Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Doomsday Book - 5 Stars

Summary of Doomsday Book by Connie Willis:
The year is 2048 A.D., and a young history student named Kivrin is preparing to do an on site study of the turbulent fourteenth century. Her mission has placed two of the University's professors at cross purposes, as the proponent for this study, Mr. Gilchrist, finds himself pitted against Mr. Dunworthy, Kivrin's mentor, who believes that this trip in time is far too dangerous. Mr. Gilchrist, however, is in the position to have the final say on the project.

Kivrin is scheduled to land in the rural English countryside of the fourteenth century some twenty years before the Black Death savages England. Armed with the knowledge of fourteenth century customs, dress, languages, religious practices, and history, Kivrin is raring to go back in time. When she travels back, however, an unforeseen crisis in the present places Kivrin in a potentially deadly situation upon her arrival in the past.

The book alternates between what is happening in the present and what is happening in the past, as those in the present work to unravel the mystery of what went wrong. Meanwhile, Kivrin struggles to overcome the anomalous situations she encounters that run contra to her expectations. Believing herself stranded in the past, Kivrin artfully maneuvers around the precarious situations in which she finds herself, never losing her humanity despite the horror of her situation, given what went wrong.


This book is amazing. I've read it before, and I had forgotten how good it is. I got hooked and anxious about everything going on. The book really engages you and draws you in so you experience the same emotions that everyone else is. I highly recommend this book to others.

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