mission with fellow historian Verity Kindle: stop history from altering itself AND find the most hideous of all hideous Victorian monstrosities, the bishop's bird stump.

This fabulous novel, while at heart always SFF, is also a mystery, romance, comedy-of-manners, and adventure at the same time. With plenty of allusions to Jerome K. Jerome, Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins (and a spoiler for _The Moonstone_!), and Dorothy L. Sayers, as well as unforgettable secondary characters like Lady Shrapnell, Cecil, and Lady Arjumand, you will find yourself finishing this 400+ page book in record time.