Bellwether: A Novel

by Connie Willis

Book Overview

Connie Willis has won more Hugo and Nebula awards than any other science fiction author. Now, with her trademark wit and inventiveness, she explores the intimate relationship between science, pop... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553562967
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: Spectra
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.7" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

REALLY JUST DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, BUY IT, READ IT, LOVE IT, SHARE IT. You'll *never* regret it.

This isn't Eco, or some literary thing. It's a sweet, funny, wondrous, and ultimately satisfying book in so many ways. From teaching you about small things to big things and everything in between, but most importantly, LOVE. You can read it in a day, and if you're like me, you won't be able to put it down- and you'll share this book the rest of your life with the people you think are interesting. Because life is interesting. I think I've re-read this at least 20 times. And look forward to 20 more :)

I'm going with the rest of the group - great book!

There's just something about Connie Willis' books...Bellwether is a book about fads, what starts them, and how they impact society. Unlike Willis' two time travel books (Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog), Bellwether is set in contemporary Denver, Colorado. Sandy Foster works for a corporation there, where she researches fads. She spends much of the book trying to figure out why women suddenly cut their hair into bobs in the 1920's. Ben O'Reilly also works for HiTech; he researches chaos theory. Naturally, Sandy and Ben start working together, trying to correlate their two fields.Like her other books, every character is fleshed out, and used in the plot, even the ones that seem incidental. And naturally you don't find out how everything fits together until the end of the book. And like To Say Nothing of the Dog, this book made me laugh out loud in public places. It also pokes fun at the scientific community, trendy restaurants, and libraries which refuse to keep classic books. I was a little surprised by the anti-anti-smoking sub-plot, but that's not enough to make me give Bellwether anything less than five stars. Highly enjoyable and re-readable.

Well, HEAVEN FORBID!

You know, it really irks me when a wonderful book like Bellwether comes out and all these "well-read" types come out of the woodwork to tell you how awful it was because it wasn't like her other work, didn't turn out how they wanted, maybe wasn't as deep as something else she'd written....Please read it anyway! I loved this book! I have read it many times, loaned it to many friends, bought it for birthdays...you name it! I love the fact that it's not like her other books. I love that Connie Willis can allow herself to branch out. She is a fine author in any incarnation, and just because it doesn't focus on spaceships or aliens or time-travel, doesn't mean it can't be science fiction. You got your science. You got your fiction. Voila! And if nothing else, the ending will make reading the book all worthwhile.

Wonderful speculative fiction

The more Connie Willis I read, the more I like her work. The tone of this book is strongly reminiscent of "To say Nothing of the Dog", so chances are if you liked that one, you'll like this one. Instead of being a time-travel story, however, it is set in contemporary Boulder, Colorado (an ideal environment for any trends researcher such as our main character, I assure you). I really got the feeling while reading this that I was present at a scientific breakthrough. All the disparate events and characters force the story gradually to a satisfying conclusion, while giving the impression that they are stumbling blocks to any progress that might be possible. Just a lovely, lighthearted book -- which may lead you to deep thoughts if you wish, but which can certainly be enjoyed on a more "surface" level.

Bellwether is great reading fun

I like Connie Willis, I read all her books but this one is my way-out-in-front favorite so far. I could not put it down and hoped it would never end. Her humor in this story is imaginative, subtle, ironic and hilarious, never trite, but very tongue in cheek. A real knee slapping, laugh-out-loud kind of book. I had no idea she could be so brilliant. It is a fine commentary on the absurdity of our times. The characters are so real; they reminded me of lots of kinky folks I know. I really loved it.

Go with this flow

Probably the most enjoyable book I've read that asks the question: why do people jump on the latest bandwagon only to discover that it doesn't make them any happier than they were before? The protagonist-narrator of the story is a social scientist, working for a research corporation and trying to find how fads begin. The corporation wants to figure out how to use her research to make new fads, and of course gobs of money in the process. The weekly meetings presided over by "management" are hilarious. This book reads so easily that you might be deceived into thinking that it's simply written. Hardly. Willis has worked very hard to tie together a number of disparate elements. Some of the most enjoyable parts of the book are the short descriptions of dozens of past fads -- everything from coonskin caps to bobbed hair to mah jong. In the process, Willis tells us a lot about what we're willing to do to "belong."I noticed from previous reviews that some people were disappointed with this book because it really isn't science fiction. It's true, this is not traditional science fiction, with a futuristic setting, new technology, etc. But Willis's remarks that relate fads to chaos theory are very well thought-out. In giving the reader something new to think about, she meets the basic test of science fiction. And in creating an enjoyable, perceptive story, she meets the challenge of being an exceptionally good writer.