There is a scene in Connie Willis’ To Say Nothing of the Dog that has stayed with me. Our intrepid historian, Ned, accidentally travels back to the Middle Ages for a short time and witnesses a scene that is repeated in the book in three different historical moments – a woman is asking a man why he hasn’t done a thing she asked him to do and the man is making excuses. Ned cannot understand the words the woman and man are speaking, because English […]
A Gobstopper of a Novel
Thank you CBR book-club for forcing me to read outside of my usual genres. I usually read 1-2 science fiction books a year to appease Mr. Beth Ellen (it’s his favorite genre), but he gets to choose them so it’s always to his taste. I really enjoyed reading further into the genre, especially as I’m a sucker for time travel into the past. Doomsday book is two stories: it’s the story of Kirvin, an historian, traveling back to the 14th century to learn more about […]
Apocalyptic!
Science fiction writer Connie Willis is the winner of numerous Hugo and Nebula awards, including one of each for The Doomsday Book. This novel is an ingenious combination of themes such as time travel, pandemics, and faith. Her characters, whether Oxford University researchers in 2054 or English villagers in the 14th century, are fully realized individuals, with responsibilities, fears, jealousies, and loves. They will all be put to the test when tragedy strikes, and we see that, despite a 700 year time divide, people are […]
I actually went to bed early tonight, so I could lay in bed and finish this book!
I unabashedly loved this book. I borrowed it from the library as an ebook. I couldnt wait to climb into bed each night and read it! I thought that the characters were all well written and realistic. The two time periods were also very different and well explained. I’m not sure how to write a review of this book without being spoilery, so here’s your warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!! Kivrin is one of the main characters in this story. She’s an historian, and in the future […]