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)

Fun, wild and great narrator!

I discovered Connie Willis a few weeks ago with the short BELLWEATHER. Love the humor, complexity of plot, historical context, and the lovely characters.

Perfect story for an Audible presentation!

Connie Willis wrote a colorful, lively story that makes me want a sequel! Steven Crossley made the characters come alive with his whimsical voices. Thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this book and presentation. I highly recommend this book.

Good, but not great.

I love time travel novels and this one had me intrigued. It’s a bit of time travel meets Downton Abbey, however toward the end I had it on 1.5 speed just trying to get through it. Just a little drawn out at the end.

Delightful

Charming and fun. A great story that really helps break up the darker tones of the rest of the series. Part of me likes this one the best of the series and I'm normally a darker sci-fi guy myself.

A Delightful Romp

Never before have time travel, science, literary allusion and the sticky matter of Victorian manners been brought together so charmingly and so seamlessly. The prose itself is a perfect mix of the modern and the Victorian style, and the reader carries it off with perfect aplomb. The story is witty and delightful, the characters both exasperating and endearing, and the entire 20 hours slide by in a kind of dream of delighted amusement. I couldn't recommend it more!

Delightful

Anyone who enjoys stories about time-travel -- with humor and romance on the side -- must love this book. And the reader, Mr. Steven Crossley, provides exactly the right voice for this story. I highly recommend this audiobook.

Hilarious, Historical and Awesome

This book quickly jumped into one of my all-time favorites. I liked it so much that I pestered my wife into reading it--even though she usually hates sci-fi, she loved this one. This book falls into the category of sci-fi, but the sci-fi elements are very limited--the time travel part is just a ploy to get modern people into Victorian England. The basic plot is that a pair of time travelers are chasing the Bishop's Birdstump in order to exactly recreate Coventry Cathedral as it was in its heyday. The birdstump, though, is just a plot device to give the characters an excuse to experience Victorian high society. Miscommunication and timing errors conspire to create a wonderful comedy. I'll confess that I was a history major in college, so that probably influenced my feelings for this book. Someone who hates history might not enjoy the book quite as much as I did, but this book is creative, fresh and hilarious.

This book is the second in a series of four books referred to as the Oxford Time Travel Series (there is actually a short story that the author wrote about a decade earlier that also fits into the world of these novels). The first book and this book are completely independent--you can skip the first book and go straight to this one, which some people may decided to do since the first book (Doomsday Book) is quite dark and almost the opposite of this book in tone (though, I love the first book too and recommend it--just be ready for a completely different experience). This book is not necessary in order to read the third and fourth books, though the third and fourth are connected.

Especially if you have an interest in history, this is a "must read" book. Fantastic.

Delightful

What a fun time. This is the kind of book that probably is best experienced through narration, and Crossley does an amazing job of giving life to everyone from stodgy old Victorian matrons to their petulant daughters. There were moments when I checked out and didnt give it quite my full attention, but I was able to slide right back into the plot without missing a beat or feeling guilty that I should go back and relisten. In short its a good time with a good plot and excellent narration that doesnt require you to catch its every word.

Thoroughly enjoyable

I loved this audio book, to the point where I'm really wishing I had heard of Connie Willis earlier! Well narrated, and great value for money as it is seriously long (in a good way). Great characters and very clever ideas. Now I've just got to catch myself up on the rest of the books in this series!

Hilarious! Top notch comedy!

This is by far the best-written funny novel I have read in recent years. It involves time jumping and trying to get that darn bird stump back where it belongs. A ridiculous quest spawning absurd situations and a surprising tie-in to Three Men in a Boat, perhaps the funniest novel of the early 20th century. Read this!