To Say Nothing of the Dog

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

By: Connie Willis

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Length: 20 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

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

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)

Delightful book, read by an excellent reader.

This book is part science-fiction, part mystery, part historical novel, part comedy, and part romance--to say nothing of the dog (and cats and fish). The author weaves these elements together into one of the best audio books that I have come across (I have listened to around 100 novels, with around 50 professionally narrated). It was refreshing to listen to a "G-rated" novel that the whole family can enjoy. It is no wonder that it won so many awards.

The plot was fairly complex (which I like), but it was not too difficult to follow or to figure out parts of the mystery. Even with a seasoned "plot guesser" like myself, it still supplied some surprises. I have a degree in physics and appreciated the thought put into "science" behind the fiction.

The narrator did an excellent job with the voice characterizations. I hope he continues to read the sequels.

At between 20 and 25 hours, the length was just right for making the last month of commutes more enjoyable.

Excellent

This was a great story/reader pairing. The reader did a superb job of moving from one character to the other, bringing them to life and making them lovable, insufferable and so forth. I had a great time, the story was funny but interesting, sprinkled with tidbits of history and making me think of the grand plan versus individual action balance throughout. I had not enjoyed Doomsday Book from the author but think in hindsight the issue was the reader for that one made it excruciatingly painful to get through. Other authors I enjoy are Jodi Taylor, Terry Pratchett, and Jasper Fforde.

Funny Book about Time Travel

What made the experience of listening to To Say Nothing of the Dog the most enjoyable?

The premise was silly, but the language used and the many misadventures were quite hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed myself while listening.

What did you like best about this story?

It was funny, and had a different take on time travel than many books in this genre.

What about Steven Crossley’s performance did you like?

Good narration that brought across the voice of the characters, including the humor of the situation.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I had enough time!

Any additional comments?

It led me to listen to the rest of Claire Willis's more serious time-travel books, involving World War II in England. I felt these were well researched and were an interesting take on the historical novel.

I do say

Great performance by the narrator, he really drew me into the book. I liked Ned and Terrance and other supporting characters but Lady Shrapnel and Mrs. Mering where a bit of an annoyance. Overall, a worthy read that had me laughing of its ridiculousness.

Entertaining, enjoyable listen!

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

Authentic Endearing characters

What was one of the most memorable moments of To Say Nothing of the Dog?

I don't want to give anything away!

What does Steven Crossley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He does an amazing job creating believable personalities for each character in the story. Very talented narrator I absolutely adore the way he effortlessly switched from one character to the next.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to this while painting every room in my rental property. It made my work so much less burdensome. This story was easy to follow and very entertaining.

Any additional comments?

Loved it and highly recommend this book. I will be looking for other books narrated by this actor!

Outstanding performance!

I would have likely enjoyed reading this book, but Steven Crossley's reading made this an incredibly fun and amusing listen. Not being British myself I would never have heard the words and phrases quite right. This is a wonderful book to listen to and am sure I will many times.

Hilarious

Silliest, most fun book I’ve listened to in ages; the names alone made me laugh out loud. All of the historical tidbits made it even better.

Not as good as here others

What did you like best about To Say Nothing of the Dog? What did you like least?

A cute story with a great ending but not as good as the Doomsday Book

I love the narrator

Great book, very amusing wonderful story line and plot development. Nice for something to laugh at

Most Amusing

Clever and interesting. Excellent narrator. Connie Willis imagines a time-travel story to multiple places and times with such charm and wit that you almost certainly will want to read it again immediately after finishing just to catch all the clever details you might have missed the first go round. And cats.