I read this as the March selection for 
calico_reaction 's book club. :)When Ned Henry begins to pet Mr. Spivens and wax poetic about the role dogs have played as Man’s Best Friend throughout the centuries, he suddenly finds himself yanked out of 1940 and back in the year 2057. Ned is a time traveller. He also has a serious case of time-lag--Mr. Spivens is not a dog. Time-lag is the wonderful after effect of extraneous time travel with little to no sleep or rest in between. It renders its victims confused and sleepy; if you are suffering any of the following symptoms: Difficulty Distinguishing Sounds, Blurred Vision, Slowness in Answering, a Tendency to Maudlin Sentimentality, then you may be time-lagged. The only cure is rest.
Unfortunately for Ned, he works directly under Lady Schrapnell--an American woman who’s taken it upon herself to commandeer every available time travel agent and send them through the Net and across time in her obsessive attempt to rebuild Coventry Cathedral, in Oxford. Her schedule is rigorous and unforgiving. The consecration is in seventeen days and Ned’s just been prescribed two weeks of bed rest. To complicate matters even further, he’s been sent back to 1888 Victorian England where he’s supposed to fix a possible incongruity for Mr. Dunworthy, avoid Lady Schrapnell, find some rest and relaxation, and not worry about finding the Bishop’s bird stump until after his new mission’s completed. The only problem is he can’t remember what he’s supposed to do, with whom, or where. At least the Maudlin Sentimentality will help him fit right in.
( Read the rest of this review! )
