That works. It’s not like Three Men in a Boat is a novel with key plot developments. It only takes a few chapters to capture the spirit of the book and decide whether or not you want to roll with it (or should I say “row with it”).
Since most of the book is set in the Victorian era, the “world-building” required a solid knowledge of history. That’s not my strong suit, so I’m content to accept that the historical aspects are accurate.
“Did you believe the way time travel worked?” Of course not. All time travel stories are utterly implausible. In a sense, that’s what I found to be the book’s greatest weakness. Not that it revolved around time travel–that was, of course, the point–but that the author spent too much time trying to explain all the (impossible) details of the system she had so lovingly and painstakingly created. As I mentioned earlier, the book’s 500 pages moved quickly for me, but to be honest, it’s partly because I did not try to understand the mechanics of it all. Explanations about slippage, incongruities, self-correction, the space-time continuum and Waterloo could have been cut by half and I wouldn’t have missed them.
But don’t get me wrong – it was all great fun. I may not have cared much about the workings of the net, but the people were a hoot. It’s nice to know that Tossie and Baine had 60 happy years together because that marriage had “Marry in haste, repent at leisure” written all over it. I don’t know how Baine stood it. As Ned said, “Love may conquer all, but old dispositions die hard, and I hoped Baine intended to live near a river in the States.”
There are many time travel books that don’t focus so much on the “How,” but more on the “What now?” Here’s a fun list: https://coolthingschicago.com/best-time-travel-books/
Doomsday Book is kind of heartbreaking, but excellent. If, on the other hand, you like the madcap humor, (it really reminds me of Monty Python, so good when it clicks, but lots of so-so stuff - not unlike SNL too). Anyway I LOVE Bellwether which is about a bunch of scientists, and reminded me so much of dh and his colleagues.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Three Men in a Boat once I just decided to “row with it”. The whole first few pages where he is imagining that he’s sick with every symptom he reads about - that reminded me so much of everyone I knew here in NY in late March. We all had sore throats, and weird aches and pains, and fleeting fevers, at one time or another and were convinced we had Covid, but of course even here, most of us didn’t.
I read To Say Nothing of the Dog years ago, without having read Three Men in a Boat. Now having reading the latter, I have more appreciation for Nothing.
I enjoy most of Willis’s work, but I have to say that her huge book broken into two parts, Blackout/All Clear, is my favorite. [How do we italicize in here?]
Ok, Mary13 go back into the net and erase your comment about the book selections. I forgot this months selection could have been read in April, instead I, too, marveled at the genius of reading this after the Dorothy Sayers, and Agatha Christie books,
So just slip on into the Net, delete this, so that we think there has been the perfect divine plan making the selections, and reading them in the perfect order !!! ??
@mathmom - agree about 3MITB …and,the medical symptoms “in the time of Covid”Everyone I know suspected every symptom as covid…
@mary13 …slippage, self-correction and silliness …
My biggest issue with the book, which I enjoyed,but the jumping in and out of the net, reminded me of the silliness of a play I saw “Noises out” and everyone kept slamming doors, off stage, on stage, again, and again, and again, ugh…( husband laughed harder with each beer he finished at the theater)
I really needed this book to be better edited, as @mary13 mentioned above about Waterloo continuum, could have been limited, and the constant, in the net, back and forth, without moving anything forward.
What I loved about the book, was the homage to those 1930 murder mysteries, especially the “butler, right under our noses, did it”
**When did you know it would be Blaine ? Willis did a good job keeping that story line intriguing and a mystery!!! **
Hated, hated hated we didn’t get a better description of that Bishop’s Bird stump early on, and what’s with evil American Mrs scrapnell ?
Thanks to Mary13 for that great link to the Doré sculpture, now I can visualize how ugly it must have been.
^ “lady Schrapnell” …what’s with this character ?
Correction the play was “noises off” …
Hi @KnearSeattle! Try this, but remove the star: [i]wordyouwanttoitalicize*
It works the same way for other things (again, remove the star):
[b]bold**
[*u]underline
[*quote]quote
[/quote]
There might be easier ways (especially if you’re on a phone), but that’s what I do from my laptop. Others in the group will undoubtedly know more.
[/quote]
Lol! 
Lady Schrapnell (love the name) is Tossie’s descendant – and seems to have inherited Tossie’s imperiousness along with Baine’s ability to get things done. She is overseeing the reconstruction of Coventry Cathedral and is essentially Ned’s employer. I wasn’t quite clear on whether Lady Schrapnell was “boss of the net” overall, or only involved with this particular project.
Lady Schrapnell is only involved in this project. Somewhere early in the book they describe it has being sort of a deal with the devil. She has gobs of money which they think they (the historians) can take advantage of, but she’s ends up winding all of them around her little finger.
I saw that monstrosity last time I was in San Francisco, it’s even more preposterous in real life! At one point they also compare the style of the stump to the Albert Memorial, which looks like this: https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington-gardens/things-to-see-and-do/memorials-fountains-and-statues/the-albert-memorial
I found these to be helpful companion pieces:
@Mary13 I really like the architecture of the rebuilt cathedral. Thanks for that link!
Thanks as an architect I was interested to see that the rebuilt cathedral was really quite nice, not a given in the 1950s!
Waving hello to all! Stopped by to say I won’t be participating this time around. All is well, but my RL Book Club, that normally takes the summer off, is continuing via Zoom. Add to that my summer Books on the Beach group which meets every 2 weeks (socially distanced, of course) and I’m finding it hard to keep up. Hope to join you all in October.
@mary13 from your link above
The history and symbolism of this cathedral is very moving, and I’m bit upset Right now with Connie Willis, with all the slippage and loves stories (tossIe/Blaine…Ned/ verity, the humor, the cat and the dog) **did I miss the very significance of the symbolism of the Cathedral? **
If not for this discussion now, I would not have known about the **importance of the rebuilding of this Cathedral and the message of forgiveness for the whole world. **
Seriously, did Willis discuss or mention this, and I missed it ? It’s one thing for me to have to google what that bird stump was, but to have to google to find out the meaning of this beautifully rebuilt Cathedral…really is annoying.
I’m going to watch some of the clips on their Facebook page, and the August 6 remembrance oF Hiroshima, broadcast live, would be very interesting.
Ahh … but Willis has now called your attention to the Coventry Cathedral with To Say Nothing of the Dog. Actually Willis probably assumed readers know Coventry Cathedral’s history. I visited it in my 20s on a trip with my mother. I knew nothing about it but my mother did. I’ve not forgotten it though many other sights on our trip have blurred into a “… maybe I saw it.”
Funny but I didn’t dislike Lady Schrapnell with her insistence on rebuilding. In the book the cathedral had (somehow) ended up as a shopping mall - G-d forbid. I like the moment at the end when Ned and Verity see the finished beauty of the cathedral and give a metaphorical tip of the hat to their nemesis Lady Schrapnell.
Sometimes Willis gets so lost in the weeds of the details, that more important points may get lost. I thought that particularly true of her most recent books.
I feel like I need to go back and see if there is more to Lady Schrapnell’s agenda.
Nice review: https://www.tor.com/2010/06/24/academic-time-travel-connie-willis-to-say-nothing-of-the-dog/
@jerseysouthmomchess, re the frustration of not being provided with enough historical context:
I think Willis makes the reader do the historical legwork, if they are so inclined – such as looking up everything from Coventry Cathedral to the Battle of Waterloo to penwipers. She focuses more on the movement of the characters, both through time (in, as you noted, a very “Noises Off” sort of way) and through personal growth as they discover how every action taken (or not taken) can affect another person’s fate.
Also, because who doesn’t want to know more about penwipers: https://www.geriwalton.com/pen-wipers/
I agree. If I hadn’t just been introduced to Lord Peter, I certainly would have looked him up by the end of TSNOTD.
From an interview with Connie Willis but I’ve lost which one:
Note that Willis’ historians travel to the past not the future. But I digress. 
I really enjoyed reading the 2 books together — I think it was an ideal pairing as well as an appropriate follow-up to our previous month’s selections.
I’m not a big reader of humor but TMiaB was so enjoyable. I can’t remember the last time I read it, probably many years ago, but I got fresh enjoyment from it this time. I had it on my yearly rereading list last year but never got to it.
I think of Jerome’s anecdotes as amusing digressions that are accurate and insightful observations about people and their behavior. He uses them to color his point of view, the serious thrown in with the absurd, and it paints an overall picture of the times he lived in. The humor and writing style has held up well and didn’t seem outdated. There were some stories that had me chuckling out aloud: the embellished trout stories, Harris in the maze, J and Montmorency enjoying the spectacle of Harris and George putting up the cover for the boat. The glimpses provided of Montmorency were adorable — he is one of my favorite dog characters ever, right there with Asta. Cyril is rapidly rising in the ranks, though.
TSNotD was a first time read for me, both book and author. I really liked the book, not surprisingly as it is right in my lane, and thought that it was a very well written book. Willis hooked me very early and kept me engaged till the end. The time travel, the slippages and self-corrections, it all came across as a bit fantastic but the deft touches of humor made the book successful. I also loved the tributes she paid to TMiaB, Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. The quotes that headed each chapter and the poems quoted by Terence and Henry were an extra layer that added to the appreciation of the book. I had to google quotes and references for clarification a few times while reading both books. Off to reread The Charge of the Light Brigade now. It was a poem that I had to declaim in front of my entire class in school and as I hate performing in front of an audience, it didn’t go very well much as I loved the poem.
I like the human characters in the book, they’re depicted with meticulous care and detail ensuring that you remember them well. Tossie and Baine are my favorites but even Lady Schrapnell leaped off the page. If I have any criticism at all, it is that Willis loved her characters too much to give us a reason to hate any of them. You loved them or you were neutral towards them, I don’t think I felt strongly enough to hate anyone. Perhaps that is a flaw?
Oh, and I’m not at all a cat person but Princess Arjumand I could see having as a pet. It’s funny that I couldn’t place the historical reference despite having visited the Taj Mahal and had to google — I remember Shahjahan’s wife, the inspiration for the world’s most famous mausoleum, as Mumtaz Mahal and not Arjumand Bano.
I will definitely read Willis’ other books. This was the perfect selection for me this month — I needed to lighten up and this was a great distraction.
It’s true there was no antagonist. Even Time itself was doing its best to help the characters along, clean up their messes, and provide hints (like by sending Ned to the store with the women with fur stoles, or to the 14th century). The “enemy” in the story seems to be the characters’ own ignorance, as they dabble in forces that they don’t really understand.