Welcome to Litsy!

I picked this up based on a recommendation, and I'm so glad I gave it a chance.

This is a unique time travel story, published in the 90s, but set in a near future pandemic that feels eerily prophetic, while paralleling a story set in an outbreak of illness in the 14th century.

Part sci fi, part historical fiction, part tragedy, overall, this book examines how human circumstances change, but love, fear, hope, and mourning still remain.

Interesting history of the Black Plague outbreak in Europe in the mid-1300s. I liked all the quotes and stories about individuals living at the time. Kelly also devotes an appropriate amount of text to the cruel atrocities committed by Christians against Jews using wild conspiracy theories as their excuse.

The Black Death in London, by Barney Sloane (2011)
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Premise: A look at the impact of the Black Death on the city of London and environs.

Review: This book‘s greatest success is in its incredible detail. Sadly that‘s also it‘s greatest weakness. Even as someone very nerdy about history, archaeology, and public health, the level of detail here was overwhelming and felt unnecessary. ⬇️

#timespacetraveller
#charactercharm
Doomsday Book was my first Connie Willis and an all time favourite, but I can't find my copy atm. @eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I was planning on #bailing at page 212 it‘s been a slog and I know that‘s the point and yet… I‘m not sure I can abandon the characters.

Does this happen to you? What do you do?

“The prioress remarked that it was not till christian times that simplicity became a virtue; the good characters of the Old Testament were ingenious as well as virtuous.”
Pg 115

LOVED reading about the small village being ravaged by the plague and the difficult decision to close their gates and quarantine themselves from the rest of Derbyshire. The story is based on a real village Eyam and how they handled the Bubonic Plague in 1665-1666.

But oh how I hated the ending. The last 50 pages or so made me mad because they ruined an otherwise beautiful book.

Beginning=5 stars, Ending=2 stars. So overall a So-So from me.

117/150 It took me awhile to get into this book, I thought it dragged terribly in the beginning, but once Kiven was able to talk and interact with the people in the past, the story got much more interesting. Usually with dual storyline books, I find one part more interesting than the other, but Willis kept both the past and present stories gripping, so I didn't mind when it flipped from one to the other. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Happy Holidays to all who celebrate!

A couple of questions for any who have finished this month‘s #ClassicLSFBC pick. If anyone would like to be added or removed from the tag list, let me know.

2. Kivren comes from her experience in the 14th century very different from when she started. Do you think she will recover and risk time travel again?

#ClassicLSFBC