HELLOOOOOO, EDITORS?
This is still another book read recently that sorely needed editing. Does a reader really need repeated tedious references to the intricacies of the hospital's corridors? I got the idea after the initial explanation.
Whenever I'm hit over the head with repeated narrative, I always feel as though this is done simply to pad the text. Are they paid by the word?
I have almost always enjoyed Connie Willis' work. She has interesting concepts and fleshed-out characters. This, unfortunately, cannot be on my recommended list.

I am someone who loves books and reading. I forced myself to read this one all the way to the end, only because I am determined to give a book a chance. This book was one of the most tedious books I've read in I don't know how long, and that includes my postgrad textbooks! Ms. Willis could easily have tossed about half of this book out and still had a decent plot; how do you spell VERBOSE? Several of the "conversations" were just little rabbit trails that led nowhere plot-wise and could so easily have been eliminated. Another thing that began to get on my last nerve was her constant use of the word "confabulate". If I never hear that word again in this lifetime, it will not be soon enough! My advice: don't waste your valuable point on this book. If you think you must read it, check it out of the library.

I couldn't put this book down! It was eerie, and a little scary and uncomfortable--after all, most people don't want to contemplate death in clinical detail--but also, somehow, it was hopeful, upbeat, and touching. The characters were genuine, and the wordiness that some readers disliked made the story more real to me, as though I was living through the events with the characters. For me, Connie Willis can miss (To Say Nothing of the Dog), or hit the mark (The Doomsday Book), and Passage was another hit.

A serious fantasy (wih some hilarious sequences) with a bittersweet ending about two researchers studying near-death experiences. I recommend reading Spook by Mary Roach first.

Connie Willis excels at meshing humorously satirical commentary on interpersonal relationships with insights into the human condition that are so true they almost hurt. In 'Passage,' Joanna Lander is a researcher at a large hospital investigating near-death experiences. Her work is complicated by the difficulty of interviewing people who are near-death, but especially by the new-age charlatan who insists on being considered her colleague, Dr. Mandrake. Much of Joanna's time consists of trying to avoid Mandrake, but then she meets Dr. Wright, who has found a way, he believes, to simulate the near-death experience using drugs. Intrigued, Joanna joins him on his project - but a comedy of errors results in the project having not nearly enough volunteers, and Joanna herself decides to go under, and experience the NDE. Gradually, the mood changes from comedic to an increasingly frantic, obsessive, chaotic experience, as Joanna believes she is discovering truths about the NDE - but strangely, her experiences all seem to be tied to the Titanic disaster. People can't go to the sinking Titanic when they die - can they? She has the elusive feeling that she is missing some vital connection, always just on the edge of her consciousness.

This one is a bit different from Willis's time travel books. But still exceptional writing, compelling characters (the absent-minded doctor is perfectly developed). And the use of the Titanic as her metaphor for life and death is brilliant. She has pretty much run the gamut now, from farce (Bellweather)to action (To Say Nothing of the Dog) to tragedy (Passage and Lincoln's Dreams). If you haven't read her book Remake yet, get it and read it -- she uses comedy to tell us what the golden age of Hollywood was really like.

Willis is probably best know for her rather lighthearted SF books which, among other things, satirize workplace bureaucracy and everyday annoyances.

She's in a more serious mode here, and she handles the big issue--mortality--surprisingly well. A charming and in some ways daring book. The SF elements are well done--the neuroscience is plausible enough and there's lots of interesting stuff woven in about the Titanic and the people aboard. Not "high literature," but evidence that genre fiction can have some interesting things to say about serious issues.

Connie Willis writes science fiction for the (usually) nonscience fiction reader. Her books always raise interesting questions and keep the reader thinking long after the book has been finished. The beginning of this is a bit slow, as she establishes her charecters, setting and situation,describing the researchers, their project and the various problems they must overcome in their day to day work. However, sticking with the book pays off,as Joanna, the main character is pulled deeper and deeper into the project. Willis often ends her books on a slightly melancholy note, and this is no exception. Don't be scared off though, the ending is appropriate to the book and fits better than a ridiculously cheery happy ending would.

This started out as a great book, very thought provoking and different - it could have gone to great places but at the end it just kind of petered out. It's a good read and definetly gets you thinking about the afterlife - if only you could add some fire to the ending.

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This book scared the pants off me. I admit to skimming over a lot of the medical/technical background info on the research, that might have been a little over done. It seemed like the hospital/maze bit and the constant avoidance of certain characters was a little much, but when the "trips" started it got pretty intense and I didn't want to stop reading. I am still puzzling over the ending. If that is any idea of what it is actually like, and if I understood what Willis was trying to say - I'm not going!

Thought-provoking and touching - a great read.

This is such a great book- suspenseful, thoughtful, and addicting.

Haunting story

Insightful - had me digging out my old english lit books to look up references...

A tunnel, a light, a door...and beyond it...the unimaginable.

Great science fiction reading from Hugo and Nebula winning author Connie Willis.

Near death experience takes a woman to the past

Very engaging

I've read lots of Connie Willis's books and this one is maybe one of the most memorable. It deals with the "near death" experience as a couple of researchers are studying it - or trying to study it. In this story everyone seems to have a shipboard experience and most resemble the Titanic, so if you have an interest in the Titanic disaster, and you enjoy Connie Willis, this is a must read for you!

A psychologist studying near-death experiences and trying to induce them in patients to confirm their existence.

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