A review by spestock
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
5.0
A masterpiece.
Kivrin, a college student at Oxford, travels back in time from 2054 to study the Middle Ages. Her mentor, Mr. Dunworthy, has advised her that this is not a good idea, that the time is far too dangerous, but Kivrin insists that she's prepared: she's learned Latin and Middle English, she's studied the period extensively, she even goes to an archaeological dig days before so that her hands are accurately dirty.
Mr. Dunworthy is right, of course.
The book hits the ground running, so the first couple chapters were a whirlwind of names and events that took a bit for me to get through, but it didn't take long for me to become completely engrossed. Just wonderful, extensively researched, beautifully written fiction.
Kivrin, a college student at Oxford, travels back in time from 2054 to study the Middle Ages. Her mentor, Mr. Dunworthy, has advised her that this is not a good idea, that the time is far too dangerous, but Kivrin insists that she's prepared: she's learned Latin and Middle English, she's studied the period extensively, she even goes to an archaeological dig days before so that her hands are accurately dirty.
Mr. Dunworthy is right, of course.
The book hits the ground running, so the first couple chapters were a whirlwind of names and events that took a bit for me to get through, but it didn't take long for me to become completely engrossed. Just wonderful, extensively researched, beautifully written fiction.