I always enjoy Willis’ work but I find that she always uses the same style. She uses the style to the point where I expect that if you gave me a random selection of her writing from a work I was unfamiliar with I’d only need a couple of paragraphs to guess Connie Willis must be the author. Her characters always engage in a kind for frenetic communication where nobody actually listens to what anyone else is saying but instead just assumes what is said is what they thought should be said. Actions are undertaken on the basis of all this false communication and the plot of the stories evolve out of that interaction. I am generally left wanting to yell at the characters to just “shut up and actually listen” - it would solve 90% of the problems they face.
BIT OF A SPOILER … So here we have a book with communication as a theme, to the extent that actual telepathy is a thing, and the characters still don’t listen to each other. A book that leaves you pondering. I would recommend it and indeed if you haven’t read any Connie Willis give her a try.
