Blackout
by Connie Willis
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Book Summary Information
Author: Connie WillisEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-02-02
ISBN: 0553803190
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Spectra
Book Reviews of Blackout
Book Review: 'There are no Civilians'
Summary: 3 Stars
It's unfair to Connie Willis for any of us to be writing reviews of this book, and for you to be reading any of them - since the publisher has split a long novel into two, we'll all end up judging it on the second part. That is, really, the major criticism here - nowhere on the cover does it mention that this is the first of the two-parter. So my advice is - if 'All Clear', the 2nd part hasn't come out yet, then don't buy 'Blackout' unless you've already read everything else Willis has written and still can't get enough. If 'All Clear' has come out, then read the reviews of that and then make your decision about buying both as a pigeon pair.
That said, there are a lot of good things about Blackout and its examination of WWII England. What I liked most of all was the gentle way that she brings home the painful reality that nobody in the midst of the war knew what was happening and what would happen, and our young historians struggle to really come to grips with that. Yes, the narrative is a little confusing, yes the recounted lives and inner turmoils of the historians are repetitive and occasionally irritating, but there's a message in there - this is real life, confused and not always productive, and I'm happy that it wasn't all edited out for a tighter but less satisfying read.
Similarly irritating is the management of things back in Oxford in 2060 - you want to scream at Mr Dunworthy (does he not have his Doctorate yet?) for his lack of risk management or any sort of management, for the way that the kids are sent through to the same period without a mass briefing and some very *good* contingency plans, and most especially for their lack of survival skills. These things, however, are not unrealistic in the University context.... Less forgivable, as others have pointed out, the lack of modern telecommunications in 2060 is a bit of a puzzle and a distraction.
The most powerful positives - Connie Willis is a terrific and very human writer who, by the end of 'All Clear', will certainly have moved us in the same way that her other great books have. And the stories that she's telling of ordinary lives in extraordinary times are worth telling, being told respectfully, and told well. The details given, and the little quotes such as the 'There are no Civilians' above(from an Englishwoman asked about civilian morale during the Blitz), help to bring it all home.
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