Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Barcelona Ediciones B 1997
Description
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 culture, and the arcane secrets of the heart. Sandra Foster studies fads--from Barbie dolls to the grunge look--how they start and what they mean. Bennett O'Reilly is a chaos theorist studying monkey group behavior. They both work for the HiTek corporation, strangers until a misdelivered package brings them together. It's a moment of synchronicity--if not serendipity--which leads them into a chaotic system of their own, complete with a million-dollar research grant, caffé latte, tattoos, and a series of unlucky coincidences that leaves Bennett monkeyless, fundless, and nearly jobless. Sandra intercedes with a flock of sheep and an idea for a joint project. (After all, what better animal to study both chaos theory and the herd mentality that so often characterizes human behavior?) But scientific discovery is rarely straightforward and never simple, and Sandra and Bennett have to endure a series of setbacks, heartbreaks, dead ends, and disasters before they find their ultimate answer. . . . Praise for Bellwether "One of science fiction's best writers."--The Denver Post "Connie Willis deploys the apparatus of science fiction to illuminate character and relationships, and her writing is fresh, subtle, and deeply moving."--The New York Times Book Review "Keen social satire touched with genuine humanity . . . Connie Willis's fiction is one of the most intelligent delights of our genre."--Locus "A sheer pleasure to read . . . Sprightly, intelligent fun."--Publishers Weekly… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member patience_crabstick
How can I not love a book in which the main character checks out lonely library books in order to prevent them from being discarded? Bellwether is an un-sciencey science fiction. It's set in the mid 1990s, and is already hopelessly dated, which is amusing for the SF genre. Bellwether may not be
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Connie Willis' best novel, but it is consistent with her main themes of encouraging people to think for themselves, read high quality literature, and use their turn signals. Lots of fun. Show Less
LibraryThing member hardlyhardy
When we think of science fiction, we usually have images of space travel, aliens, robots and the like. But fads? Can you imagine a sci-fi novel about the origins of fads? Well, Connie Willis could, and her light-hearted 1996 novel "Bellwether" is a true joy, something to delight even those who
HiTek wants to live up to its name, acting as sort of a corporate think tank for researchers in the hope that some of their projects will pay off for the company. Two obstacles keep getting in the way, however. One is management, which like management everywhere regards paperwork and meetings as the highest priorities, then wonders why employees aren't getting more work done. The other is Flip, whose job it is to deliver interdepartmental mail but seems to be involved in everything but that, including tying to get smoking banned on the premises. She takes packages to deliver elsewhere and loses them, destroys research materials she views as clutter and lobbies for an assistant because she's working too hard.
Against these obstacles, Sandra Foster tries to discover how the fad of bobbed hair started sweeping the nation after World War I and, for that matter, how any fads get started. Meanwhile, Bennett O'Reilly is doing research on chaos theory. Eventually, foiled by both Flip and management, they try pooling their efforts by studying sheep, who behave in chaotic ways, which also seem a lot like fads. This brings us to the book's title. A bellwether is a sheep, no smarter than any other sheep, that nevertheless almost imperceptively leads the herd.
After 20 years, the novel does seem a trifle dated. Sandra regards both smoking bans and tattoos as temporary fads,when passing years have shown they have staying power. Yet fads remain as seemingly chaotic and unexplainable as ever. Reading this book should have become a fad, but it didn't. How do you explain that?
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don't normally like science fiction.HiTek wants to live up to its name, acting as sort of a corporate think tank for researchers in the hope that some of their projects will pay off for the company. Two obstacles keep getting in the way, however. One is management, which like management everywhere regards paperwork and meetings as the highest priorities, then wonders why employees aren't getting more work done. The other is Flip, whose job it is to deliver interdepartmental mail but seems to be involved in everything but that, including tying to get smoking banned on the premises. She takes packages to deliver elsewhere and loses them, destroys research materials she views as clutter and lobbies for an assistant because she's working too hard.
Against these obstacles, Sandra Foster tries to discover how the fad of bobbed hair started sweeping the nation after World War I and, for that matter, how any fads get started. Meanwhile, Bennett O'Reilly is doing research on chaos theory. Eventually, foiled by both Flip and management, they try pooling their efforts by studying sheep, who behave in chaotic ways, which also seem a lot like fads. This brings us to the book's title. A bellwether is a sheep, no smarter than any other sheep, that nevertheless almost imperceptively leads the herd.
After 20 years, the novel does seem a trifle dated. Sandra regards both smoking bans and tattoos as temporary fads,when passing years have shown they have staying power. Yet fads remain as seemingly chaotic and unexplainable as ever. Reading this book should have become a fad, but it didn't. How do you explain that?
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LibraryThing member nbmars
Bellwether, published in 1996, is, like Willis’s other books, a pure pleasure to read.
There is no time travel in this book by Willis. But it still features her hallmark plot devices: missed communications, parallels and unexpected consequences from chance interactions, and clever interweaving of
The subject of Bellwether is causation: in particular, why do fads start, and how do scientific discoveries get made, and even, why do people meet and fall in love? The unifying theme in all of these is chaos theory, a perfect metaphor for Willis’s stories in general.
Dr. Sandra ("Sandy") Foster is a 31-year-old sociologist at the commercial research firm HiTek, where she is trying to discover how fads get started. Each chapter is headed by a brief summary of an actual historical fad, one which is cleverly reflected in the content of the chapter. Further, within the chapters Willis takes swipes at current fads and contemporary culture with humor and effectiveness.
Because of a package misdelivered by an inept office assistant named Flip (short for Phillipa), Sandy meets Dr. Bennett ("Ben") O’Reilly, who formerly worked on chaos theory but now is setting up a project on information diffusion. He’s hoping to procure a troop of macaques, teach various new skills to one of them, and document the spread of the skills throughout the group.
Ben is always dressed in a manner hopelessly out of date, and Sandy becomes fascinated with him, because he seems to be singularly fad-resistant.
Eventually, with no macaques in sight, Sandy helps Ben get some sheep, and they even import a bellwether sheep, or leader, whom the other sheep follow. It all ties in with fads of course. And chaos. And love. And like her other books, it all comes together so brilliantly at the end you feel entertained and intellectually stimulated all at once, a lovely way to feel while reading a book.
Evaluation: There is a reason Connie Willis has won so many awards and has such a rabid fan base. Her stories are just a delight. This book focuses on social satire more than her others, which often dive into the realm of historical science fiction. This book might even be thought of as a humorous look at modern management and mores, with a fairy tale overlay that includes a fairy godmother, and a prince in disguise. I have yet to be disappointed with Connie Willis!
There is no time travel in this book by Willis. But it still features her hallmark plot devices: missed communications, parallels and unexpected consequences from chance interactions, and clever interweaving of
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story lines.The subject of Bellwether is causation: in particular, why do fads start, and how do scientific discoveries get made, and even, why do people meet and fall in love? The unifying theme in all of these is chaos theory, a perfect metaphor for Willis’s stories in general.
Dr. Sandra ("Sandy") Foster is a 31-year-old sociologist at the commercial research firm HiTek, where she is trying to discover how fads get started. Each chapter is headed by a brief summary of an actual historical fad, one which is cleverly reflected in the content of the chapter. Further, within the chapters Willis takes swipes at current fads and contemporary culture with humor and effectiveness.
Because of a package misdelivered by an inept office assistant named Flip (short for Phillipa), Sandy meets Dr. Bennett ("Ben") O’Reilly, who formerly worked on chaos theory but now is setting up a project on information diffusion. He’s hoping to procure a troop of macaques, teach various new skills to one of them, and document the spread of the skills throughout the group.
Ben is always dressed in a manner hopelessly out of date, and Sandy becomes fascinated with him, because he seems to be singularly fad-resistant.
Eventually, with no macaques in sight, Sandy helps Ben get some sheep, and they even import a bellwether sheep, or leader, whom the other sheep follow. It all ties in with fads of course. And chaos. And love. And like her other books, it all comes together so brilliantly at the end you feel entertained and intellectually stimulated all at once, a lovely way to feel while reading a book.
Evaluation: There is a reason Connie Willis has won so many awards and has such a rabid fan base. Her stories are just a delight. This book focuses on social satire more than her others, which often dive into the realm of historical science fiction. This book might even be thought of as a humorous look at modern management and mores, with a fairy tale overlay that includes a fairy godmother, and a prince in disguise. I have yet to be disappointed with Connie Willis!
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LibraryThing member denelirate
Bellwether is by far one of the most superb, funny novels I have ever read. It takes place somewhere around Boulder, Colorado, a town not too far from where Connie Willis (and I) live, and the entire plot follows several months in a scientist's life - several extremely eventful months, involving
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staff meetings, acronyms, trends, hair bobbing, sheep, a cafe called the Earth Mother in the beginning of the book but then changing its name throughout the rest, frustration with assistants, and naturally enough, love. It is truly unputdownable, unfathomably wonderful, and with that special, extremely planned twist at the end that Connie Willis puts in all her books. Bellwether really makes you rethink the concepts of the Bandwagon. Show Less
LibraryThing member myfanwy
This was one of the quickest reads I enjoyed in quite some time. It began and ended in a flash of witty comentary on today's social trends. I was hurtled along at quite some pace.
I think Connie Willis has a knack at the turn of phrase. She makes some very funny comments and I love the random facts
How do I critique this? I mean, I liked it. I enjoyed it just as much as I would enjoy an episode of Buffy, say, or a comic strip that I read once a week. But the pace of the book means you can read it in a day or two, and if you do that, all the tropes blend together and leave an aftertaste like too many popsicles in a row. Maybe I should treat Willis as enjoyable witty airplane reading, or something for when I'm sick and distractable, or the perfect thing for a winter of 5-minute subway commutes. In any case, I need to temper it with something a little more hefty or my brain will be sick from too much candy.
I think Connie Willis has a knack at the turn of phrase. She makes some very funny comments and I love the random facts
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thrown in about all sorts of fads. But.. (isn't there always a "but"?) Well, I felt after a while like a was watching a sitcom, an enjoyable sitcom, yes, but one in which the characters never change and the same jokes are reused chapter after chapter. When I picked up this book I raced through the first 70 pages, loving the tone. The next 100 seemed like Willis was just spinning her wheels. The plot didn't go anywhere. And while the ending is a proper ending -- many loose ends are tied and all ends happily -- it was also intensely predictable. You know from the very first introduction of characters who will end up with whom. You know from the very beginning the answer to the main problem the narrator is dealing with. The rest, well, the rest is entertaining filler.How do I critique this? I mean, I liked it. I enjoyed it just as much as I would enjoy an episode of Buffy, say, or a comic strip that I read once a week. But the pace of the book means you can read it in a day or two, and if you do that, all the tropes blend together and leave an aftertaste like too many popsicles in a row. Maybe I should treat Willis as enjoyable witty airplane reading, or something for when I'm sick and distractable, or the perfect thing for a winter of 5-minute subway commutes. In any case, I need to temper it with something a little more hefty or my brain will be sick from too much candy.
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LibraryThing member allreb
This might very well be my favorite book of all time. When I first read it, I felt like it was written for me -- it's the story of a statistician who studies trends in culture and is trying to figure out just where trends come from. Through the course of the book, she meets a choas theorist, deals
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with an incompetent mail-room assistant, and discovers that coffee has recently become a lot harder to order. The fairy godmother conclusion is subtle and wonderful. This is a quick read, and well worth it. Show Less
LibraryThing member lewispike
A mysterious benefactor leads two scientists from disparate disciplines to discover things between them (romantically IIRC, but more specifically scientifically) and to determine bellwethers in other fields.
A bellwether is the sheep that (mainly accidentally) ends up leading the flock, or rather
A bellwether is the sheep that (mainly accidentally) ends up leading the flock, or rather
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having the flock follow it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jax1976
Connie Willis combines her love of chaos theory, science, literature and screwball comedies into an entertaining romance set in the world of high-tech research.
Sandra Foster is a sociologist researching fads, and Bennett O'Riley studies chaos theory at a commercial research insitute called Hi-Tek.
Connie Willis successfully conveys a joy of science and literature, while wryly looking at the trials and tribulations of trying to be trendy and successful. It's hard to describe this melange of sheep, Barbie dolls, personal ads and science adequately, but if you like intelligent and literate humor with a touch of romance, this book is for you.
Sandra Foster is a sociologist researching fads, and Bennett O'Riley studies chaos theory at a commercial research insitute called Hi-Tek.
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When the incompetent and outrageous departmental assistant, Flip, misdelivers a package and fails to hand in a research funding form on time, she sets off a chain reaction of events that forces Drs. Foster and Bennett to combine their studies into one. As the remaining scientists at Hi-Tek try desperately to figure out how to win the coveted but mysterious Niebnitz grant, Foster and Bennett try to study information diffusion in higher mammals. Unfortunately, the only higher mammals on which they can get their hands are a flock of sheep, which bear a surprising resemblence to the people who inhabit Dr. Foster's day-to-day world. In the process of trying to find out why people behave as they do, Drs. Foster and Bennett rediscover their love of science and discover their love for each other. Along the way, they are helped out by the strangely competent Shirl, who no one else wants around because she smokes, but who seems to understand science, sheep, and perhaps a whole lot more.Connie Willis successfully conveys a joy of science and literature, while wryly looking at the trials and tribulations of trying to be trendy and successful. It's hard to describe this melange of sheep, Barbie dolls, personal ads and science adequately, but if you like intelligent and literate humor with a touch of romance, this book is for you.
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LibraryThing member essaress
This is Connie Willis' warm and humorous retelling of the tale of the fairy godmother in disguise. The heroine (a social science researcher in the field of fads) is rewarded with great riches (in this case a generous research grant) when, despite the off-putting appearance of the disguised fairy
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godmother (disguised as a SMOKER), she accepts and is kind to her. Along the way, she learns the source of fads (the human bellwether), and finds her true love (a nerdy physicist). Show Less
LibraryThing member paisley1974
I'm becoming a fan of Connie Willis--her story "Even the Queen" is one of the few funny feminist stories I've ever read. This novel was particularly timely for me, in its sadly true depictions of Management's love of acronyms and nonsense phrases involving the word "facilitate". The confluence of
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chaos theory with the origin of trends was quite insightful. Show Less
LibraryThing member studioloo
I really enjoyed this book even though I didn't think I would. I am not a science fiction or science fantasy fan at all. I almost didn't give it a chance but I am so glad I did. It made me think about what 'science fiction' really is --- to me, science is something based entirely on fact - not
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fiction...so I could never understand the need for things like wizards, giant scorpion women, etc. in this genre. Anyhow, this book was nothing like that and actually had a theme about science and a fictional storyline with a great plot and character development to go along with it. This book touched a chord with me because I find myself to be someone who is a stickler for the preservation of the English language and I reject a lot of lazy use of language including slang and abbreviations. I find myself annoyed by the culture that uses terms like 'omg' and 'lol' in spoken language. The character Flip drove me completely insane because it reminded me of a lot of the lazy attitude I have seen in the workplace - people who not only don't pull their weight but seem to degrade the output of all of their peers. It reminded me of a mini-documentary I watched on project management in which 3 actors were hired to see their effect on 3 focus groups of employees. One was to act rude and overbearing, one disinterested and lazy, and one depressed and despondent. The study found that within 45 minutes the rest of the focus group of employees had taken on the same personality traits and the projects suffered largely as a result. Because I am also a fiber artist - I really loved the fact there were Romneys in the book as well - just the cherry on top for me. I really liked the main character a lot. This is really intelligently written. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dejah_Thoris
Bellewther is a short book about many things: fads, big business bureaucracy, research, requisition forms, acronyms, competition for grants, love, chaos theory, caffeinated beverages, incompetent co-workers, sheep and the serendipity of scientific discovery. A familiarity with the poems of Robert
Bellwether has a limited plot; it’s more about ideas than anything else. Readers of Willis’ more popular To Say Nothing of the Dog will recognize many of her ideas about the interconnectedness of seemingly insignificant events. I can understand how someone might not like this book, but I found it very entertaining and it left me with a smile on my face.
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Browning may increase your enjoyment of the book, but it isn’t necessary. Bellwether has a limited plot; it’s more about ideas than anything else. Readers of Willis’ more popular To Say Nothing of the Dog will recognize many of her ideas about the interconnectedness of seemingly insignificant events. I can understand how someone might not like this book, but I found it very entertaining and it left me with a smile on my face.
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
This was a delight, even if not really what I expected. Connie Willis is a well-known science fiction author, and the back of the book boasts she's won more Hugos and Nebulas than any other author, and the spine of the book declares this is science fiction. Well, it's fiction about science and
It's a book about unlikely connections. About chaos theory and the butterfly effect and sociological theories about fads and the sources of scientific inspiration. About barbie dolls and time outs and chocolate cheesecake and Robert Browning. About arcane bureaucracy and unlikely fairy god mothers and that insanely incompetent employee who is always misplacing the mail and files--and above all about bellwethers. (Flip, oh Flip, I'll never forget you--I've know so many like you.) It's very funny and I inhaled it in one sitting. It's light and fluffy and yet very intelligent and a guaranteed mood lifter.
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scientists, but not really what people think of when they think of science fiction. And very different than the one other Willis book I had read before this one, Doomsday Book, a heartrending book about time travel and the Black Plague. This one, if not exactly light-weight, is light-hearted, and reminds me more of something by Jennifer Crusie than by Ursula Le Guin. I suspect few fans of books on the science fiction aisle and the romance aisle intersect, but this isn't perhaps focused enough on the romance to be a romance book, it definitely would fall into chick lit with its focus on the absurdities of contemporary life, romance and the workplace--even if so much better written and intelligent that its sisters in the genre. It's even first person through a female point of view--that of Dr Sandra Foster, who is desperately seeking the secret behind what caused women to bob their hair.It's a book about unlikely connections. About chaos theory and the butterfly effect and sociological theories about fads and the sources of scientific inspiration. About barbie dolls and time outs and chocolate cheesecake and Robert Browning. About arcane bureaucracy and unlikely fairy god mothers and that insanely incompetent employee who is always misplacing the mail and files--and above all about bellwethers. (Flip, oh Flip, I'll never forget you--I've know so many like you.) It's very funny and I inhaled it in one sitting. It's light and fluffy and yet very intelligent and a guaranteed mood lifter.
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LibraryThing member SimonW11
Trying her hand at a Romantic Comedy
I cant say I found it funny or particularly romantic But I did enjoy it.
Some nicely drawn characters and situations as the heroine a scientist studying the origins of fads battles beaurocracy and fads. It has some well thought out ideas but tends to wear its
I cant say I found it funny or particularly romantic But I did enjoy it.
Some nicely drawn characters and situations as the heroine a scientist studying the origins of fads battles beaurocracy and fads. It has some well thought out ideas but tends to wear its
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research a bit heavily. There were times when passages on scientists discoveries which could have appeared just as easily in Bryson's history of everything. Show Less
LibraryThing member Xandylion
Bellwether is a whimsical, good-natured fairy tale for scientists. It's a fast read, easy to devour in a day. I found Ms. Willis' sense of humour charming and her characters very entertaining. I highly recommend it, especially if you need a pick-me up after a crappy day or depressing book.
LibraryThing member AuntieClio
Willis catches the ridiculousness that is academic/bureaucratic scientific businesses perfectly. The never ending flows of required paperwork which no one can figure out how to fill out. The inept employees who think their mistake is someone else's mistake (yours, in point of fact). The scientists
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who just want to do their research. It's all here and it's painfully funny. Show Less
LibraryThing member bg853
Witty and full of fun facts on fads through the ages.
LibraryThing member DabOfDarkness
Haha! This book was a sheer delight to listen to. Willis builds subtle humor in the characters, the plot, and the setting. I often found myself nodding my head, thinking, ‘Yeah! That could totally happen!’ or “Yep, been there. Done that.” The characters were immediately relatable. Sandra
One of the best things about this book is all the little snippets of history worked into the story. Not only are there factoids about the hula hoop, hair bobs, and the Rubik’s cube, but also about sheep, ostriches, cuisine, and how famous scientists stumbled into an ‘Aha! moment’. While the indoor smoking dated the piece, it was interesting that Sandra considered the banishing of public smoking in buildings and restaurants a fad.
Then there’s Flip. I think the universe uses Flip to try out the latest fads like her flop of hair, duct tape clothing items, and her eye tattoo. Flip is notoriously bad at her job and yet feels that too much is asked of her. She’s always complaining and yet likes Sandra because she’s one of the few people that isn’t openly mean to her. While Flip seems to be simply there to provide comedic relief or convenient plot devices, her role is eventually revealed to be much more important.
I loved the sheep. We used to have goats, so I immediately sympathized with Bennett and Sandra on how difficult it was to get the sheep to do anything they wanted. Eventually, it’s revealed what a bellwether is in a sheep herd, and hence the meaning of the title. Or so I thought! Willis gives us another little twist on the bellwether towards the end of the book and it made me look at my co-workers, friends, and family in a different light. Aha! There’s the bellwether in my life! Thoroughly entertaining and educational. 5/5 stars.
The Narration: Kate Reading gives a great performance. She makes a perfect Sandra Foster, being an insightful woman with a touch of humor. Her masculine voices are also well done. I especially liked her voices for Management and their fake enthusiasm at the Team Building Exercises. Her voice for Flip was spot on, sounding bored and put out and occasionally needy. There were no recording issues. 5/5 stars.
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Foster is clever but also has some compassion (which not all of her coworkers do). Her study on fads and what causes them now has me interested in the subject as well!One of the best things about this book is all the little snippets of history worked into the story. Not only are there factoids about the hula hoop, hair bobs, and the Rubik’s cube, but also about sheep, ostriches, cuisine, and how famous scientists stumbled into an ‘Aha! moment’. While the indoor smoking dated the piece, it was interesting that Sandra considered the banishing of public smoking in buildings and restaurants a fad.
Then there’s Flip. I think the universe uses Flip to try out the latest fads like her flop of hair, duct tape clothing items, and her eye tattoo. Flip is notoriously bad at her job and yet feels that too much is asked of her. She’s always complaining and yet likes Sandra because she’s one of the few people that isn’t openly mean to her. While Flip seems to be simply there to provide comedic relief or convenient plot devices, her role is eventually revealed to be much more important.
I loved the sheep. We used to have goats, so I immediately sympathized with Bennett and Sandra on how difficult it was to get the sheep to do anything they wanted. Eventually, it’s revealed what a bellwether is in a sheep herd, and hence the meaning of the title. Or so I thought! Willis gives us another little twist on the bellwether towards the end of the book and it made me look at my co-workers, friends, and family in a different light. Aha! There’s the bellwether in my life! Thoroughly entertaining and educational. 5/5 stars.
The Narration: Kate Reading gives a great performance. She makes a perfect Sandra Foster, being an insightful woman with a touch of humor. Her masculine voices are also well done. I especially liked her voices for Management and their fake enthusiasm at the Team Building Exercises. Her voice for Flip was spot on, sounding bored and put out and occasionally needy. There were no recording issues. 5/5 stars.
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LibraryThing member LibraryCin
3.5 stars
Sandra Foster is a scientist working at a company called HiTek. She studies fads, and is currently working on figuring out how/where the hair bob fad started. HiTek has recently hired a new mail clerk who can’t seem to get anything right, nor does she seem to care. There is a grant
I liked it. There really isn’t very much of a plot, but I liked the characters and it was humourous. Reading about the various fads throughout history was fun, too.
Sandra Foster is a scientist working at a company called HiTek. She studies fads, and is currently working on figuring out how/where the hair bob fad started. HiTek has recently hired a new mail clerk who can’t seem to get anything right, nor does she seem to care. There is a grant
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awarded to scientists, sort of randomly, but HiTek wants to do everything they can to have one of their scientists win the grant. I liked it. There really isn’t very much of a plot, but I liked the characters and it was humourous. Reading about the various fads throughout history was fun, too.
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LibraryThing member Jaie22
Odd little book. Not bad, not good, just odd. A worthy diversion, though.
LibraryThing member suetu
An amazing talent… for annoyance
Connie Willis’s novels have been recommended to me many times over the years by a variety of sources—though never this particular novel. As an introduction, it was a limited success. I only found Bellwether to be so-so, but it certainly wouldn’t discourage me
Bellwether is a short satirical novel, set in the world of science for profit. It’s the story of how a social scientist researching fads and trends meets a colleague studying chaos theory and information diffusion, and how they team up to survive their corporate management and the “help” of a surly office assistant. Along the way, Willis takes pot shots at parenting, cuisine, fashion, lifestyle, and other trends, and those who adhere to them.
Honestly, on paper, this looks it should be a home run for me. I’m a big fan of satirical novels, but I’ve seen similar takes on office culture done better. (Max Barry’s Company is highly recommended!) Another issue is the fact that I listened to Bellwether as an unabridged audiobook. Reader Kate Reading (yeah, that’s her name) did a fine job with most of the narration, but for the annoying office assistant, Flip, she did a really annoying Valley Girlish voice. It got old fast. Not only that, she used the same voice for all of the many other annoying characters the protagonist encounters. It was a legitimate choice, implying a sameness to the hostile, ignorant, lazy characters in the book, but again, it was tedious. I find stories about really annoying people tend to get on my nerves. Maybe it’s me?
I did think the information on the science and history of fads was quite interesting, but there was simply too much of it. And there were some laughs along the way to the novel’s clever ending, but they didn’t fully compensate for the negative aspects of the book—for me. I will read Willis again, because she is clearly a talented writer. But next time I’ll stick to a recommended title. I think I could become a fan; this just wasn’t the right starting place.
Connie Willis’s novels have been recommended to me many times over the years by a variety of sources—though never this particular novel. As an introduction, it was a limited success. I only found Bellwether to be so-so, but it certainly wouldn’t discourage me
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from reading more of her work in the future.Bellwether is a short satirical novel, set in the world of science for profit. It’s the story of how a social scientist researching fads and trends meets a colleague studying chaos theory and information diffusion, and how they team up to survive their corporate management and the “help” of a surly office assistant. Along the way, Willis takes pot shots at parenting, cuisine, fashion, lifestyle, and other trends, and those who adhere to them.
Honestly, on paper, this looks it should be a home run for me. I’m a big fan of satirical novels, but I’ve seen similar takes on office culture done better. (Max Barry’s Company is highly recommended!) Another issue is the fact that I listened to Bellwether as an unabridged audiobook. Reader Kate Reading (yeah, that’s her name) did a fine job with most of the narration, but for the annoying office assistant, Flip, she did a really annoying Valley Girlish voice. It got old fast. Not only that, she used the same voice for all of the many other annoying characters the protagonist encounters. It was a legitimate choice, implying a sameness to the hostile, ignorant, lazy characters in the book, but again, it was tedious. I find stories about really annoying people tend to get on my nerves. Maybe it’s me?
I did think the information on the science and history of fads was quite interesting, but there was simply too much of it. And there were some laughs along the way to the novel’s clever ending, but they didn’t fully compensate for the negative aspects of the book—for me. I will read Willis again, because she is clearly a talented writer. But next time I’ll stick to a recommended title. I think I could become a fan; this just wasn’t the right starting place.
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LibraryThing member bexaplex
Sandra Foster works in R&D at HiTek, a research company, and studies how trends begin. A mail clerk/administrative assistant/interdepartmental communications liaison interferes with her work because of a general inability to do anything as asked, sowing chaos everywhere.
LibraryThing member grizzle
Sandra is a sociologist who studies the fads, trying to understand where they come from. Through a series of chaotic systems, revolving around the irritable, irritating, and incompentant mail clerk (sorry, interdepartmental communications liason), Flip, Sandra meets Bennet, a chaos theorist who
It's very clever, with random amusing facts and fads both real and futuristic. I also found the ending rather sweet.
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wants to study the chaotic systems of information dispersal in monkeys. Due to Flip's failure to turn in his paperwork, Bennet looses his funding. In order to help him keep his job, Sandra decides to incorporate their work by watching a bunch of sheep walk around in circles eating grass and getting their heads stuck in fences.It's very clever, with random amusing facts and fads both real and futuristic. I also found the ending rather sweet.
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LibraryThing member Pool_Boy
Great, quick and interesting read. Enjoyed it!
LibraryThing member Othemts
This book is funny, but not up to par with other Connie Willis books I’ve read. Basically it’s a one-note joke about fads and chaos in the life of two scientists at a high tech company (called Hi-Tek) who study fads and chaos. Most of the book revolves around the constant bumblings of an inept
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assistant which are humorous and tiresome at the same time. Definitely a good, quick read for when Susan was taking bathroom breaks on the Crawford Path. Show Less
Awards
Nebula Award (Nominee — Novel — 1997)
Audie Award (Finalist — Science Fiction — 2010)
Locus Award (Finalist — Novella — 1997)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1996
Physical description
265 p.; 22 cm
ISBN
9788440677150