Back in my bookstore days, there was a girl I knew who was rather a snob about literature. I suggested Outlander by Diana Gabaldon to her thinking that she might enjoy the historical aspect of it. She came back to me a day or so later and told me that Ms. Gabaldon's history was totally wrong and she couldn't make it past the first couple of chapters. Something about cotton in the 40's. Somehow I doubt Diana Gabaldon, a professional researcher, made a factual error about cotton.
At any rate, this girl returned the favor and recommended a book to me. It was called Passage by Connie Willis. I remember asking her why she thought I would like it and she said, "Because of the cover." I kid you not. The Literature Snob judged a book (and me by extension) by its cover! Regardless, I read the book. It was weird and didn't involve time travel. However, it was intriguing enough that I looked into the author and her other books.
The next book I picked up was called The Doomsday Book. This one was about time travel. It was set in the future at Oxford University and in the Middle Ages during the time of The Plague and features an historian named Kivrin and her mentor Professor Dunworthy. It was dramatic, serious, and depressing. But in the end, it made me look for more Connie Willis. The next one I found is my absolute favorite of hers and really what this post is about.
To Say Nothing of the Dog is nothing short of wonderful! This one also featured Professor Dunworthy but added all new historians. Ned Henry has been on a mission looking for something called The Bishop's Bird Stump. He's been sent all over time and England going to jumble sales looking for this item until he gets sent to the Blitz in London. Its here that he starts to feel the effects of so much time traveling. He gets back to Oxford where he is diagnosed with Time Lag and must rest. Meanwhile, another historian by the name of Verity Kindle, has been working in Victorian England and accidentally brings something back to the future that shouldn't have been. This causes all sorts of trouble with history (or so our historians think) and both Ned and Verity work to make it right.
The thing about this story is how funny it is! Its a comedy of errors and a mystery too. I fell in love with this book and have read it about ten times. (I'm feeling like a reread now would be a great idea!) The idea that time can't really be messed with, everything happens for a reason, everything has a consequence, this is why I like time travel stories. You can't change history only be a part of it. I think Connie Willis' stories really get this right. Add to that the amazing detail and the feeling of being both in the modern world and the past and the end result is an engrossing and entertaining story.
Okay, now that I've got all that out of the way, here's my recommendations for Connie Willis' works.
Read:
To Say Nothing of the Dog (even if you read nothing else by her, read this one!)
Black Out & All Clear (was supposed to be one gargantuan novel but her publisher split it up. Read them together. World War 2 awesomeness.)
The Doomsday Book (for background and an introduction to her version of time travel)
If you still want more:
Bellweather (not time travel but interesting story about chaos theory and the origin of fads.)
Lincoln's Dreams (not really a time travel but has some history involved. Good story but the end left me a little cold.)
Firewatch (a collection of short stories and the first time travel story)
Skip:
Passage (let's just say near death experiences and the Titanic. That should be enough to turn you away right?)
**There's a couple of other titles that I haven't read yet since they aren't strictly time travel. But there is a collection of Christmas stories out there and I am almost as weird about Christmas stories (particularly romances) as I am about time travel!
