To Say Nothing of the Dog

After so much time spent reading young adult novels, I felt it was time for me to branch out a bit and try a book that was actually written for normal people who aren't suffering from debilitating cases of teen angst and hormonal crises. I polled some friends, and was told that To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis was a fun book that somehow managed to blend Victorian literature with time travel. I was initially a bit put off by the length of the book (a whopping 493 pages) compared to the fluffy teen fiction I've gotten used to, but once I bit the bullet and dove in I was glad that there was so much book to enjoy.

The novel follow Ed Henry, a time traveling historian from the mid 21st century who has been drafted into an assinine project to rebuild Coventry Cathedral with painstaking accuracy. His particular mission is to track down a historical artifact from the Cathedral known as the Bishop's Bird Stump, a breathtakingly hideous vase that went missing during the German blitz. Too much time travel quickly causes Ned to come down with a bad case of time lag, one of the first symptoms of which is "a tendency towards maudlin sentimentality, like an Irishman in his cups or a Victorian poet cold sober." Due to his time lag he becomes confused and forgetful, and suddenly finds himself being sent back to Victorian England on a mission that he doesn't know a thing about. As might be expected, hilarity and confusion ensue as Ned tries his best to figure out his mission, while at the same time avoiding disrupting the space-time continuum and accidentally destroying the universe.

The book reads like a mashup of P.G. Wodehouse and Douglas Adams. It brilliantly captures the dry and restrained humor of Victorian satire, while weaving in just enough comic sci-fi to keep things fresh and interesting. The book doesn't look too hard at the mechanics of time travel, but it does play a lot with the unforseen consequences of small actions on larger historical events. To an extent this book is a comedy of errors, as Ned bumbles about England trying to accomplish his mission without offending Victorian sensibilities. The true humor and joy of the book, though, is in the characters themselves. Each character is a caricature of various literary stereotypes that are at once familiar and fun. Willis has such a strong mastery of her characterization, as well as of the generic conventions that she is parodying, that when her characters break with their traditional roles it is all the more surprising and delightful.

The writing flows well and is full of dry humor, apt litarary references, and enough wild speculation to keep any reader engaged and laughing throughout the novels considerable length. When I first heard of this book it was described as a novel that is perfect for Whovians (fans of Doctor Who) because it is a blend of Sci-Fi and history, with loads of British humor thrown in. I agree, but feel that this would apply to a much broader audience that the dear old Doctor. This is a book for anyone who loves literature, mystery, romance, or just wants to have a good laugh. Although the novel may not have engaged me much at an emotional level, the book completely delighted me from start to finish. It's probably the deepest book I've ever read that deserves to be called "light reading."

Score: 9/10
Read this book if: You like satire and parodies of either Sci-Fi or classic lit. Fans of P.G. Wodehouse, Douglas Adams, and Oscar Wilde will feel right at home. Also if you enjoy reading classic mystery novels or Victorian lit, and enjoy the occasional joke at the expense of the old literary masters.
Don't read this book if: You want a story that offers intense emotional engagement, will make you cry, or will change the way you look at the world. This is a great book, but it's just for fun.