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Bellwether (novel)
Encyclopedia
Bellwether, a 1996 novel
by Connie Willis
, is a book that can fall into many genres, such as comedy
, fairy tale
, romance, and science fiction
. The novel is broadly based on the unsettling concepts of human culture. It was nominated for the Nebula Award
for Best Novel
in 1997.
. Her employer, Hi-Tek, wants to know how to predict fad
s, 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 the administrative assistant from Hell. Willis uses humor to come to an unsettling conclusion.
s, which are "indistinguishable from the rest of the flock, only a little greedier, a little faster, a little hungrier, [a] little ahead of the flock." Analogously, fads are started by some persons among the crowd, who, even without realizing it, are a little ahead of the rest.
It is worth noting that Willis is also creating a subtle reworking of Robert Browning
's Pippa Passes
. In Browning's work, which is explicitly mentioned in Willis's, a cheerful girl, Pippa, passing by folks in a village influences everyone to the good. In Willis's novel, the administrative assistant from Hell, Flip (which is short for Phillipa, as is Pippa) likewise influences everyone, but doesn't do so with charm and her influence may not be to the good.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Connie Willis
Connie Willis
Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear...
, is a book that can fall into many genres, such as comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
, romance, and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. The novel is broadly based on the unsettling concepts of human culture. It was nominated for the Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
for Best Novel
Nebula Award for Best Novel
Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
in 1997.
Plot introduction
The main character, Dr. Sandra Foster, studies fads in Boulder, ColoradoBoulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. Her employer, Hi-Tek, wants to know how to predict fad
FAD
In biochemistry, flavin adenine dinucleotide is a redox cofactor involved in several important reactions in metabolism. FAD can exist in two different redox states, which it converts between by accepting or donating electrons. The molecule consists of a riboflavin moiety bound to the phosphate...
s, 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
MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
). Meanwhile, the employees struggle with chaos created by the administrative assistant from Hell. Willis uses humor to come to an unsettling conclusion.
Resolution
The scientists experiment with sheep, finding that they are guided by bellwetherBellwether
A bellwether is any entity in a given arena that serves to create or influence trends or to presage future happenings.The term is derived from the Middle English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram leading his flock of sheep.The movements of...
s, which are "indistinguishable from the rest of the flock, only a little greedier, a little faster, a little hungrier, [a] little ahead of the flock." Analogously, fads are started by some persons among the crowd, who, even without realizing it, are a little ahead of the rest.
It is worth noting that Willis is also creating a subtle reworking of Robert Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
's Pippa Passes
Pippa Passes
Pippa Passes is a dramatic piece, as much play as poetry, by Robert Browning. It was published in 1841 as the first volume of his Bells and Pomegranates series, in a very inexpensive two-column edition for sixpence, and next republished in Poems in 1848, when it received much more critical attention...
. In Browning's work, which is explicitly mentioned in Willis's, a cheerful girl, Pippa, passing by folks in a village influences everyone to the good. In Willis's novel, the administrative assistant from Hell, Flip (which is short for Phillipa, as is Pippa) likewise influences everyone, but doesn't do so with charm and her influence may not be to the good.
External links
- Bellwether at Worlds Without End