- Paperback: 608 pages
- Publisher: Voyager; New edition edition (20 May 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007118260
- ISBN-13: 978-0007118267
- Product Dimensions: 18.2 x 12.2 x 5.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 336,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Most of us would rather not spend a lot of time contemplating death, but the characters in Connie Willis's novel Passage make a living at it. Joanna Lander is a medical researcher specialising in Near Death Experiences (NDEs) and how the brain constructs them. Her partner in this endeavour is Richard Wright, a single-minded scientist who induces NDEs in healthy people by injecting a compound that tricks the brain into thinking it's dying. Joanna and Richard team up and try to find test subjects whose ability to report their experiences objectively hasn't been wrecked by reading the books of pop-psychologist and hospital gadabout Maurice Mandrake. Mandrake has gained fame and fortune by convincing people that they can expect light, warmth, and welcoming loved ones once they die. Joanna and Richard try to quantify NDEs in more scientific terms, a frustrating exercise to say the least.
The brain cells started to die within moments of death. By the end of four to six minutes the damage was irreversible, and people brought back from death after that didn't talk about tunnels and life reviews. They didn't talk at all... But if the dying were facing annihilation, why didn't they say, "It's over!" or, "I'm shutting down"?... Why did they say, "It's beautiful over there," and, "I'm coming, Mother!"
When Joanna decides to become a test subject and see an NDE firsthand, she discovers that death is more and less than she expected. Readers are in for some shocks as Willis reveals the secrets and mysteries of the afterlife. Unfortunately, several running gags--the maze-like complexity of the hospital, Mandrake's oily sales pitch and a tiresomely talkative World War II veteran--threaten the pace of the story near the middle. But don't stop reading. We expect a lot from Willis because she's so good, and Passage's payoff is incredible--the ending will leave you breathless, and more than a little haunted. Passage masterfully blends tragedy, humour and fear in an unforgettable meditation on humanity and death. --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘A compelling story on an irresistable theme … a profound and haunting parable’ LOCUS
‘Passage masterfully blends tragedy, humour and fear in an unforgettable mediation on humanity and death’ Amazon
‘Deep matters are discussed whilst a gripping story unwinds…a remarkably good and unsettling book…the ending alone should have you thinking for years to come.’ SFX
‘Once again, Willis has developed an idea that bears all the authority of a genuine insight: disturbingly plausible, compelling, intensely moving, and ultimately uplifting’ Kirkus
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just when you think Willis can't get any better... After the harrowing scenes of her Doomsday Book, and the perfection of her eclectically comic To Say Nothing of the Dog, along comes Passage, a neat combination of hard science (an analysis of neurotransmitter activity during NDEs, or Near Death Experiences), romance (a reworking of the mutually respectful colleagues syndrome we encountered in Bellwether) history (the sinking of the Titanic), comedy, and philosophy. That Willis pulls this mix off is a tribute to that deft style of hers, based as it is on impeccable comic timing, elegant character sketches, and and a dignified approach to the tragic underpinning of life. This book doesn't shirk details of ER activity, fatal illness, loss, excruciatingly embalmed bodies, coma, murder, yet what sticks in the mind are the comic scenes - our heroine, Joanna, eternally in flight from the fiendishly drawn Mandrake, the charalatan spiritualist, or snacking from the impossibly plentiful pockets of her colleage Richard Wright (so nearly Mr Wrong) when she finds the hospital cafeteria shut yet again (a running gag throughout the novel). Or what we notice is the indomitable spirit demonstrated by characters such as the child heart patient, Maisie, whose ghoulish relish for events of mass destruction such as the Hindenberg disaster, and hatred of the 'Pollyanna Disney' approach to life makes her a refreshing juvenile lead in Willis's cast.
To reveal how Willis brings both the body and the mind of her book - both plot and thought - together in perfect symmetry would be to spoil the surprise. But literature, as one of Willis's characters remarks, is all about making connections, and this is a book in which you do, to paraphrase Forster, 'only connect'. It's a revelation. Try it.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Willis first came to my attention with her short story ‘The Sidon in The Mirror’ which I still continue to believe is one of the finest SF short stories ever written. Since then she has established herself as a consummate writer of diverse styles and subject matter.
Amongst other things she has an innate talent for the comic potential of situations which for the most part blends seamlessly into this mystery of science and metaphysics surrounding research into near-death experiences (NDEs).
Amongst other things she has an innate talent for the comic potential of situations which for the most part blends seamlessly into this mystery of science and metaphysics surrounding research into near-death experiences (NDEs).
Joanna Lander is a serious researcher into the phenomenon, based in Mercy Hospital where she is paged when patients have been revived in order to interview them about anything they may have experienced while they were technically ‘dead’.
She is hampered in her work by Mr Mandrake, a fellow investigator who ruins most of Joanna’s subjects by his leading questions and his determination to prove NDEs to be a spiritual/religious experience.
Lander teams up with ‘the gorgeous’ Dr Wright, who has found he can induce the effects of NDEs with the drug dithetamine.
With a shortage of reliable volunteers, Lander volunteers to undergo the NDE state herself and finds the experience troubling and familiar.
Joanna’s ‘trip’ takes her to what she believes to be the Titanic, a maze of stairways, corridors and elevators which is mirrored in the real world by the Hospital in which she works. Other parallels appear between the Hospital and the ship. The cafeteria seems always to be locked, like the restaurant she discovers on the ship, and obviously, some of the patients will die and some will live.
The hospital backdrop is peppered with vibrant interesting characters and the text and dialogue laced with Willis’ laconic wit. Willis, who has used the subject of Hollywood in previous work, employs her extensive knowledge of films here to great effect.
The Cameron version of ‘Titanic’ come in for a great deal of oblique criticism at various points in the novel – mainly for its gross factual inaccuracies – as does the ‘godawful Celine Dion song’.
Willis also attacks the concept of the New Age/Religious Fundamentalist/Paranormal/Pop Guru culture - personified by the odious Maurice Mandrake, author of ‘The Light at The End of The Tunnel’ – and other aspects of pop psychology.
The novel is perhaps over-long and Willis rather over-eggs the pudding in her obsessive and relentless descriptions of the hospital and its maze of stairwells, walkways and corridors. There are rare moments when the comic incidents seem at odds with the all too serious subject matter, but these lapses are few. She has managed to create a work about Death which is funny, tragic, poignant and ultimately uplifting.
It’s also a contemporary portrait of American society entering the Twenty-First Century, and makes some very sound points about the US’ attitude to Death, children, Science and Religion.
Although not Willis’ best work it deserves re-reading, if only to pick up on all the maze-like and ‘reflective’ imagery and metaphors. Even the title ‘Passage’ can be interpreted in at least three ways and related to themes within the novel.
It’s a novel about our attitude to Death and the need to sanitise the experience (something which is coincidentally also being explored currently in the US TV series ‘Six Feet Under’)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've been a big fan of Connie Willis for some years, and although I still think Doomsday Book is her best so far, I think Passage comes a very close second.
The subject matter, near death experiences, is explored in a fascinating way. Unlike other reviewers, I thought the book raced along, and didn't find it overlong at all. Whilst the relationship between Joanna and Dr Wright could have been developed more, they were primarily portrayed as driven work obsessed professionals, who never found time for much of a social life. Maisie was wonderfully drawn - an extremely ill little girl - who was full of life and energy despite her dire prognosis.
There is a massive shock three quarters through the book which left me stunned - I never saw it coming, and don't think most other readers will either.
I found this a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read despite the subject matter, and thought Connie Willis' humour counterbalanced the subject matter very well.
I would recommend this book to Sci Fi and non Sci Fi readers alike.
The subject matter, near death experiences, is explored in a fascinating way. Unlike other reviewers, I thought the book raced along, and didn't find it overlong at all. Whilst the relationship between Joanna and Dr Wright could have been developed more, they were primarily portrayed as driven work obsessed professionals, who never found time for much of a social life. Maisie was wonderfully drawn - an extremely ill little girl - who was full of life and energy despite her dire prognosis.
There is a massive shock three quarters through the book which left me stunned - I never saw it coming, and don't think most other readers will either.
I found this a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read despite the subject matter, and thought Connie Willis' humour counterbalanced the subject matter very well.
I would recommend this book to Sci Fi and non Sci Fi readers alike.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
way out of her depth
I think Connie Willis' Doomsday Book is one one of the best sci-fi novels ever; I think To Say Nothing of the Dog is splendidly entertaining, but this... I'm sorry, no. Read more
Published on 17 May 2008 by Michael Scuffil
Not your predictable happy ending!
I don't usually read books in this category and this book was on my shelf for months before I picked it up. Read more
Published on 31 May 2006 by A. Bohan
Slow paced thriller just about delivers
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are undeniably a fascinating subject, which Willis explores in a competent, if rather long-winded manner. Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2004 by Cartimand
Slow Paced thriller just about delivers.
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are undeniably a fascinating subject, which Willis explores in a competent, if somewhat long-winded manner. Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2004 by Cartimand
A daunting size
and only Connie Willis could get me to tackle it! Such an excellent writer should have a higher profile in the U.K. Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2004
A riveting read
Connie Willis is one of those few writers who have the real knack of communicating intangible concepts via the written word. Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2003 by A. J. Watson
CQD
Connie Willis has established a fine reputation within the science fiction field for her satires, her mixtures of finely-detailed, fully researched history and the speculative, and... Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2002 by Patrick Shepherd
Wonderful and Unexpected.
Another brilliant book from Connie Willis. Intelligent, amusing, and heart-breaking, Passage tackles a subject that few people write about, in a thought-provoking way. Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2002
When she's good she's very very good...
Whatever happened to the once-honoured profession of copy editor? This novel could have been pruned of some two hundred pages of waffle with no loss, and considerable gain to its... Read more
Published on 25 July 2002
This is different
I have never liked this author and so it is a double pleasure to have tried reading Passage on the basis of the reviews. I could not put this down. Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2002 by Robert
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