All Clear by Connie Willis

All Clear at last!

In writing this “review” I need to exercise great restraint. It would be easy to turn it into a bombardment of superlatives as I try to say how much I enjoyed Connie Willis’s All Clear. But I can’t help indulging myself with at least one word that keeps jumping into my mind. Maybe using that single word will give enough satisfaction to allow me to move on. It’s not a word that I recall using often but at the moment it seems the most appropriate to use.

All Clear is a MAGNIFICENT book.

It is complex without being complicated, weaving separate threads of time and multiple characters into a tight and cohesive story that I didn’t want to leave. It had twists, turns, surprises and puzzles as well as creating some vivid images of wartime London.

Willis’s characters are the core of the book. Time travelling historians, delinquent children, a venerable actor, shop girls, ambulance drivers, intelligence officers and clergymen give a human face to the horrors of a war where civilians were regularly the victims.

The central characters are historians from mid 21st century Oxford, part of a project utilising time travel to study the past. They were introduced in Blackout, the first volume of the story. Britain is at war and each of them is studying a different aspect of wartime England.

At the end of Blackout, they are trapped in London during the Blitz. They were afraid they had somehow interfered with events and changed the direction history had taken – maybe even altering the outcome of the war. This fear seemed to be confirmed when the casualties at the bombing of a department store exceeded the number recorded in historical accounts.

All Clear brings the story to its conclusion. Written as one long novel, the publishers decided to release the story in two volumes, thinking the modern reader could not cope with book of over 1100 pages.
In my review of Blackout I said it ended with a whimper. So hopefully the few months wait between volumes hasn’t discouraged any readers from completing the journey: but unfortunately that may be the case.

Those who don’t return will miss out on the experience that Willis intended to share, with the whole story presented as a united whole. The biggest obstacle to reading All Clear was trying to pick up a story that had been put aside months ago. It took a while to become reacquainted with the interwoven plots spread across different wartime periods. But it was worth the effort. After a chapter or two I was caught up again in the character’s lives. One day I hope to get the chance to read the whole story as it was intended by the author – from beginning to end without a disruptive break in the middle.

Why did I like the book so much? It has an all round richness and depth. There’s nothing shallow or simplistic about it. It gives the mind a workout without becoming convoluted and confusing, dealing with one of science fiction’s most iconic conundrums – the potential effects of changing the past and how it would affect the future. The characters are given time to develop and grow, drawing the reader in to experience their emotional journey through very difficult and unknown territory. It deals with the heroic as well as the horrific with occasional humour to balance the growing tension. Willis is able to do all of this without resorting to anything cheap, gratuitous or potentially offensive.

Yes, with its use of time travel the book is built upon a science fiction foundation, which will probably be a stumbling block for some potential readers. That is unfortunate because they will miss out on a very rewarding journey that has very little to do with scientific speculation. This book is about people, relationships and how the worst of experiences can bring out the best of human character.

I loved it.



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Thanks to Allen & Unwin,the publishers of this book in Australia for sending me a review copy.

See here for their All Clear webpage:
http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741758429

NOTE: Allen & Unwin were not responsible for the decision to divide this story into two parts.

Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park

While watching neighbourhood children playing a game they call “Beatie Bow”, Abigail Kirk sees another spectator, a young girl who remains unnoticed by the other children. Abigail’s curiosity leads her to follow the girl who runs to escape Abigail’s attention.

During their chase through the streets and alleys of The Rocks, there is a change in the surroundings and Abigail finds herself in 1870s Sydney. An accident results in Abigail being cared for by the young girl’s family who see Abigail as “the stranger” a mysterious visitor who always appears at significant times in their family history.

The stranger’s significance relates to the passing on of “the gift” of second sight from one generation of the family to the next. Granny, the current holder of the gift is growing weaker and the identity of its next custodian is uncertain. Abigail is not able to return to her own time until her role as the stranger has been fulfilled.

The consequences of its fulfilment affect not only the 1870s family, but also Abigail and her family in the present day. Through her journey Abigail learns to appreciate life and relationships in her own time and eventually finds hope for the future.

One of the appealing things about this story is its setting. I became quite familiar with The Rocks area when I lived in Sydney. It was perhaps my favourite part of the city. Right next to the harbour it maintains a lot of its historical character with many original buildings remaining intact. Gloria and I went there a lot, either to a favourite Irish pub for a Guinness or to the markets on the weekend, and sometimes to walk along the harbour, round circular quay to the Opera House. For a few years it was our favourite place to be on Australia Day, braving the media helicopter invasion to see the end of the annual ferry race.

I can’t remember where or when I bought Ruth Park’s Playing Beatie Bow, but it was many years ago and I bought it because I enjoyed the film adaptation.
While watching the film I could recognise some of the locations used. Now after many years of neglect I’ve read the book, and my familiarity with its setting helped me better imagine the places being described.

Time travel has been recurring thing in my reading and viewing this year. The next book on my list is Connie Willis’s All Clear, the continuation of the story started in Blackout and I recently finished For All Time by Meredith Resce.

Each of the books relies on a different means of moving through time. With Willis’s books a new technology makes it possible. Ruth Parks relies on “the gift”, a more paranormal approach: a step beyond clairvoyance in which a physical link to the past creates a kind of bridge between two times.

The idea of visiting the past brings up interesting questions about how much our knowledge of the present would prepare us for life in the past. Would it help us avoid potential dangers or could that knowledge even help us change the past to avert tragedy or prevent injustice? And if we change the past, what affect would that have on our own time? Would our own present even exist if the past was changed?

Christian Fiction

For a while I’ve wanted to read some Christian fiction to see what the quality was like. It had been a long time since I’d read any Christian novels. The last I recall were three by Ray Blackstone starting with Flabbergasted that followed the developing relationships of a group of young Americans, one of whom served as a missionary in South America. I quite enjoyed those books.
Apart from the lack of swearing and sexual content, they would almost fit in the (maligned but popular) genres of ladlit/chicklit.

It wasn’t easy to find books that I thought I could enjoy. The fiction shelves of my “local” Christian bookshop seemed filled with Little House on the Prairie clones, The Left Behind series, or other styles I didn’t find appealing. In the end I found a couple of books in the bargain bin that seemed promising, and to these I added two other titles I’d seen advertised. My brief impressions of the books are given below – without identifying the “bargains”.

1) Yellow Zone by Janelle G Dwyer
An end time story set in Australia. After devastating terrorist attacks around the world, The Government sets up strict controls over citizens. Essential utilities have been severely disrupted so most people are gathered into camps in an alleged attempt to restore order and security.

Good points. Overall the story idea had credibility and presented a world in which Christians face increasing restrictions, imprisonment and ultimately execution for their beliefs. I find this to be more or less consistent with bible prophecy.

Bad points. Dialogue was stilted and unconvincing making it a struggle to enjoy the telling of the story. Because of this I found the characters unrealistic. The story also presents a “pre-trib” rapture scenario, which isn’t overly emphasised but, added to the other shortcomings, spoiled my reading experience

2) Ulterior Motives by Mark Andrew Olsen.

A potentially catastrophic terrorist plot is discovered. Osama Bin Laden’s successor is captured and interrogation is started to try to find enough information to prevent it from being carried out. A disgraced serviceman and now Christian minister is brought in to conduct an unorthodox plan to obtain the required details

Good points. Easy reading and kept my interest.

Bad Points. One of the most ridiculously implausible stories I’ve ever come across. Very “preachy” in a heavy handed way.

3) Tomorrow We Die, Shawn Grady

A mystery novel about a paramedic who is becomes embroiled in a conspiracy after a dying patient passes him a strange note.

Good points. Maintained my interest throughout. Included references to Christian faith without turning the book into a clumsy tract.

Bad points. Used too many obscure medical references. My wife was a nurse so I was familiar with some of the jargon but a lot meant absolutely nothing to me. Plausibility seemed to suffer a little towards the climax and conclusion of the novel – but perhaps no more than in many other “thrillers”. A bit gruesome at times which may disturb some readers.

4) For All Time, Meredith Resce

A 21st century Australian doctor visiting England becomes trapped when part of a castle collapses. Her situation is shared with a male member of the cast of a medieval show being performed at the castle. After finding a way to freedom from the rubble, they emerge in the time of Henry VIII and have to survive in a world where an educated woman is viewed with suspicion, especially when the Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins is in town.

Good points. A lot of naturally expressed Christian elements that don’t seem forced. A very proficient and plausible story created out of a very implausible (but intriguing) situation. Touches a little on the religious beliefs and superstitions of a time when knowing scripture in English was enough for someone to be considered a heretic.

Bad points. Nothing of significance. While no great literary masterpiece, and while some liberties may have been taken with history, I’ve found this book to be the most enjoyable of the four – but I haven’t finished it yet, so the whole thing COULD come crashing down in the last few chapters.

Blackout by Connie Willis

What more desirable tool could historians dream of than the ability to travel through time to observe people and events for themselves instead of relying on texts and artefacts? Connie Willis has created a world in which this tool is a reality and is being used by Oxford based historians.
She introduced this concept in her Hugo and Nebula award winning novel Doomsday Book, a merging of science fiction with the historical novel. She has now returned to the ideas of that earlier book with a two volume story that starts with the recently released Blackout and will conclude with All Clear, due later in the year.

In Blackout historians are studying various aspects of life in the Second World War. One is studying evacuees, children sent away from areas of danger in the cities to the relative safety of the country. Another is focusing on the life of the “shop girl” in London during the Blitz and a third has been sent to cover the heroes of Dunkirk who set out in small boats to rescue British troops trapped on the beaches of France.
All of these projects should run reasonably smoothly. It is assumed that the laws of Time Travel prevent them from having significant impact on the events they observe, but it’s not long before that assumption is challenged.

One of the difficult things in writing about a book like this, is avoiding giving away any key plot details that will spoil the experience for anyone who has not read the book so I'll avoid specific references to events in the story. It was the desire to find out what happens next that made this book such an addictive read as I got more involved with the characters and the challenges they face.

At first I struggled with the story but as I gained more familiarity with the characters and their situations, the book became one that I was desperate to return to whenever my reading was interrupted by the unwelcome intrusion of real life. Willis uses a common technique of cutting from one set of characters to another at each chapter break, often leaving each section with a “cliff-hanger” making the reader more eager to read on to find out how it is resolved.

As mentioned Blackout is only the first part of the story, I knew this before I started the book, but I was still disappointed when I came to the end without the satisfaction of a conclusion. Against expectation the book didn’t end dramatically, it ended with a whimper. I feel it would have been much stronger had it ended a chapter or two earlier.

Early in the book I found myself being pulled out of the story a few times by little irregularities. I’m sure a lot of this comes down to personal idiosyncrasies and probably other readers wouldn’t think twice about them and this may be why I struggled with it a little at first.
One thing that irritated was the occasional lapse into inappropriate Americanisms – for example, cars were often referred to as “automobiles”, a term that I’m sure was not used by the British in war time. Having lived in England until the age of 13, and having parents who lived through the period detailed in the book, little things like this became minor irritations.
Admittedly Willis is an American author and her main readership would be American – but to a non-American, former English reader, such lapses broke the illusion of the reality being portrayed.

Another grievance I had with the early part of the book relates to something I’ve seen described as “build up and pay off”. This is a technique in which significant plot points are built upon foundations that have been set up in advance. For example, if a character saves himself by shooting an enemy, it is necessary to establish the fact that a gun is available for him to use before it comes into play.
In the case of Blackout, a significant part of the plot involves “time lag”, tiredness similar to jetlag which can cause intense sleepiness. The first time I recall this happening in the book was when the experience completely changed a character’s situation. It was mentioned again a little later in relation to a second character where the experience had very little impact.
Structurally I think the story would have been significantly strengthened if these two experiences had been reversed, allowing the minor situation to prepare the reader for the case when time lag played an important part in the first character’s experience.

By making these critical observations I don’t want to diminish the fact that Blackout is a very enjoyable book. The characters are well portrayed and their wartime experiences are believably vivid. I am very keenly waiting for the release of All Clear so that I can re-enter their world and share their experiences again.
In the mean time I’ve been inspired to find out more about war time Britain and I am realising how little my generation (and those following) can conceive of the horrific realities of a war only 15 years before I was born.
Today I checked the casualty figures of American troops in Iraq. In seven years almost four and a half thousand of them have been killed. While these figures are certainly tragic, such casualty figures AND HIGHER were common on a DAILY basis during WWII – many of them being civilians.

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I acknowledge and thank Allen & Unwin, the Australian publishers of this book, for providing me with a review copy.

Last Post for 2009.

After today I’ll be away from my computer until after the New Year holiday.

My attempt to become more disciplined in my reading has been reasonably successful, but Wuthering Heights remains on my “currently reading” list because I haven’t picked it up for a few weeks. Eventually I’ll finish it off but I think it will be more of a chore than a pleasure.

I also added Zadie Smith’s White Teeth to my current reading list, even though it’s a book I started many months ago and put aside. I have read a few more chapters but it hasn’t really maintained my interest.

Since I started this blog I’ve tried to write short “reviews” of books as I complete them, but maybe “review” isn’t an accurate description. I’ve merely tried to record some personal impressions of each book including (when possible) my reasons for reading it and how the book came to my attention: (i.e. why THIS book and not one of the countless others that I could have purchased and read?).

There seems to be so little time to read and far too many books that I would like to read. Prioritising my time is never easy with so many other things demanding attention. With a week or so off from work over Christmas I might be able to find a little more reading time and hopefully another book or two will be ready to be transferred from my reading list to the completed list before the end of year.

One title that will soon be added to those I’m currently reading will be The Time Traveller’s Wife – a Christmas present (but shhh I’m not supposed to know that yet!)