To Say Nothing Of The Dog - A Witty Time Travel Mystery Novel | Perfect for Sci-Fi Book Clubs & Connie Willis Fans | Great Gift for Readers Who Love Humorous Science Fiction

This is book #55 in my quest to read every Hugo Award-winning-novel (it's the 1999 winner), and I simply adored it! I was a little hesitant to re-enter Willis' Oxford time traveling series given the stark story she told in The Doomsday Book, but I needn't have worried--this book is a lighthearted romance/murder mystery/time travel novel that kept me laughing and interested throughout. I just loved it!*Brief Synopsis: In the year 2057, Oxford's time travel labs have all been pressed into the service of the austere and immeasurably wealthy Lady Schrapnell, who leverages the historians' time-travel abilities to collect information to guide her reconstruction of the Coventry Cathedral (which was destroyed in a German bombing raid during WWII). She mercilessly badgers historian Ned Henry to locate the "Bishop's Bird Stump", a kind of wrought-iron vase that held flowers during the Cathedral's services. Despite dozens of drops in only a few weeks, Ned is unable to find the Bird Stump and develops a bad case of "time lag"--a temporary confusion arising from imbalances in the inner ear due to time jumps. Mr. Dunworthy (a hero from The Doomsday Book) sends Ned back to 1888 to "get some rest" from his sickness and, incidentally, repair a discontinuity in the space-time continuum that emerged when fellow time traveler Verity Kindle instinctively saved a Victorian-era kitten from drowning and brought it to 21st Century England (where all cats and dogs are extinct.) Ned and Verity find themselves swept into a series of Victorian intrigues that would make Oscar Wilde, Agatha Christie, and Jane Austen proud, striving to repair the discontinuity by (you guessed it) ensuring that the proper couples do and do NOT fall in love. The story is a hilarious Victorian romp featuring rowboats, train stations, séances, boater hats, jumble sales, a surprising number of fish, and a happy ending that changes the prospects of time travel moving forward in the series (to say nothing of the dog!).*The Best Eclectic Mix I've Read in a While: It's so fun to write a book review that gushes about the book's similarity to an Agatha Christie mystery (I was SO glad to have just read my first one--I felt "in" on the joke! And I'm proud to say that I had the correct theory about the secondary mystery the entire time--"the butler did it!"), a Jane Austen romance (there's no exaggerating the bottom line that ALL the problems and triumphs in this story boil down to star-crossed romances), an Oscar Wilde play (much of the dialogue and characters "of class" came straight from "The Importance of Being Earnest", and its British wit is impeccable), and other top-notch time travels so beloved across science fiction (I particularly enjoyed the ways the continuum ingeniously works to correct itself--there's quite a satisfying "big reveal" that comes up right in the book's final pages). Quite simply, I doubt that there's ever been a book like this one--you've just got to read it to know what I mean. (And, incidentally, I've placed Jerome's "Three Men in a Boat" near the top of my to-read list--I want to read everything that inspired this!)*History--Individual Action vs. Societal "Blind Forces": This book was particularly fun to read on the heels of Asimov's Foundation series; whereas Asimov's Seldon is convinced that the future can be predicted based on the calculated actions of large populations, Willis counters with the importance of individual people (and cats) in creating chains of events that ripple outwards in the timeline's chaotic system. The fun thing is that these conflicting opinions come out in frequent arguments between historians, most notably between the rival Oxford scholars Professors Overforce and Peddick. "The problem of course, as in so many wars, was that Professor Peddick and Professor Overforce were both right." And I also loved the way that, despite viewing the reconstruction of the Coventry Cathedral as a waste of time and money at the beginning, as the story progresses all of the characters come to cherish and love it as the meaningful symbol it was--pretty powerful stuff. And I really like the "rules" of time travel in Willis' universe, in which time travel is given over to historians after its corporate creators fail to steal ancient treasure or carry out continuum-influencing murders.Notable Excerpts:*I love the witty "previews" that accompany the beginning of each chapter, cleverly telling us what's coming up.*"In books and vids, those being eavesdropped upon always thoughtfully explain what they are talking about for the edification of the eavesdropper."*"The entire past is a 10 (a measure of danger for Oxford time travel) for blacks."*(When Ned is trying to assess his time-space location): "In books and vids there's always a newsboy hawking papers with the date neatly visible for the time traveler to see or a calendar with the date marked off with an X. There was no sign of a calendar, a newsboy, or a friendly porter who'd volunteer 'Lovely weather for June 7th, isn't it sir? Not like last year; we hadn't any summer at all in '87!'"*I LOVE Ned's relationship with Princess Arjumand and Cyril--he's never engaged with domestic pets before and the unfolding relationships are really sweet. He keeps thinking that Princess Arjumand (the cat) must suffer from time lag because all she seems to want to do is sleep. "'I have to put you in the basket, I can't run the risk of your running away again. The universe is at stake.' The hum increased, and she laid a paw beseechingly on my hand. I carried her back over to the bed." ... "Curled up inside the carpet bag with her paws tucked under her chin she didn't look capable of altering history let alone destroying the continuum. But then neither had David's slingshot, or Flemming's moldy petri dish..."*"People never appreciate their own time, especially transportation. 20th century contemps complained about cancelled flights and gasoline prices. 18th century contemps complained about muddy roads and highwaymen. No doubt Professor Peddick's Greeks complained about recalcitrant horses and chariot wheels falling off."*"In memory of Ann Sewel, a worthy stirrer-upper of others to all holy virtues."*"'What do you think determined the outcome of the battle of Waterloo? Napoleon's handwriting, or his hemorrhoids?' 'Neither!' ... 'What do you think it was?' ... 'A cat,' he said... 'or a cart or a rat... something so insignificant no one even noticed it. ... Everything was relevant."I enjoyed this book so, so, so much--one of the ten best Hugo-winners I've read so far. I look forward to "Blackout/All Clear!"