I listened to this audiobook while walking around the streets, and ended up receiving a few weird looks as I randomly started giggling and laughing. Willis does an excellent job of bringing all the events throughout the novel together in the end. Overall the book has a large number of plot threads which appear to be wholly irrelevant when you first read them, however they do become important later on. They’re also simultaneously required to play the part expected of them in Victorian society. The book focuses on how small moments can have a massive effect on history, and follows Ned and Verity around as they try to fix an “irregularity” which could cause the Nazi’s to win WWII, or possibly tear apart the space-time continuum, that is to say, reality. I found a few of the characters to be more like caricatures, however this was well suited to the comedic elements of the book. There is a large supporting cast, which isn’t overly developed. They’re both time travellers spending their time in Victorian England. There are 2 main characters who are thoroughly developed – Ned Henry and Verity Kindle. But complexities like recalcitrant rowboats, missing cats, and love at first sight make Ned’s holiday anything but restful – to say nothing of the way hideous pieces of Victorian art can jeopardize the entire course of history. When too many jumps back to 1940 leave 21st century Oxford history student Ned Henry exhausted, a relaxing trip to Victorian England seems the perfect solution. Overall, about 80-90% of the book is probably set in the past during the Victorian Era, with small parts in the present (2050s), and World War 2. To Say Nothing of the Dog (How We Found the Bishop’s Bird Stump) by Connie Willis is mostly set in Victorian Era England, with a few exceptions for various different time travel locations.
Overall the book is great fun to listen to, and/or read. It felt like a bit of a drag at times, but I think that had more to do with how long it took me to listen to the audiobook, rather than any writing flaws. It was just over 20 hours in audio, and took me a very long time to get through.
To Say Nothing of the Dog stands by itself very well, and is fantastically happy and comedic. I picked up this book after several recommendations from reddit’s r/Fantasy.
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