TJ (logically) - reviewed on 3/25/2010 + 3 more book reviews

Ned Henry is a historian badly in need of a rest. As a historian, he's been running back and forth in through time to find the bishop's bird stump for his tyrannical employer, Lady Schrapnell. All these trips have left him with "time-lag," which is a condition resulting from too much time travel and manifests symptoms such as Difficulty Distinguishing Sounds, Tendency to Sentimentality, and an inability to think logically. The only cure is rest--something completely foreign to any one in the employ of Lady Schrapnell. To get Ned out of the way (and to attempt to fix a damaged time continuum), Ned is sent back to the Victorian era on a mission. If only he could remember what it was...

Honestly it took me a little while to get into TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG, but once I was into it, I was lost. I'm not entirely sure why it took me so long (about 70 pages) to warm up to TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG. I found plenty humorous in those pages, I just didn't feel compelled to read. This might be because the action doesn't really begin until Ned meets up with fellow historian, Verity Kindle... In fact, other than than Willis' humor and obvious talent at writing, the relationship between Ned and Verity was one of my foremost enjoyments of the book.

Willis really managed a deft humor in TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG. However, it's certainly a sense of humor that will either mesh completely with a reader or leave the reader completely wanting. For me, it was perfect. Willis mixes literary references (especially to Jerome K. Jerome's THREE MEN IN A BOAT), historical quirks (like Arthur Conan Doyle's interest in spiritualism/the paranormal), and comedic situations--which was perfect to tickle my funny bone.

The humor was great for me and (to be embarrassingly honest), I found that the time travel aspect was a good introduction to time-travel fiction. Yes, I have until now not really read anything having to do with time travel. Willis' version of time travel appealed to me. Although I can't speak from an experienced point of view, I liked how she dealt with incongruities and "time-slippage". That isn't even to mention time-lag, which I found hilarious and wonderful. I loved how completely lost Ned was at the beginning of the book due to time lag. His inability to Distinguish Sounds and Tendency to Sentimentality never got old:
"Also, I seemed to have overcome my Tendency to Sentimentality. The younger lady had a pretty heart-shaped face, and even prettier ankle-shaped ankles, which I'd caught a glimpse of when she alighted from the train, but I hadn't felt any inclination to dissolve into rapturous comparisons with sylphs or cherubim. Better still, I had been able to come up with both words without any trouble. I felt completely cured" (p61).

I probably shouldn't mention how I chortled ridiculously every time Ned refers to the symptoms in capitalized form...

TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG doesn't fit nicely into any particular genre. I lump it into science fiction just to keep things simple, but it really has a lot of great aspects. It's truly humorous, has a great romance (with one of my favorite romantic lines probably ever--if you ask I may just tell you what it is), a mystery...

Except for the rocky start, I enjoyed TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG immensely. I'm looking very much forward to my next Connie Willis read...

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