Book Review: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

Plumfield Moms

In the middle of the 21st century, historian Ned Henry has a severe case of “time-lag.” Exhausted from fruitless time-travel jumps to Coventry Cathedral in various times before the WWII bombing and fire, Ned has not been able to satisfy his boss, and find the hideous but elusive “Bishop’s bird stump.”

Lady Shrapnel is on a mission to have every detail perfect for the Cathedral reconstruction and dedication, and she doesn’t seem to care whatsoever how exhausted her team is, just so long as they finish the cathedral in time. “God is in the details,” she retorts when anyone suggests anything less than a perfect restoration.

This hilarious and delightful story is shelved in “science-fiction” because of the time travel aspect, but in every other way is a romantic comedy in the style of The Importance of Being Earnest or anything from Jeeves and Wooster. And, in case that wasn’t enough fun, Connie Willis also has her main characters constantly referencing and quoting mystery authors like Agatha Christie, G. K. Chesterton, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.