This was wonderful, it has so many disparate strands that come together amazingly in the end. I think it's one science fiction novel that would appeal to more than just the usual science fiction reader. This is the third Connie Willis novel I've read, and the other two were amazing, but I think this might be my favorite now, although I'm possibly biased just having come off reading it. I remember being very impressed by her Doomsday Book, which is also about a group of late 21st Century time-traveling Oxford historians. Although that book despite the similar scenario and at least one common character is really so very different. Different in the way Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing are different despite both being set in Renaissance Italy. Doomsday Book is essentially a tragedy--a heart-rending book about and set during the Black Death in medieval England. To Say Nothing of the Dog is a comedic romp set primarily in Victorian England.
It sets the comedic tone from the beginning with its narrator Ned Henry--hopelessly "time-lagged" and thus befuddled as he's sent off on a seemingly simple mission to correct an anomaly that could destroy the space-time continuum! And to escape Lady Schrapnell (perfect name that in the Dickens tradition) in order to get weeks of sleep needed after she's sent him everywhere in search of the bishop's bird stamp for a restored Coventry Cathedral. The picture of the Victorian Age is hilarious down to the description of the food and the furniture--so crammed into rooms Henry is convinced it's responsible for the Victorians being so restricted and repressed--as "it was impossible to move without knocking something over."
And yes, there very much is a dog. A bull dog. A very endearing bull dog. And a very mischief-making cat--Princess Arjumand--both written with the affection of a true animal lover. And even several affectionate homages to Golden Age mysteries such as those by Christie and Sayers. Which is fitting, since the plot is intricate and comes together like a classic mystery. It's also actually more like a true work of science fiction than the other two books by Willis I've read--Doomsday Book reads more like historical fiction (not that this one doesn't have a large component) and Bellwether read like contemporary romantic comedy or sophisticated chick lit (if that's not an oxymoron). To Say Nothing of the Dog though does turn on scientific principles regarding history, chaos theory and time-travel. So, Science fiction. But also, True love! Adventure! Romance! Cats and dogs! What's not to love?
