Impossible Things: A Novel

by Connie Willis

Book Overview

Winner of six Nebula and two Hugo awards for her fiction, Connie Willis is acclaimed for her gifted imagination and bold invention. Here are eleven of her finest stories, surprising tales in which the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553564366
• Release Date: December 1993
• Publisher: Spectra
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.1" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Masterful short stories

A collection of stories by Connie Willis, one of the modern masters of the science fiction short."The Last of the Winnebagos" -- I remember reading this story years ago and not caring for it that much. Rereadiug it ten years later, I find it much more appealing. In one sense it is a mystery story; in another it is a cautionary tale. The way that Willis weaves together the two-- the tale of the dead dog and the new, authoritarian society--is fresh and clever. Sentimental? Yes. But in the best way. "Even the Queen" -- One of my favorite stories, not just because it flirts with taboo, but because it is written with such an easy and joyous manner. Willis' comic stories are like those by Wodehouse--she is never content with a single gag, but can mix in wordplay, pop references, slapstick, and play off the old cliches in new and unpredictable ways. "Schwarzchild Radius" -- Just so as you don't get the impression that I worship the paper that Willis types upon, I will gladly admit that I don't care for this particular story. I believe that this was one of the first stories in which she portrays a physics concept in characters and setting. Later on, in "Blued Moon" and "At the Rialto," the same method, when used with comedy, works to much better effect. "Ado" -- One of the comedies that has not aged well, due partly to the backlash against "Political Correctness" of which this story was only a small part. There are parts that are still funny, like the running battle between the teacher and the sun worshipping student fought with Bible versus, but the end less litany of offended organizations goes stale about halfway through. "Spice Pogrom" -- This is the kind of comedy that will never die; well, at least I hope it won't, because, like Willis, I am enamoured of the screwball as nothing else. Yes, it may seem as formulaic as any pulp adventure, but it has at its core some thing that no mere adventure story has, and that is a true sense of romance. We may want to be the Lone Ranger, but we know in our hearts that we can not ride Silver. On the other hand, with a little wit and luck, we are able to be romantic and silly--it is closer to us. "Winter's Tale" -- One of the reasons Will is appeals to me so is that I share so many of her interests--screwballs, Wodehouse, and Shakespeare. Here the scholar in Willis truly shows, similar to her wonderful novel Doomsday Book. A great story and a history lesson--what more can you ask for? "Chance" -- This is as close to a mainstream tale as you will ever see in a genre publication (it first appeared in Asimov's) but it is the kind of story that is popping up with more regularity in small-press literary and mainstream magazines. "In the Late Cretacious" -- This is another one that did not age too well. Basically, it tries to put a comparison between academic competition and the evolution of dinosaurs, along with a running joke on parking. Bits are funny, but the whole is tired. "Time Out" -- Another one in a similar ve

Connie Willis is one of the most surprising voices in SF

This will always be one of my favorite books, if only because of the presence of the wonderful "Last of the Winnebagoes." I remember I put off reading that story for a long time, assuming from the title it was an exploration of the decline of native Americans, and would not be light reading. Then I read it, and cried, and read it again, and cried. And quickly decided that it was one of my favorite stories of all time, regardless of genre. And it is a story about the decline of native Americans, but not the sort that are defined by ethnicity. And most of all, it is the most beautiful dog story I have ever read.But the book has other gems. Even as a guy, I still found "Even the Queen" a brilliant little story (and I couldn't have been the only guy who thought so, since it won a Hugo award), despite being a story about three generations of women discussing ... Well, read the story. Like most of her stories, it seems lighthearted at first, then POW!Spice Pogram is a pure madcap romp, full of puns, and misunderstandings, and coincidences, and missed meetings, and precocious children, and enigmatic (but charming) aliens. This will make you laugh out loud. (And if you really like it, you need to read "Blued Moon" in her first collection Fire Watch.)Each of these stories alone would be reason to buy this book, but together, it's a must for any SF reader's bookshelf. And the other stories are excellent as well, especially "Jack" and "At the Rialto."

Kleenex required

God, "The last of the Winnebagos" has to be the saddest story ever written. I hardly ever cry when I read books; during this one, I *wept*. I had to go shut myself in another room because it was embarassing in front of my family. If you undertake to read this, make sure you have ample privacy, a box of Kleenex, and your dog right beside you.As to the other stories--Even the Queen is hilarious, and Ado is frighteningly possible. There's plenty here. I'm not going to discuss the rest of it 'cause I'm off to buy Connie Willis' other books!

Off the wall, except you never know where the wall is

Too many science fiction authors focus on novels. Admittedly they have to make a living. However, the length is artificial, and far too many authors become bogged down in the middle of a writing that is beyond its natural length. Connie Willis' short stories are as long as the story needs to be. So you don't feel she is writing to maintain an artificial length and thus damaging the story. I have yet to read any of her novels, but hope she found topics that would naturally carry that length. Connie is able to carry a dozen threads of possible stories through a single short story. Often you don't know where the real story lies until close to the end. Her writing is unpredictible. Whereas many science fiction writers wind up with long boring sections of "must be book length" stories, Connie does not. I would describe her writing as off the wall, but you never know where the wall is in her stories. The word "wonderful" comes to mind. Dave Clary

*Impossible Things* showcases Willis's unique voice

In the introduction to her Hugo-award winning story "Even the Queen," Connie Willis condemns "literary demagoguery," arguing "[Shakespeare] wrote about Human Issues--fear and ambition and guilt and regret and love--the issues that trouble and delight all of us, women included. And the only ones I want to write about." In this second collection of her short fiction, she succeeds admirably in her objective.Willis is gifted with one of the most original voices in science fiction, one that captures the elusive rhythms of screwball comedy (as in "Even the Queen" and "Spice Pogrom"), then just as deftly evokes melancholy or tragedy ("A Winter's Tale," "Chance"). And who but Willis would even attempt to write a story dealing simultaneously with evolution, academia, and parking tickets ("In the Late Cretaceous")? My favorite story in this compilation might be "Time Out," in which a down-to-earth housewife finds herself unexpectedly snared in a secret time-travel experiment, with hilarious results. Willis's light touch is one of her best assets in a genre that can often be overwhelmingly bleak and nihilistic. The humor can sometimes be a little too glib (as in "Ado," which deals with political correctness run amok in a high school English class), but, on the whole, the tone of *Impossible Things* is well-balanced between the comic and the tragic. Best of all, Willis has remembered one of the most important lessons in science fiction--that the distance between "possible" and "impossible" can be measured by a single phrase: What If?