Connie Willis
Paperback | Pages: 248 pages Rating: 3.92 | 10591 Users | 1307 Reviews
Specify Books Conducive To Bellwether
| Original Title: | Bellwether |
| ISBN: | 0553562967 (ISBN13: 9780553562965) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (1997), Locus Award for Novella (1997) |
Chronicle Concering Books Bellwether
Pop culture, chaos theory and matters of the heart collide in this unique novella from the Hugo and Nebula winning author of Doomsday Book. Sandra Foster studies fads and their meanings for the HiTek corporation. Bennet O'Reilly works with monkey group behavior and chaos theory for the same company. When the two are thrust together due to a misdelivered package and a run of seemingly bad luck, they find a joint project in a flock of sheep. But series of setbacks and disappointments arise before they are able to find answers to their questions.Point Appertaining To Books Bellwether
| Title | : | Bellwether |
| Author | : | Connie Willis |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 248 pages |
| Published | : | June 2nd 1997 by Spectra (first published March 1st 1996) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction. Humor. Romance |
Rating Appertaining To Books Bellwether
Ratings: 3.92 From 10591 Users | 1307 ReviewsJudgment Appertaining To Books Bellwether
Re-read in December 2015.Bellwether isnt science fiction, though the story is about scientists. At heart its an off-beat romance between a couple of researchers, and it follows the often hit-and-miss process of scientific discovery. Sandra Foster studies the origin of fads; Bennett OReilly studies animal behavior as an aspect of chaos theory. They work at the same tech company but have never met... that is until fate intervenes in the form of an exasperating administrative assistant named Flip.Connie Willis has long been one of my favorite authors; her masterpiece Doomsday Book remains one of the most powerful reading experiences of my life. With Bellwether, shes in her screwball comedy mode, and the result is totally delightful, filled with her impeccably-conceived plotting, truly funny dialogue, and no small amount of heart. As always, shes fascinated by the manner in which random acts and chaos conspire to coalesce into life-changing moments, and even when shes approaching these
My main problem with Connie Willis books is that they usually have great characters and an interesting plot, but are thick with too much narrative padding, typically in the form of "funny bits" about bureaucratic incompetence and miscommunication due to mishaps with modern technology, and exhaustively-researched recitation of facts tangentially related to the story (famous last words and the Titanic disaster in Passage; facts of life during the Blitz in Blackout/All Clear; etc.). I go back and
I'm not sure this really belongs under speculative fiction, but I found it in the SF/F section in Waterstones, so it'll do. Nor is it exactly humour -- it's humorous, but I don't think that's the main feature of the book. It's also not a romance, even though there is romance in it. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what it is, altogether.I did enjoy it, all the way through, which is a step up for me when it comes to Connie Willis. (I found The Domesday Book painful when it comes to pacing, but
Baaaaaaaa!I'm caught in a horrible quandary. On the one hand, this is a purely wonderful and madcap whirlwind of farcical trendsetting, and I mean that most literally, in that it's ABOUT the madcap whirlwind of farcical trendsetting, and yet for all its humor, its chaos, its insight into human and animal behavior, and even how fads rule the sciences, I have to admit that this isn't *actually* science fiction.It is a fantastic novella, though. :) It's funny on so many different levels, and
I am riding a high from the absolute cleverness of this book. Thank you, GR friend Carol, for rating and praising this so highly, because thats what got me to try Connie Willis again. I wasnt thrilled with Doomsday Book, but Bellwether has won me over to Willis and her marvelous brain. I laughed so much while listening to this book. Kate Reading was wonderful as Sandy, the narrator, but her depiction of Flip got old after a few discs. As so often happens, I got to a point in the audiobook where
Smart, funny, serendipitous. Frustratingly amusing and eye-rolling in its terrifyingly accurate depictions of the intersection of research, grants, and corporate buzzword bingo. "Are you sure? She doesn't look too bright.""If she was, the others wouldn't follow her," I said.I loved the chapter introductions of past fads which is what our intrepid heroine Sandra is researching. hair wreaths (1870-90)---Ghoulish Victorian handicraft fad in which the hair of a deceased loved one (or assortment of
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