Comments on: Review: All Clear, Connie Willis

By: Soapy Dodd

Soapy Dodd — Sat, 29 Apr 2017 11:02:00 +0000

I had two major problems – 1) the first book didn’t disclose that it was the first of two parts until the end and 2) the sheer repetitiveness of this work was maddening. I enjoyed her earlier books but the theme of repeated recursions of a plot element has been worn to death and then some.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:31:34 +0000

In reply to pix37. Couldn't agree more.

By: pix37

pix37 — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:04:32 +0000

She (C.W/) really needs a good editor.
the books should have been much (very much) shorter

By: Joel

Joel — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:45:25 +0000

In reply to Jenny. I read TSNOTD before I read Three Men in a Boat. I didn't really like the latter much and found it only moderately amusing. Willis' book is much different, more character-based and less slapstick, which still incorporating elements of farce. She does give a big shout-out to JKJ in the text but it isn't really a big part of the book.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:32:44 +0000

In reply to Joel. Okay, noted! Do you feel that I would need to like Jerome K. Jerome in order to like To Say Nothing of the Dog? Because he's a funny guy, but he also done Oscar Wilde wrong and so I'm contractually obligated to loathe him.

By: Joel

Joel — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:09:01 +0000

I just wanted to reiterate that even if you didn’t like Domsday Book (which I didn’t) and found parts of Blackout/All CLear tiresome (who wouldn’t?), To Say Nothing of the Dog is by far the best of these and well worth reading. It suffers from none of the problems of the other books and has the most loveable cast of characters. Read it!

By: bookgazing

bookgazing — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:06:05 +0000

In reply to Jenny.

Oh damnit I got my time periods mixed up. I am always doing this, because for some reason my mind thinks Victoria should have ruled from 1901 onwards…no idea why. Anyway, so, yes Victorians a lot of the time, but also lots of trips to Coventry cathedral before and after it was bombed during WWII.

Via Bookslut Alan Turing posts: http://drvitelli.typepad.com/providentia/2011/04/the-turing-problem.html

By: justbookreading

justbookreading — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 01:08:32 +0000

Hmmm…I still want to read these books. But now that you mention it, there were secondary characters in To Say Nothing of the Dog that I liked better than some of the main characters. It’s not making me re-think my love of that book though, just some of here writing ticks which I’ll now be on the lookout for.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:47:11 +0000

In reply to amymckie. Me too! I am smart, I can figure things out for myself!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:46:58 +0000

In reply to bookgazing. Oh, I thought To Say Nothing of the Dog was all Victorians all the time. No? World War II also? Can you link me to the Alan Turing posts? I am interested! I feel terribly sorry for him!