To Say Nothing of the Dog cover art

To Say Nothing of the Dog

Or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last

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To Say Nothing of the Dog

By: Connie Willis
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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About this listen

Connie Willis' Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Doomsday Book uses time travel for a serious look at how people connect with each other. In this Hugo-winning companion to that novel, she offers a completely different kind of time travel adventure: a delightful romantic comedy that pays hilarious homage to Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat.

When too many jumps back to 1940 leave 21st century Oxford history student Ned Henry exhausted, a relaxing trip to Victorian England seems the perfect solution. But complexities like recalcitrant rowboats, missing cats, and love at first sight make Ned's holiday anything but restful—to say nothing of the way hideous pieces of Victorian art can jeopardize the entire course of history.

Delightfully aided by the perfect comedic timing of narrator Steven Crossley, To Say Nothing of the Dog shows once again why Connie Willis is one of the most talented writers working today.

©1998 Connie Willis (P)2000 Recorded Books Fantasy Fiction Historical Fiction Science Fiction Time Travel Witty Funny

Critic Reviews

  • Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1999

"Willis effortlessly juggles comedy of manners, chaos theory and a wide range of literary allusions [with a] near flawlessness of plot, character and prose." (Publishers Weekly)
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I don't normally like time travel books - the contradictions involved annoy me. I made an exception for this book and was glad that I did. More than a hint (acknowledged) of Dorothy L Sayers, Jerome K Jerome and P G Wodehouse. Characterisation was good and I was drawn into the story. The narrator did a terrific job of distinguishing the characters and the mood that was present. Don't know if I would read any more in this series but T liked this.

Whimsey time travel

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Love Jeeves and Wooster style humor? Love Agatha Christie style mystery? Then you'll really enjoy this book.

Thank you Jeeves

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If you could sum up To Say Nothing of the Dog in three words, what would they be?

I had no idea it was possible to combine so many wonderful genres. mystery, victorian novel, and sci fi adventure all in one. Its hilarious, and such a pleasant read. the characters are wonderful, and the reader does an excellent job. I'm recommending it to everyone. Really great if you want something a little less heavy without giving up wit, intelligence, good plot, and great writing. Beautifully done!

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh out loud reactions consistently. What a great book to read on road trips or on breaks between work

Brilliant and hilarious

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clever fiction, well written and very funny.
great narrator.
I love this book and will listen to again.
Connie Willis rocks♥️

one of my long time favourites

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A genre mashup of the absurd with a squillion literary references - this is just plain funny and owns every ridiculous moment contextually. Again, like the first Oxford it is not without flaws and the lead in was a little baffling and the ending perhaps a little weak but the journey itself was a riot.

May Cyril the bulldog live forever with his luminous painted prophetic face.

This is madness. I'm here for it.

Here for all of this mad absurdity

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I picked up this book after several recommendations from reddit’s r/Fantasy. To Say Nothing of the Dog stands by itself very well, and is fantastically happy and comedic. It was just over 20 hours in audio, and took me a very long time to get through. It felt like a bit of a drag at times, but I think that had more to do with how long it took me to listen to the audiobook, rather than any writing flaws. Overall the book is great fun to listen to, and/or read.

Setting

To Say Nothing of the Dog (How We Found the Bishop’s Bird Stump) by Connie Willis is mostly set in Victorian Era England, with a few exceptions for various different time travel locations. Overall, about 80-90% of the book is probably set in the past during the Victorian Era, with small parts in the present (2050s), and World War 2.

Characters

There are 2 main characters who are thoroughly developed – Ned Henry and Verity Kindle. They’re both time travellers spending their time in Victorian England. There is a large supporting cast, which isn’t overly developed. I found a few of the characters to be more like caricatures, however this was well suited to the comedic elements of the book.

Plot

The book focuses on how small moments can have a massive effect on history, and follows Ned and Verity around as they try to fix an “irregularity” which could cause the Nazi’s to win WWII, or possibly tear apart the space-time continuum, that is to say, reality. They’re also simultaneously required to play the part expected of them in Victorian society.

Overall the book has a large number of plot threads which appear to be wholly irrelevant when you first read them, however they do become important later on. Willis does an excellent job of bringing all the events throughout the novel together in the end.

Other Thoughts

I listened to this audiobook while walking around the streets, and ended up receiving a few weird looks as I randomly started giggling and laughing. The narrator also did a fantastic job.

This is book 2 in the Oxford Time Travel series, but can be read separately from book 1. I’ve been told the tone of book 1 is quite different, but haven’t yet read it myself.

Audience

This book is probably best for people who like:
* Comedy
* Romance
* Time Travel
* History
* Historical fiction
* Sci-fi (it’s pretty light sci-fi though)
* Happy books

Fantastic Time Travel Rom-Com

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so many allusions it was hard to keep up. looking forward to listening to the next one.

Fabulous!

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A good story and an excellent performance makes this a great audio book for your collection

Fun listen

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A really clever mix of 1900s period fiction, whodunnits and science fiction. Narration was fantastically performed, and storyline was engaging and highly entertaining.

A great story ... to say nothing of the narration

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I can see why some like this book. however it's not really my preference. when two words will do the job, I'd stick with that, Connie on the other hand uses 25 words.

not really me

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