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)

Laugh-out-loud wonderful!

I've read the book, and I still enjoyed this audio version. It's even a thought-provoking study of time travel.

I love this book

I love this book. The first part so funny I laughed out loud. The Narrator is very good. I will get every book from this author and I would be happy to get another book from the same narrator.

What an odd little adventure!

I happen to be an admiring anglophile, and a great lover of all things Victorian (except perhaps, the furniture!). While this story has all the excitement of a day in punt, it also has all the charm. The reader in particular is superb, and adds so much to the story that I simply wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I'd merely read it myself. I dare you to listen to this 'dear-um dear-um' story and not smile.

Time Travel Comedy

This book seems for a long time like a light Victorian comedy, which it is, and very funny, but at the end it segues into more profundity as Willis always does with her time travel books, and the point is made about the elephant in the room in all her novels, the three-letter word beginning with "G" and ending with "d." This word is never, never said, or even discussed, but what is this time travel business, anyway? Can historians interfere with history? Who exactly is in charge of history, anyway?

The title derives from a once extremely popular Victorian comic book by Jerome K. Jerome, "Three Men in a Boat," which is occasionally referred to in 20th century literature, and this book recapitulates the plot, which is that some young men and a dog go river boating and get into a lot of trouble. And in this novel they do the same, and also fall in love, and propose marriage, and maybe interfere with history, or maybe not. Because one of the punters comes from very far away ---- in time.

Connie Willis invariably expresses the confusion and rush of life in her novels, and it seems that life was not more relaxed in Victorian times than in the late 21st century when the historians set out. If it is true that time was invented so that everything wouldn't happen at once, Willis makes clear that there really isn't enough of it provided all the same. This novel follows "Doomsday Book" but is not directly connected with it; Kivrin, heroine of Doomsday, who ran afoul of the Black Plague in the 14th century, never recovers through the next three novels but can occasionally be spotted mooning about Oxford like a plaster saint in a depression.

I liked this book a lot and plan to listen to it again. It is frantic and funny with a deeply satisfying resolution at the end.

Pick for fun!!!!

This is the first time I ever reviewed a book but I thought I should give some good words to this novel. The premise of time travel to help decorate a cathedral that no one wants rebuilt was pretty funny to me and I thought I would try it. The key to the book that I do miss in so many others is that it did meet my expectations. It was just fun.

Fabulous read wonderful performance

What a fun book! I laughed and had a wonderful time .I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Please be sure to find out about Jerome K. Jerome if you don't already know about his book

An immediate favorite

Masterfully written and narrated. Humorous with a silly suspense that makes you want to listen and listen.

This book has just about everything

it's primarily an interest thing and intriguing sci-fi novel, but it is international with a fascinating mystery. To say nothing of the dog combines these two genres better than I would've thought possible. It is also naturally historical fiction, but what I really love is the love story. It is a story that will warm your heart and keep you laughing as he combines all the best parts, but not the worst parts, of romance and comedy. Friends and I agree this is a great book.

Outstanding & Well Written

Connie Willis has done an outstanding job combining time travel, Victorians, romance and character study in a single work. Her attention to even the most minute detail is amazing. The story is well read by an excellent narrative and held my interest throughout. Kudos!!

I will say something

A sheer delight and
A wonderful adventure in time and imagination
I wish there were more like this