 Cover of first edition (paperback) | |
| Author | Connie Willis |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
Publication date | 1996 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 247 pp |
| ISBN | 0-553-37562-8 |
| OCLC | 33078699 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3573.I45652 B45 1996 |
Bellwether is a 1996 science fiction novel by Connie Willis. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1997.[1]
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Transcription
Most of the time, when you think of famous scientists, what do you think of? People in lab coats? Late nights unlocking the mysteries of the universe? What about a guy tearing it up on the bongo drums? Richard Feynman was a world-class physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize for his work on Quantum Electrodynamics, a safe-cracker, a bongo drum-player, and a brilliant man who refused to take life too seriously. He's also the narrator of a cool new graphic novel—Feynman—which details his meandering, interesting, and groundbreaking life. Feynman made stunning contributions not just to the world of physics, but also to major projects like the building of the atomic bomb, and the investigation of the Challenger explosion. Just how he did so is a tribute to his intelligence, but also to the unusual way in which he saw the world. I think this is one of the things that this book does particularly well: showing us the universe through Feynman's eyes, in all its dimension, possibility, and sometimes mind-numbing complexity. This book is a little complex. Be prepared for physics concepts you might not understand, and some jumping back and forth between eras that leaves the story feeling occasionally disjointed. But all that is worth it to spend time with a vital, exuberant man whose life was a veritable explosion of science and soul.
Plot introduction
The main character, Dr. Sandra Foster, studies fads in Boulder, Colorado. Her employer, Hi-Tek, wants to know how to predict fads, in order to take advantage of this knowledge and thus to possibly create one. While Dr. Foster is extensively researching and analysing fads, Hi-Tek itself is swept by management fads. In addition, the Management wants one of its employees to win the mysterious Niebnitz Research Grant (the fictitious award is very similar to the MacArthur Fellowship's Genius Grant). Meanwhile, the employees struggle with chaos created by a self-centered administrative assistant. Willis uses humor to come to an unsettling conclusion.
Resolution
The scientists experiment with sheep, finding that their flocks are led by bellwethers, certain sheep which are "indistinguishable from the rest of the flock, only a little greedier, a little faster, a little hungrier." Analogously, fads are started by some persons among the crowd, who, even without realizing it, are a little ahead of the rest.
Willis also creates a subtle reworking of Robert Browning's Pippa Passes. Browning's work, which is explicitly mentioned in Willis's, tells the story of a cheerful girl named Pippa who in passing by folks in a village influences everyone to the good. In Willis's novel, the administrative assistant Flip likewise influences everyone, though not in a charming manner. Flip and Pippa are both diminutive names for Phillipa.
References
- ^ "The Nebula Award Listing: SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY & HORROR BOOKS BY AWARD". WWEnd. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
External links
- Bellwether at Worlds Without End
This page was last edited on 1 July 2022, at 14:11