I just finished To Say Nothing of the Dog. (Deep sigh of satisfaction.)
Agree @ignatius enjoying To say Nothing of the Dog and the tie in’s with lord Peter ans Harriet, The Moonstone, and evening Agatha Christie.
Perfect continuity
And, guess we need to add “Hurricane” to the list of struggles in Houston, ?
It’s August 1st! Welcome to our discussion of Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome, and To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis.
As usual, I’m posting discussion questions to use/ignore as you wish:
There were also three book club questions on the Chicago Public Library website. (Considering all the possible questions that could have been asked about this classic tale, it’s anybody’s guess how #3 made the cut. )
I enjoyed both of these selections, but especially To Say Nothing of the Dog. It was easy to slip into that world (despite the confusing elements of time travel) and it proved to be a good mystery, too — kept me guessing until the end how things were going to play out.
Speaking of mysteries, I could not get over the multiple references to Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. If we had read this duet back in April as originally planned, those references would have gone right over my head. Considering that Lord Peter and Harriet were the focus of our most recent discussion—and I had never heard of them before that—well, it was an amazing coincidence. Which can only mean that it was there to correct a parachronistic incongruity around an historical crisis point. 
(I will be away from the computer most of the day today due to various obligations, but carry on and I’ll check in later!)
I"m just checking in to say I’m not participating this month. I’ll be back.
@VeryHappy: Hope is all well with you and yours. See you again - later.
I started with Three Men in a Boat but had a hard time with the wondering stories. I originally thought maybe they never actually took a trip but just used the idea to tell stories. So I stopped and I went to Say Nothing of the Dog. I thoroughly enjoyed it and started reading them in tandem. That was fun! I went back afterwards and reread Three Men and enjoyed it much more the second time. I relaxed and let the story wonder.
- Discuss Jerome’s inclusion of stories and anecdotes into his narrative. What purpose do they serve.
I think the stories are like the river meandering through the countryside. It takes you on a journey to reveal the characters much as the river revealed the countryside. When I relaxed and stopped trying to find linear action it was more enjoyable. You still got the action and did get to the end. Just not directly.
In the end I really enjoyed this month’s selection and have told friends about it.
I enjoyed both books also, particularly To Say Nothing of the Dog. Besides the Lord Peter and Harriet Vane references, Willis loaded the narrative with … let’s call it literary-name-dropping. I can’t remember all but will throw out Alice (of Wonderland), Jeeves, multiple Shakespeare references. And every time Terrence spouts part of a poem I was tempted to research. To say nothing of the dog - Cyril - and to say nothing of the cat - Princess Arjumand. Just good reading fun and a great escape without being nothing but mind candy.
To quote Terrence (and Lewis Carroll): "O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
I think I first read To Say Nothing of the Dog back when it first came out a little over 20 years ago. At the time I had intended to read Three Men in a Boat, (To Say Nothing of the Dog), but did not get very far. I don’t really have that much patience with British humor. This time I started with Jerome which was a much better plan. It made me enjoy all the Easter eggs in Willis’ book - including the ridiculous chapter headings all the more. I think I caught all the Peter and Harriet references, but not everything else. My favorite characters were both butlers. (Maybe I’ll have to give P.J. Wodehouse a go, I put down the only book I tried of his, but it wasn’t one with Jeeves.)
I too was surprised at what a good followup this was too last month. I’d completely forgotten that Verity (what a name!) was obsessed with 1930’s detective fiction.
If you were wondering who the original Princess Arjumand was - she was the beloved wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan I and the Taj Mahal was built as her tomb. https://historyofislam.com/contents/the-land-empires-of-asia/the-lady-of-the-taj-mahal-arjumand-banu-begum/
I thought both books were the perfect lazy summer afternoon read, and I too loved the references to Lord Peter and company. I have to admit being confused about what a bishop’s bird stump was for some time, though.
@stradmom , I confess that I actually had to break down and google it- I kept waiting for an explanation of what they were looking for!
I was pleasantly surprised at how funny Three Men and a Boat was after a century plus.
Just dropping in to say that I will join the discussion in a couple of days. We’re on a road trip and WiFi is spotty.
Nice. I wish I had thought to approach the book that way when I was reading it. I admit I got restless. That’s not to say I didn’t like it–I did–but a little went a long way. Three Men in a Boat seemed much longer than 100 pages, and To Say Nothing of the Dog seemed much shorter than 500 pages.
And of course, there’s the wonderful Bunter, too, from the Lord Peter Wimsey books. The British butler/valet seems to be an unflappable miracle worker.
http://www.avictorian.com/servants_butler.html
Like @Tiredofsnow and probably many others, I googled “bird stump.” I found some ceramic frou-frou types that Tossie might like, but nothing like the cast iron monstrosity described in the book. And then I came across a photo posted on Goodreads that likened the bishop’s bird stump to a sculpture in Golden Gate Park, and yep! Pretty much how I pictured it – even though it’s not a Victorian bird stump, but a bronze vase by Gustave Doré (1882): https://deyoung.famsf.org/deyoung/announcements/dor-vase-view-de-young
@Singersmom07: I really like the thought of looking at Three Men in a Boat as “a journey to reveal the characters much as the river revealed the countryside.” I read a review elsewhere that noted that the book allowed insight to the “clerking class” developing in England at the time. Looking back, I do think that insight is one of its strengths along with the humor. However, I agree with @Mary13:
I read Three Men in a Boat first but would get more out of it now. I expected different than what I got, so a different approach would have been all to the good.
I mentioned earlier that Jerome’s writing reminds me somewhat of Bill Bryson and his A Walk in the Woods and assorted other books - mainly the humorous digressions.
Like others, I googled “bird stump.” I ran across the picture @Mary13 posted and, yeah, that’s how I see it (though not as large).
One of the questions above asked Do you want to read the companion books? Since I enjoyed To Say Nothing of the Dog I went out to find that it is actually the middle book of a trilogy. The first book “Doomsday Book” introduces the characters and concepts.
“ A time-traveling history student is trapped in the Middle Ages, dangerously close to the onset of the Black Plague. Her rescuers in 21st-century Oxford battle their own deadly epidemic to reach her in time. The author of Lincoln’s Dreams ( LJ 4/15/87) balances two storylines with exquisite skill as she depicts a pair of closely knit communities–each facing an unknown and frightening enemy. Willis uses the language of time travel and advanced technologies to speak of human concerns, finding parallels that transcend time in the hopes, struggles, and fears of her modern and medieval characters. The clarity and consistency of her writing, as well as her deft storytelling ability, place her among this decade’s most promising writers. A priority purchase.”.
So I’m off to explore that one,too. And perhaps Blackout/All Clear the final one.
Personally, I much preferred “To Say Nothing of the Dog” than “Three Men in a Boat.” I guess that former had more escapism and fewer esoteric references that I was unfamiliar with.
I love love love Doomsday Book. If forced to choose between it and To Say Nothing of the Dog, I’d choose it. Somewhat surprising because I’m not a Black Death kind of reader. (And I own two copies.)
Note that, while it has some humor, it is in no way a madcap comedy. We’re talking bubonic plague and death. Some call it a tragedy as compared to the comedy To Say Nothing of the Dog. I loved the characters and, I’ll say this upfront, not all are spared. Hard to put down.
Highly highly recommend.
I’ve decided to continue also. My library is holding Blackout for me. I’m picking it up tomorrow.
I meant to add that a couple times in To Say Nothing of the Dog someone referenced “the pandemic” without expounding on it. That pandemic occurred in Doomsday Book - again a dual timeline with an historian in the 1300s and Mr. Dunworthy in (future) Oxford. It’s been a while but I think Mr. Dunworthy might be the only recurring character.
Agree with mathmom about British humor
[quote]
ago. At the time I had intended to read Three Men in a Boat, (To Say Nothing of the Dog), but did not get very far.** I don’t really have that much patience with British humor.** This time I started with Jerome which was a much better plan. **It made me enjoy all the Easter eggs **in Willis’ book - including the ridiculous chapter headings all the more[ / quote]
I gave up on 3 men in a Boat after a few chapters, thankfully read enough to appreciate To Say Nothing of the Dog’s references.
Glad I read two Lord Peter’s books before To Say Nothing of the Dog.
These unsettling covid times made the time journey theme very appealing.
I found the concept of slippage and loops very exhausting, and couldn’t dwell too much, as a newbie to time travel books and just enjoyed the journey.
I noticed that – at one point, Ned was trying to place the exact date of an event and noted that it was around 2020 “after the Pandemic.” Creepily close to our real-life timeline.
I like (fictional) pandemics almost as much as I like (fictional) apocalypses, so I’m looking forward to reading Doomsday Book. Emphasize on fictional. Not so happy with 2020 at the present moment.
I agree. I guess there are certain things about human nature that are true through the centuries, e.g.:
Hello WebMD Symptom Checker. 