To Say Nothing of the Dog (Oxford Time Travel, #2) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Jan 10, 2017 Rosemary rated it it was amazing

I missed my bus one day because I was standing in the bookstore reading the first delightful chapter of this fizzy fantasy. I was wise enough to buy the book there and then, and read a couple more chapters at the bus stop, then a couple more on the bus, and finally gulping the rest down in a rush at home. Since then I've acquired a hardback copy, read it more slowly, and have taken the time to truly savor the search for the bishop's bird stump. ...more

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Aug 13, 2009 Cairnraiser rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, fiction, humor, library

A couple of time travellers are stuck in victorian times trying to correct a flaw in history and the space-time continuum, apparently caused by an object being mistakenly brought forward in time.

To Say Nothing of the Dog is a funny and engaging story, which references a number of other books, not least among these Three Men in a Boat, but also the mysteries of Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie
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Dec 04, 2008 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is obviously some sort of homage to Three Men in a Boat - and as such, I thought it was delightfully entertaining. It contains some of the same style points, including a plot synopsis at the beginning of each chapter and a boat trip down the river in the Victorian era, with three men and a dog. However, this book actually has a plot, and the characters are fairly well developed.
In this book, Ned Henry is a historian/time traveler. Interestingly enough, time travel as a field is part o This book is obviously some sort of homage to Three Men in a Boat - and as such, I thought it was delightfully entertaining. It contains some of the same style points, including a plot synopsis at the beginning of each chapter and a boat trip down the river in the Victorian era, with three men and a dog. However, this book actually has a plot, and the characters are fairly well developed.
In this book, Ned Henry is a historian/time traveler. Interestingly enough, time travel as a field is part of the history department at a university. (If time travel were to be invented, I would imagine it would be initially controlled by a Physics department, with the government soon taking over. If historians were involved, it would be in a consulting role. Perhaps my perceptions are tainted by my engineering/military background.) A very influential benefactor, the tyrannical and aptly named Lady Schrapnell, has taken over the operations of the time travel net, by promises of future funding. She currently is working on a pet project to rebuild the Coventry Cathedral, destroyed in WWII. One of her ancestors had a life-changing moment in this cathedral, tied to a vase otherwise known as the bishop's bird stump. She is trying to get the historian time-travellers to recover this artifact - she is willing to break any rules to gain her objective.

Ned Henry has been through so many 'drops' in the recent past that he's experiencing symptoms of overwork. (Much like J. in Three Men in a Boat..) The doctor recommends two weeks of rest - so he is sent back to the Victorian era. There, he meets Verity, another time traveler, and Lady Schrapnell's ancestor Tossie. A comedy of errors results as based on the few clues in modern history, Ned and Verity attempt to ensure that events happen as they are supposed to happen.

This is a very light-hearted perspective of time travel,chaos theory, and history. Ideas that occur include the importance of each minor detail to the eventual 'outcome'...whether history is most influenced by individual actions or forces of population...incongruities and slippage...

An incongruity, to my understanding, is when someone from the future goes back and changes something from the past that is significant - thus, causing cascading alterations throughout time to 'fix' the incongruity. Eventually, either things will be resolved as if the incongruity never occurred - or, if the incongruity is serious enough, the system will become more and more unstable and who knows what will happen? The time net has built in safety functions to prevent incongruities - you should not be able to bring articles or people or anything significant from the past to the future.

Anyway, the logistics of the time travel was the least interesting part of the book to me - probably because there are too many logical holes in the discussion. So from that perspective, I can appreciate putting time travel in the history department - this was more about thinking about "what if's?". What is the pivotal point an event hinges on? Is there a point? Or is it some sort of web, with many unknown and seemingly insignificant threads?

The plot synopsis in this book are even more fun than the ones in Three Men in a Boat - and it's probably just me, but each chapter, I felt like there was one included as a red herring - it either was in the wrong place in the synopsis, or it didn't seem to occur in the chapter at all! Perhaps on a re-read I'll be able to identify all of the connections. I could also probably spend years tracing literary allusions and references - the book is full of them. ...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Tracey rated it really liked it

Shelves: due-for-re-read

Must've read this pre-2004 - the first Willis I read, I think & I quite enjoyed it. Definitely due for a re-read. ...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Andrea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, time-travel

This was my first Connie Willis book. I really enjoyed the characters and the humor, although I was getting quite ready for a resolution by the end of it. Lots of witty banter and fun time travel.

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Oct 01, 2008 Rachel rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, sci-fi

I enjoyed this sci-fi historical fiction romp in the 1800's dealing with time travel and the disturbances people can make when going back in time and messing with people and objects. Was slow to start, but once it picked up, I breezed through the rest. Also has some connections to Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat. So, if you've read that, it will be more enjoyable (though not necessary). ...more

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