Passage (novel)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Title** **Passage**
Cover of first edition (hardcover)
Author	Connie Willis
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction novel
Publisher	Bantam Books
Released	2001
Media type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages	594 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-553-11124-8

Passage is a novel by Connie Willis published in 2001. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2001 and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2002.

Nominally a science fiction story, Passage concerns itself with the efforts of a psychiatrist to understand the phenomenon of near-death experiences by interviewing hospital patients after they are revived following cardiac arrest.

[edit] Plot introduction

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A recurring theme in the experiences is the fate of the Titanic. When the protagonist allies herself with another researcher who can induce the experience harmlessly, she eventually elects to undergo the process herself. She finds herself wandering a dream-like version of the Titanic, occasionally encountering people known to her who may be near death themselves.

The dream motif is reflected in her experiences in the hospital, a 3-D maze of buildings, bridges and passages where the task of getting from one location to another is frustrated by blockages caused by maintenance and perpetual repainting, not to mention the need to avoid human pests.

One such pest is a charlatan researcher of NDEs, who contaminates subjects by steering their recollections in the direction of his own quasi-religious theories. Another is a patient who is all too ready to share his recollections of World War II, which change constantly, suggesting that he is a pathological liar. However, in a way that often occurs in a Connie Willis novel, it is these pests who help the researcher find a resolution to her puzzle. Unfortunately, for reasons inherent to the plot, she cannot communicate this to others.