Doomsday Book
by Connie Willis
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Book Summary Information
Author: Connie WillisEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-08-01
ISBN: 0553562738
Number of pages: 592
Publisher: Spectra
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780553562736
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Doomsday Book
Book Review: Taut, well written story that brings the characters to life
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished this a few days ago, and after reflecting on it, still give it 5 stars. I do agree with some of the criticism, but the good so outweighs the bad that I think it's worth the time of anyone interested in a good story.
The not so great things are few but they are:
1. Hokey future world. Like other readers, I'm wondering what happened to the cell phone. 1992 was a long time ago, but I think they had beepers, cell phones and even a crude version of the internet.
2. Characters in the future world are flimsy. I wonder if that was on purpose, to have them in contrast with the real-as-life Middle Ages folks. Mr. Basingame is the red herring. He appears more often than any other absent character, and like another reviewer, I wondered if the priest wouldn't turn out to be him, would have been a cool idea. Mrs. Gaddson the Terror with her Bible, a bad stereotype, who of course should have died and didn't. The Bell ringers from America. Hello, when there's an epidemic killing people all around you, who cares about practicing for the Christmas pageant? They continually ring their bells until one by one, they finally succumb to illness. It's so wacky that I have to think it's on purpose.
3. Toilet paper. The English version being 'lavatory paper' or whatever silliness goes on in the year 2048. If I heard about the da-n toilet paper one more time . . .
The good part
1. The scenes in the Middle Ages. Obviously well researched, it seems to breathe in living colors from the pages. The author is excellent at bringing the environment, smells and all to life.
2. Middle Ages folk. One of the most important thing in learning history is to remember that people do not change. The author reminds us that human nature, love , hate, jealousy, creativity, etc. have always been the same. The author does a superb job in building the individual people and their world. I will always remember playful Agnes, the first to talk to Kivrin in trust, or tense and scared Rosemund, who is going to a living death as a twelve year old bride to a fifty year old drunken sot. Another memorable one is Gawyn, the swashbuckling wannabe knight who is in love with his boss' wife. The Priest Roche, who serves so humbly and loves his flock so absolutely. All these people are so fully visualized that I actually miss them.
3. The story. The tale is so expertly woven, that I was glued to it for several hours and hated to have to sleep, it's just after a while my eyes would give out! The story is phenomenal in spite of the idiotic characters in the future world. Maybe because of them. They are all such hideous caricatures (and I'd have loved to smack that Finch if he had mentioned toilet paper one more time . . .) but I think they provide a necessary counterpoint to the increasingly grim world in the 1300's.
And it does get very grim indeed. What happens is part of history, and not a surprise, but it's a measure of Connie Willis' storytelling power that I still hoped for a miracle.
4. Historical accuracy. Ms. Willis specializes in history and it shows. The craftsmanship of the novel is outstanding and I understand why she won both the Hugo and Nebula. This is what science fiction is made for!
Quite simply, this was one of the better science fiction books I've read in at least 10 years, so it's definitely worth reading. (Just don't grit your teeth when toilet paper is mentioned.)
Summary of Doomsday Book
For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin -- barely of age herself -- finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours.
Five years in the writing by one of science fiction's most honored authors, Doomsday Book is a storytelling triumph. Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit.
Connie Willis labored five years on this story of a history student in 2048 who is transported to an English village in the 14th century. The student arrives mistakenly on the eve of the onset of the Black Plague. Her dealings with a family of "contemps" in 1348 and with her historian cohorts lead to complications as the book unfolds into a surprisingly dark, deep conclusion. The book, which won Hugo and Nebula Awards, draws upon Willis' understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit.
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