After I read Doomsday Book a couple of years ago, a bunch of people told me that this one was much lighter in tone, and funny, but I didn’t realize it would be an almost straight up farce at points. To Say Nothing of the Dog takes place two years after the events of Doomsday Book, but either book can be read on its own without regard for the other. Oxford historian Mr. Dunworthy is the only character of any note who plays a role […]
I am time-lagged, but this is a great book
To Say Nothing of the Dog was delightful, especially reading it so quickly after the extended bleakness of Doomsday Book. I liked the latter, but To Say Nothing of the Dog had humor, levity, and, importantly, seemed much more edited. The story follows Ned Henry, a future historian who, along with the entire time travel research group at Oxford, has been enlisted by a demanding, omnipresent, and stubborn benefactor to rebuild the previously destroyed Coventry Cathedral in Oxford. Why, you ask? Well, her great-great-great grandmother […]
Only a month late to the reviewing party!
You can find my full review on my blog, but I’ve enclosed the highlights here: We’ve discussed at length what did and what didn’t work for us, and ultimately, my review is mixed. Here’s what worked for me: *The time travel—hearing how Kivrin was confused by the language and customs was deeply interesting and made me think how a “simple” difference of 28 years is actually an entire generation and could be disorienting if you didn’t know the culture at all. *Descriptions of the Plague—I […]
“I don’t want to go on the cart! I feel fine. I think I’ll to go for a walk!”
3.5 stars Kivrin Engle is a young history student at Oxford University, whose dream it is to time travel back in time to the Middle Ages. You see, in the 2050s, historians have the option to travel back in time as a research tool, to truly discover what the past was like. Most historians travel back to the early to mid 20th Century, and there are certain periods that are deemed far too dangerous. The Middle Ages has generally been deemed one of them, due […]