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Содержание
Введение
2001 роман Конни Уиллис «Проход» – научно-фантастический роман Конни Уиллис, опубликованный в 2001 году. Роман получил премию «Локус» за лучший роман в 2002 году, вошел в шорт-лист премии «Небюла» в 2001 году и был номинирован на премии «Хьюго», «Кэмпбелл» и «Кларк» в 2002 году. В рецензии на книгу фантаст Гэри К. Вулф пишет: «Уиллис пытается совершить нечто поистине поразительное: не прибегая ни к сверхъестественному, ни к клиническому описанию, не отказываясь от своей центральной метафоры, она стремится приоткрыть завесу над тем, что на самом деле происходит в умирающем сознании». Благодаря работе Ландера доктор Райт разрабатывает лекарство, возвращающее пациентов из состояния клинической смерти. В романе обсуждаются различные катастрофы, включая крушение «Титаника», пожар в цирке в Хартфорде, катастрофу «Гинденбурга», извержение Везувия в 79 году, извержение Кракатау в 1883 году, Бостонское мелассовое наводнение и, почти столь же заметно, как и «Титаник», гибель «Йорктауна». (Уиллис неоднократно обращалась в своих романах к событиям Второй мировой войны.)
2001 novel by Connie Willis
Passage is a science fiction novel by Connie Willis, published in 2001. The novel won the Locus Award for Best Novel in 2002, was shortlisted for the Nebula Award in 2001, and received nominations for the Hugo, Campbell, and Clarke Awards in 2002. In a review of the book, science fiction scholar Gary K. Wolfe writes, "Willis tries something truly astonishing: without resorting to supernaturalism on the one hand or clinical reportage on the other, without forgoing her central metaphor, she seeks to lift the veil on what actually happens inside a dying mind." Through Lander's work, Dr. Wright is able to develop a medicine that brings patients back from clinical death. The novel contains discussions of various disasters, including the RMS Titanic, the Hartford circus fire, the Hindenburg disaster, the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79, the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, the Boston Molasses Disaster, and, almost as prominently as the Titanic, the sinking of the USS Yorktown. (Willis has written extensively in several novels about events in World War II.)
Предыстория
Вдохновение для романа «Пассаж» к Конни Уиллис пришло отчасти после смерти её матери, когда ей было 12 лет. Уиллис испытывала разочарование от того, что родственники и друзья пытались утешить её дежурными фразами, и поэтому захотела написать роман, который бы честно рассказывал о смерти и мог помочь людям понять процесс умирания и переживания горя. Образ Мориса Мэндрейка был вдохновлён гневом Уиллис на экстрасенсов и медиумов, наживающихся на уязвимости людей.
Connie Willis's inspiration for Passage came in part from her mother's death, when Willis was 12. Willis felt frustrated that relatives and friends tried to comfort her with platitudes, so she wanted to write a novel that dealt with death honestly and could help people understand the process of death and mourning. The character of Maurice Mandrake was inspired by Willis's anger at psychics and mediums who take advantage of vulnerable people.
Краткое содержание сюжета
Джоанна Ландер, клинический психолог, берет интервью у пациентов, переживших околосмертный опыт; она стремится понять, что происходит между моментом смерти человека и его возвращением к жизни. Она испытывает разочарование, когда многие из ее пациентов не могут или не хотят предоставить точную информацию о своих переживаниях. Она осознает, что научные данные искажены влиянием доктора Мориса Мандрейка, настойчивого и почти вездесущего шарлатана, выдающего себя за "исследователя", который публикует бестселлеры об околосмертных опытах и убеждает пациентов в том, что их переживания произошли именно так, как описано в его книгах, например, в получении космических знаний от ангелов: они вспомнили все для него – выход из тела, вход в туннель, встречу с Иисусом, Свет, просмотр жизни и встречи с умершими близкими. Удобно забывая детали, не вписывающиеся в его теорию, и добавляя те, которые ей соответствуют. И полностью стирая то, что произошло на самом деле. Доктор Ричард Райт, разработавший способ искусственного вызывания околосмертных опытов у пациентов и мониторинга их мозговой активности, связывается с Джоанной и предлагает ей присоединиться к его исследованию и опрашивать пациентов после проведения процедуры. Она соглашается. Они интеллектуально совместимы и испытывают взаимную романтическую симпатию. Мандрейк считает их конкурентами и саботирует их работу, обращаясь к пациентам сразу после их возвращения к жизни. Его метод заключается в задавании наводящих вопросов, которые искажают рассказы пациентов об их околосмертных переживаниях, что затрудняет Джоанне и Ричарду поиск добровольцев для их собственного исследования. Читатель позже узнает, что двое из их добровольцев лжецы, что также подрывает их выводы. Не имея достаточного количества добровольцев для корректной методологии, Джоанна решает сама пройти через эту процедуру. Она обращается за помощью к медсестре Тиш, которая с радостью соглашается, поскольку считает Ричарда Райта "симпатичным" и надеется пофлиртовать с ним, пока Джоанна будет "под воздействием". Джоанна оказывается в темном проходе, который, в ходе последующих околосмертных опытов, она понимает, является частью сновидческой версии RMS Titanic, на борту которого она встречает пассажиров настоящего "Титаника", а также человека, символически находящегося на грани смерти – учителя средней школы, с которым она училась около десяти лет назад, мистера Пэта Бриарли. Между сеансами околосмертных переживаний Джоанна пытается понять, почему она видит "Титаник", и в конечном итоге находит мистера Бриарли, который часто рассказывал о "Титанике" на уроках. Джоанна узнает, что мистер Бриарли, когда-то энергичный и увлеченный преподаватель, теперь страдает болезнью Альцгеймера. Это сокрушает Джоанну, которая была уверена, что мистер Бриарли сможет дать ей "ключ" к пониманию того, почему она видит "Титаник". Однако племянница мистера Бриарли, Кит, обещает помочь. Джоанна также консультируется с Мэйзи Неллис, девятилетней девочкой с пороком сердца, "V fib", поскольку Мэйзи, будучи прирожденным рационалистом, предоставляет только точную информацию о своих околосмертных переживаниях. Мэйзи также дает Джоанне важную информацию о "Титанике". Общаясь со своими пациентами и переживая новые околосмертные опыты, Ландер приходит к выводу, что околосмертный опыт – это механизм, который мозг использует для создания сценария, символизирующего то, что мозг пытается сделать, когда он умирает: найти подходящий нейронный путь для отправки сигнала, который может "запустить" остальное тело обратно к жизни. Она узнает (особенно от пациента, вышедшего из комы), что если человек, переживающий реальный околосмертный опыт, может метафорически отправить сообщение кому-то, появляющемуся в этом опыте, он сможет проснуться и выжить. Прежде чем она успевает рассказать Ричарду Райту о своем открытии, она навещает медсестру Виель в приемном отделении и получает ножевое ранение от человека, находящегося под воздействием наркотика под названием "изгой". Прежде чем потерять сознание, она успевает произнести несколько слов Виель, пытаясь передать ей свое открытие об околосмертных опытах. Она снова оказывается на "Титанике" и преодолевает сновидческие препятствия, чтобы сбежать и проснуться. Ричард Райт, узнав о том, что Джоанна умирает или мертва, входит в искусственный околосмертный опыт, надеясь найти себя на "Титанике" и спасти Ландера. Вместо этого он оказывается в офисах White Star Line, где публике зачитывают имена жертв катастрофы "Титаника" – он слишком поздно, чтобы "спасти" Джоанну. Он приходит в себя спустя много часов, и Тиш, плача, сообщает ему о смерти Джоанны. Пока друзья Ричарда и Джоанны оплакивают ее смерть, сама Джоанна остается на "Титанике" до его затопления, и ее воспоминания об жизни постепенно исчезают. Ричард понимает, что Джоанна пыталась ему что-то сказать перед смертью (они обсуждали важность последних слов), и он находит всех людей, с которыми она разговаривала перед нападением. Он узнает о ее открытии. Прежде чем она успела связаться с ним, Джоанна сказала, ни много ни мало, Мандрейку: "Околосмертный опыт – это сообщение. Это сигнал SOS. Это призыв о помощи". Понимая ее предсмертное послание, Ричард разрабатывает химический препарат, который, по его мнению, может вернуть пациента к жизни. Мэйзи переживает "V fib" и умирает, но Ричард успешно применяет свой экспериментальный препарат, и ей впоследствии делают пересадку сердца; она выживает. В своем последнем околосмертном опыте, на воображаемом корабле, Джоанна оказывается в воде, с некоторыми сохранившимися воспоминаниями и в сопровождении ребенка и собаки, о которых Мэйзи рассказывала ей из других катастроф. В конце романа они наблюдают за приближением корабля, который неоднократно упоминал Эд Вояковский.
Joanna Lander, a clinical psychologist, interviews patients who have had near death experiences; she aspires to understand what occurs between the times when a person dies and then is revived. She becomes frustrated when many of her patients cannot or will not give accurate information about their experiences. She realizes that the scientific evidence is contaminated by the influence of Dr. Maurice Mandrake, a persistent and almost omnipresent charlatan "researcher" who publishes best selling books about near death experiences and convinces patients that their experiences happened exactly the way his books describe NDEs, such as learning cosmic secrets from angels:
They remembered it all for him, leaving their body and entering the tunnel and meeting Jesus, remembered the Light and the Life Review and the Meetings with Deceased Loved Ones. Conveniently forgetting the sights and sounds that didn't fit and conjuring up ones that did. And completely obliterating whatever had actually occurred. Dr. Richard Wright, who has discovered a way to induce artificial NDEs in patients and monitor their brain activity throughout, contacts Joanna and asks if she will join his research study and interview his patients after he induces NDEs. She agrees. They are intellectually compatible and have a budding, mutual romantic interest. Mandrake considers the pair his competitors, and he sabotages their efforts by approaching revived patients before they can. Mandrake's method is to ask mellifluous leading questions of the patients and thereby taint their self reported NDEs; this causes Joanna and Richard hardship in finding un interviewed volunteers for their own study. The reader later learns that two of their volunteers are liars, which also corrupts their conjectures. Lacking enough volunteers for proper methodology, Joanna elects to undergo the process. She gets the help of Tish, a nurse, to help with the prep; Tish is happy to, because she thinks Richard Wright is "cute" and can flirt with him while Joanna is "under". Joanna finds herself in a dark passage that, through further NDEs, she realizes is part of a dream like version of the RMS Titanic, on which she encounters passengers of the real Titanic as well as someone symbolically near death, a high school teacher whom she had studied with a decade or so earlier, Mr. Pat Briarley. Between NDE sessions, Joanna struggles to figure out why she sees the Titanic, and she eventually tracks down Mr. Briarley, who spoke often of the Titanic in class. Joanna discovers that Mr. Briarley, once a highly animated and keen teacher, now suffers from Alzheimer's disease. This is crushing to Joanna, who was certain that Mr. Briarley could give her "the key" to clarify why she sees the Titanic. However, Mr. Briarley's niece, Kit, promises to help. Joanna also consults with Maisie Nellis, a nine year old girl who suffers from a heart defect, "V fib", because Maisie, a born rationalist, gives only accurate information about her NDEs. Maisie also gives Joanna important information about the Titanic. Through talking with her patients and undergoing more NDEs, Lander realizes that the near death experience is a mechanism that the brain uses to create a scenario symbolic of what the brain attempts to do when it is dying: find a suitable neural pathway by which to send a message that can "jump start" the rest of the body back into life. If the person having a real near death experience can metaphorically send a message to someone appearing in the NDE, she learns (specifically, from a revived coma patient), the person will awaken and survive. Before she can tell Richard Wright about her discovery, she goes to visit Nurse Vielle in the Emergency Room and is stabbed by a man deranged by a drug called "rogue". Before losing consciousness, she manages to say a few words to Vielle, trying to communicate her discovery about NDEs. She finds herself on the Titanic again and races against dream like obstacles to escape and awaken. Richard Wright, on hearing that Joanna is dying or dead, enters an artificial NDE, thinking that he will find himself in the Titanic and be able to rescue Lander. He instead finds himself at the offices of the White Star Line, where the names of the victims of the Titanic disaster are being read to the public he is too late to "save" Joanna. He awakens many hours later, and Tish, crying, tells him that Joanna has died. As Richard and Joanna's friends struggle with her death, Joanna herself remains on the Titanic until it sinks, and her memories of life fade away. Richard realizes that Joanna was trying to tell him something before she died (they had discussed the importance of last words), and he tracks down all the people she spoke to before she was stabbed. He learns what Joanna discovered. Before she could reach him, Joanna had told, of all people, Mandrake, "The NDE is a message. It's an SOS. It's a call for help." Grasping her dying message, Richard develops a chemical treatment that he believes can revive a patient. Maisie suffers V fib and dies, but Richard successfully uses his experimental treatment on her, and she later receives a heart transplant; she will live. Within her final NDE, on an imaginary ship, Joanna finds herself adrift on the water, with some memories still intact and accompanied by a child and a dog which Maisie has told her about from other disasters. As the novel ends, they watch the approach of a ship repeatedly mentioned by Ed Wojakowski.
Персонажи
Джоанна Ландер – клинический психолог, пытающийся узнать истинную природу околосмертных переживаний посредством интервью с пациентами. Она добрая, часто рассеянная, но упорная, как Шерлок Холмс, когда ищет ключ к расследованию. Джоанна, у которой нет собственных детей, любит Мэйзи Неллис, называя её «одним из замечательных детей в мире».
Joanna Lander A clinical psychologist who attempts to learn the true nature of near death experiences through interviews with patients. She is kind, often absent minded, but as dogged as Sherlock Holmes when she is after a clue to her investigations. Joanna, who has no children of her own, loves Maisie Nellis, calling her "one of the world's great kids." Richard Wright A neurologist who wants to discover a way to revive patients after clinical death. Described as blond and cute, he is considered aloof by Amelia Tanaka and by Nurse Tish, who want to date him, and a great catch by Vielle, who wants Joanna to date him. He is a nurturer: Joanna never thinks to bring lunch for herself, although an ongoing joke in the novel is that the hospital cafeteria is never open; Richard often feeds Joanna the oranges, crackers, candy bars and sodas in his coat pockets which he brought from home. Vielle Howard A nurse who works in the ER, and Joanna Lander's best friend. They regularly get together to watch movies. Vielle has a crush on a police officer who looks like Denzel Washington; but she is pursued by a morgue employee. Maurice Mandrake A charlatan researcher who interviews patients who have had NDEs, convincing them that their experiences were exactly as he describes in his best selling books. Amelia Tanaka A pre med college student who volunteers for the NDE study because she thinks Richard Wright is cute. She reports that her NDEs make her feel warm and loved, but very late in the book it is revealed that she lied, having told Wright what she thought he wanted to hear. In fact, her NDEs took place in her college's department of chemistry and frightened her, to the point that she quits the project. Ed Wojakowski A gregarious elderly man who volunteers for the NDE study and claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy, but is discovered to borrow other people's experiences and possibly just to lie about all the rest. After many meandering and irrelevant stories, avoiding what he has actually experienced in an NDE, he tells Joanna after she nails him with a direct question that his NDE happened aboard a ship. She assumes it is the Titanic. Maisie Nellis A nine year old suffering from cardiomyopathy and occasional ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation; often in the hospital, she is put on the list for a heart transplant. She has NDEs and is a friend of Joanna. She is obsessed with famous disasters, including the Hartford circus fire (which becomes the setting of her final NDE). Maisie infects Joanna with her obsession, so that Lander's last NDE includes people who died in that fire. "Maisie, in fact, with her junior gonzo way of facing down death, owns the spiritual center of the novel," writes Gary Wolfe.) Pat Briarley Joanna's English teacher in high school who spoke often of the events surrounding the Titanic, which Joanna has internalized and largely forgotten; he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Kit Gardiner Pat Briarley's niece, who has become her uncle's caregiver, and who becomes good friends with Joanna, offering to do research for her among Mr. Briarley's many books. Carl Aspinall A coma patient in the hospital (whom the nurses and Joanna irreverently call "Coma Carl"). Like a dreamer in rapid eye movement sleep, he sometimes talks and gestures; his caretakers mistakenly interpret his movements as "rowing" and his utterances as "patches" and "oh, grand." When he suddenly awakens, Joanna learns that he was experiencing a sort of NDE set in Arizona, in which he was menaced by Apaches, was muttering about the Rio Grande river, and was attempting to send smoke signals, not rowing. Though a minor character, he actuates the novel's climax by unintentionally enlightening Joanna that the NDE is a process of sending a message, both physiologically and symbolically.
Ричард Райт – невролог, стремящийся найти способ вернуть пациентов к жизни после клинической смерти. Описанный как светловолосый и привлекательный, он кажется отстранённым Амелии Танаке и медсестре Тиш, которые хотят с ним встречаться, и отличной партией Виэлл, которая хочет, чтобы Джоанна с ним встречалась. Он заботливый: Джоанна никогда не думает взять обед с собой, хотя в романе постоянно шутят, что больничная столовая никогда не открывается; Ричард часто угощает Джоанну апельсинами, крекерами, шоколадными батончиками и газировкой из карманов пальто, которые он принёс из дома.
Joanna Lander A clinical psychologist who attempts to learn the true nature of near death experiences through interviews with patients. She is kind, often absent minded, but as dogged as Sherlock Holmes when she is after a clue to her investigations. Joanna, who has no children of her own, loves Maisie Nellis, calling her "one of the world's great kids." Richard Wright A neurologist who wants to discover a way to revive patients after clinical death. Described as blond and cute, he is considered aloof by Amelia Tanaka and by Nurse Tish, who want to date him, and a great catch by Vielle, who wants Joanna to date him. He is a nurturer: Joanna never thinks to bring lunch for herself, although an ongoing joke in the novel is that the hospital cafeteria is never open; Richard often feeds Joanna the oranges, crackers, candy bars and sodas in his coat pockets which he brought from home. Vielle Howard A nurse who works in the ER, and Joanna Lander's best friend. They regularly get together to watch movies. Vielle has a crush on a police officer who looks like Denzel Washington; but she is pursued by a morgue employee. Maurice Mandrake A charlatan researcher who interviews patients who have had NDEs, convincing them that their experiences were exactly as he describes in his best selling books. Amelia Tanaka A pre med college student who volunteers for the NDE study because she thinks Richard Wright is cute. She reports that her NDEs make her feel warm and loved, but very late in the book it is revealed that she lied, having told Wright what she thought he wanted to hear. In fact, her NDEs took place in her college's department of chemistry and frightened her, to the point that she quits the project. Ed Wojakowski A gregarious elderly man who volunteers for the NDE study and claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy, but is discovered to borrow other people's experiences and possibly just to lie about all the rest. After many meandering and irrelevant stories, avoiding what he has actually experienced in an NDE, he tells Joanna after she nails him with a direct question that his NDE happened aboard a ship. She assumes it is the Titanic. Maisie Nellis A nine year old suffering from cardiomyopathy and occasional ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation; often in the hospital, she is put on the list for a heart transplant. She has NDEs and is a friend of Joanna. She is obsessed with famous disasters, including the Hartford circus fire (which becomes the setting of her final NDE). Maisie infects Joanna with her obsession, so that Lander's last NDE includes people who died in that fire. "Maisie, in fact, with her junior gonzo way of facing down death, owns the spiritual center of the novel," writes Gary Wolfe.) Pat Briarley Joanna's English teacher in high school who spoke often of the events surrounding the Titanic, which Joanna has internalized and largely forgotten; he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Kit Gardiner Pat Briarley's niece, who has become her uncle's caregiver, and who becomes good friends with Joanna, offering to do research for her among Mr. Briarley's many books. Carl Aspinall A coma patient in the hospital (whom the nurses and Joanna irreverently call "Coma Carl"). Like a dreamer in rapid eye movement sleep, he sometimes talks and gestures; his caretakers mistakenly interpret his movements as "rowing" and his utterances as "patches" and "oh, grand." When he suddenly awakens, Joanna learns that he was experiencing a sort of NDE set in Arizona, in which he was menaced by Apaches, was muttering about the Rio Grande river, and was attempting to send smoke signals, not rowing. Though a minor character, he actuates the novel's climax by unintentionally enlightening Joanna that the NDE is a process of sending a message, both physiologically and symbolically.
Виэлл Говард – медсестра, работающая в отделении неотложной помощи, и лучшая подруга Джоанны Ландер. Они регулярно собираются вместе, чтобы смотреть фильмы. Виэлл влюблена в полицейского, похожего на Дензела Вашингтона, но за ней ухаживает работник морга.
Joanna Lander A clinical psychologist who attempts to learn the true nature of near death experiences through interviews with patients. She is kind, often absent minded, but as dogged as Sherlock Holmes when she is after a clue to her investigations. Joanna, who has no children of her own, loves Maisie Nellis, calling her "one of the world's great kids." Richard Wright A neurologist who wants to discover a way to revive patients after clinical death. Described as blond and cute, he is considered aloof by Amelia Tanaka and by Nurse Tish, who want to date him, and a great catch by Vielle, who wants Joanna to date him. He is a nurturer: Joanna never thinks to bring lunch for herself, although an ongoing joke in the novel is that the hospital cafeteria is never open; Richard often feeds Joanna the oranges, crackers, candy bars and sodas in his coat pockets which he brought from home. Vielle Howard A nurse who works in the ER, and Joanna Lander's best friend. They regularly get together to watch movies. Vielle has a crush on a police officer who looks like Denzel Washington; but she is pursued by a morgue employee. Maurice Mandrake A charlatan researcher who interviews patients who have had NDEs, convincing them that their experiences were exactly as he describes in his best selling books. Amelia Tanaka A pre med college student who volunteers for the NDE study because she thinks Richard Wright is cute. She reports that her NDEs make her feel warm and loved, but very late in the book it is revealed that she lied, having told Wright what she thought he wanted to hear. In fact, her NDEs took place in her college's department of chemistry and frightened her, to the point that she quits the project. Ed Wojakowski A gregarious elderly man who volunteers for the NDE study and claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy, but is discovered to borrow other people's experiences and possibly just to lie about all the rest. After many meandering and irrelevant stories, avoiding what he has actually experienced in an NDE, he tells Joanna after she nails him with a direct question that his NDE happened aboard a ship. She assumes it is the Titanic. Maisie Nellis A nine year old suffering from cardiomyopathy and occasional ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation; often in the hospital, she is put on the list for a heart transplant. She has NDEs and is a friend of Joanna. She is obsessed with famous disasters, including the Hartford circus fire (which becomes the setting of her final NDE). Maisie infects Joanna with her obsession, so that Lander's last NDE includes people who died in that fire. "Maisie, in fact, with her junior gonzo way of facing down death, owns the spiritual center of the novel," writes Gary Wolfe.) Pat Briarley Joanna's English teacher in high school who spoke often of the events surrounding the Titanic, which Joanna has internalized and largely forgotten; he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Kit Gardiner Pat Briarley's niece, who has become her uncle's caregiver, and who becomes good friends with Joanna, offering to do research for her among Mr. Briarley's many books. Carl Aspinall A coma patient in the hospital (whom the nurses and Joanna irreverently call "Coma Carl"). Like a dreamer in rapid eye movement sleep, he sometimes talks and gestures; his caretakers mistakenly interpret his movements as "rowing" and his utterances as "patches" and "oh, grand." When he suddenly awakens, Joanna learns that he was experiencing a sort of NDE set in Arizona, in which he was menaced by Apaches, was muttering about the Rio Grande river, and was attempting to send smoke signals, not rowing. Though a minor character, he actuates the novel's climax by unintentionally enlightening Joanna that the NDE is a process of sending a message, both physiologically and symbolically.
Морис Мандрейк – шарлатанский исследователь, который берёт интервью у пациентов, переживших околосмертные переживания, убеждая их, что их опыт был именно таким, как он описывает в своих бестселлерах.
Joanna Lander A clinical psychologist who attempts to learn the true nature of near death experiences through interviews with patients. She is kind, often absent minded, but as dogged as Sherlock Holmes when she is after a clue to her investigations. Joanna, who has no children of her own, loves Maisie Nellis, calling her "one of the world's great kids." Richard Wright A neurologist who wants to discover a way to revive patients after clinical death. Described as blond and cute, he is considered aloof by Amelia Tanaka and by Nurse Tish, who want to date him, and a great catch by Vielle, who wants Joanna to date him. He is a nurturer: Joanna never thinks to bring lunch for herself, although an ongoing joke in the novel is that the hospital cafeteria is never open; Richard often feeds Joanna the oranges, crackers, candy bars and sodas in his coat pockets which he brought from home. Vielle Howard A nurse who works in the ER, and Joanna Lander's best friend. They regularly get together to watch movies. Vielle has a crush on a police officer who looks like Denzel Washington; but she is pursued by a morgue employee. Maurice Mandrake A charlatan researcher who interviews patients who have had NDEs, convincing them that their experiences were exactly as he describes in his best selling books. Amelia Tanaka A pre med college student who volunteers for the NDE study because she thinks Richard Wright is cute. She reports that her NDEs make her feel warm and loved, but very late in the book it is revealed that she lied, having told Wright what she thought he wanted to hear. In fact, her NDEs took place in her college's department of chemistry and frightened her, to the point that she quits the project. Ed Wojakowski A gregarious elderly man who volunteers for the NDE study and claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy, but is discovered to borrow other people's experiences and possibly just to lie about all the rest. After many meandering and irrelevant stories, avoiding what he has actually experienced in an NDE, he tells Joanna after she nails him with a direct question that his NDE happened aboard a ship. She assumes it is the Titanic. Maisie Nellis A nine year old suffering from cardiomyopathy and occasional ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation; often in the hospital, she is put on the list for a heart transplant. She has NDEs and is a friend of Joanna. She is obsessed with famous disasters, including the Hartford circus fire (which becomes the setting of her final NDE). Maisie infects Joanna with her obsession, so that Lander's last NDE includes people who died in that fire. "Maisie, in fact, with her junior gonzo way of facing down death, owns the spiritual center of the novel," writes Gary Wolfe.) Pat Briarley Joanna's English teacher in high school who spoke often of the events surrounding the Titanic, which Joanna has internalized and largely forgotten; he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Kit Gardiner Pat Briarley's niece, who has become her uncle's caregiver, and who becomes good friends with Joanna, offering to do research for her among Mr. Briarley's many books. Carl Aspinall A coma patient in the hospital (whom the nurses and Joanna irreverently call "Coma Carl"). Like a dreamer in rapid eye movement sleep, he sometimes talks and gestures; his caretakers mistakenly interpret his movements as "rowing" and his utterances as "patches" and "oh, grand." When he suddenly awakens, Joanna learns that he was experiencing a sort of NDE set in Arizona, in which he was menaced by Apaches, was muttering about the Rio Grande river, and was attempting to send smoke signals, not rowing. Though a minor character, he actuates the novel's climax by unintentionally enlightening Joanna that the NDE is a process of sending a message, both physiologically and symbolically.
Амелия Танака – студентка медицинского колледжа, которая добровольно участвует в исследовании околосмертных переживаний, потому что считает Ричарда Райта привлекательным. Она рассказывает, что её околосмертные переживания заставляют её чувствовать тепло и любовь, но ближе к концу книги выясняется, что она солгала, сказав Райту то, что, по её мнению, он хотел услышать. На самом деле, её околосмертные переживания произошли в химической лаборатории колледжа и напугали её, из-за чего она покинула проект.
Joanna Lander A clinical psychologist who attempts to learn the true nature of near death experiences through interviews with patients. She is kind, often absent minded, but as dogged as Sherlock Holmes when she is after a clue to her investigations. Joanna, who has no children of her own, loves Maisie Nellis, calling her "one of the world's great kids." Richard Wright A neurologist who wants to discover a way to revive patients after clinical death. Described as blond and cute, he is considered aloof by Amelia Tanaka and by Nurse Tish, who want to date him, and a great catch by Vielle, who wants Joanna to date him. He is a nurturer: Joanna never thinks to bring lunch for herself, although an ongoing joke in the novel is that the hospital cafeteria is never open; Richard often feeds Joanna the oranges, crackers, candy bars and sodas in his coat pockets which he brought from home. Vielle Howard A nurse who works in the ER, and Joanna Lander's best friend. They regularly get together to watch movies. Vielle has a crush on a police officer who looks like Denzel Washington; but she is pursued by a morgue employee. Maurice Mandrake A charlatan researcher who interviews patients who have had NDEs, convincing them that their experiences were exactly as he describes in his best selling books. Amelia Tanaka A pre med college student who volunteers for the NDE study because she thinks Richard Wright is cute. She reports that her NDEs make her feel warm and loved, but very late in the book it is revealed that she lied, having told Wright what she thought he wanted to hear. In fact, her NDEs took place in her college's department of chemistry and frightened her, to the point that she quits the project. Ed Wojakowski A gregarious elderly man who volunteers for the NDE study and claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy, but is discovered to borrow other people's experiences and possibly just to lie about all the rest. After many meandering and irrelevant stories, avoiding what he has actually experienced in an NDE, he tells Joanna after she nails him with a direct question that his NDE happened aboard a ship. She assumes it is the Titanic. Maisie Nellis A nine year old suffering from cardiomyopathy and occasional ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation; often in the hospital, she is put on the list for a heart transplant. She has NDEs and is a friend of Joanna. She is obsessed with famous disasters, including the Hartford circus fire (which becomes the setting of her final NDE). Maisie infects Joanna with her obsession, so that Lander's last NDE includes people who died in that fire. "Maisie, in fact, with her junior gonzo way of facing down death, owns the spiritual center of the novel," writes Gary Wolfe.) Pat Briarley Joanna's English teacher in high school who spoke often of the events surrounding the Titanic, which Joanna has internalized and largely forgotten; he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Kit Gardiner Pat Briarley's niece, who has become her uncle's caregiver, and who becomes good friends with Joanna, offering to do research for her among Mr. Briarley's many books. Carl Aspinall A coma patient in the hospital (whom the nurses and Joanna irreverently call "Coma Carl"). Like a dreamer in rapid eye movement sleep, he sometimes talks and gestures; his caretakers mistakenly interpret his movements as "rowing" and his utterances as "patches" and "oh, grand." When he suddenly awakens, Joanna learns that he was experiencing a sort of NDE set in Arizona, in which he was menaced by Apaches, was muttering about the Rio Grande river, and was attempting to send smoke signals, not rowing. Though a minor character, he actuates the novel's climax by unintentionally enlightening Joanna that the NDE is a process of sending a message, both physiologically and symbolically.
Эд Вояковски – общительный пожилой мужчина, который добровольно участвует в исследовании околосмертных переживаний и утверждает, что является ветераном Второй мировой войны на флоте США, но выясняется, что он заимствует чужой опыт и, возможно, просто лжёт обо всём остальном. После множества запутанных и не относящихся к делу историй, избегая того, что он на самом деле пережил в околосмертном переживании, он рассказывает Джоанне, после того как она задаёт ему прямой вопрос, что его околосмертное переживание произошло на борту корабля. Она предполагает, что это «Титаник».
Joanna Lander A clinical psychologist who attempts to learn the true nature of near death experiences through interviews with patients. She is kind, often absent minded, but as dogged as Sherlock Holmes when she is after a clue to her investigations. Joanna, who has no children of her own, loves Maisie Nellis, calling her "one of the world's great kids." Richard Wright A neurologist who wants to discover a way to revive patients after clinical death. Described as blond and cute, he is considered aloof by Amelia Tanaka and by Nurse Tish, who want to date him, and a great catch by Vielle, who wants Joanna to date him. He is a nurturer: Joanna never thinks to bring lunch for herself, although an ongoing joke in the novel is that the hospital cafeteria is never open; Richard often feeds Joanna the oranges, crackers, candy bars and sodas in his coat pockets which he brought from home. Vielle Howard A nurse who works in the ER, and Joanna Lander's best friend. They regularly get together to watch movies. Vielle has a crush on a police officer who looks like Denzel Washington; but she is pursued by a morgue employee. Maurice Mandrake A charlatan researcher who interviews patients who have had NDEs, convincing them that their experiences were exactly as he describes in his best selling books. Amelia Tanaka A pre med college student who volunteers for the NDE study because she thinks Richard Wright is cute. She reports that her NDEs make her feel warm and loved, but very late in the book it is revealed that she lied, having told Wright what she thought he wanted to hear. In fact, her NDEs took place in her college's department of chemistry and frightened her, to the point that she quits the project. Ed Wojakowski A gregarious elderly man who volunteers for the NDE study and claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy, but is discovered to borrow other people's experiences and possibly just to lie about all the rest. After many meandering and irrelevant stories, avoiding what he has actually experienced in an NDE, he tells Joanna after she nails him with a direct question that his NDE happened aboard a ship. She assumes it is the Titanic. Maisie Nellis A nine year old suffering from cardiomyopathy and occasional ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation; often in the hospital, she is put on the list for a heart transplant. She has NDEs and is a friend of Joanna. She is obsessed with famous disasters, including the Hartford circus fire (which becomes the setting of her final NDE). Maisie infects Joanna with her obsession, so that Lander's last NDE includes people who died in that fire. "Maisie, in fact, with her junior gonzo way of facing down death, owns the spiritual center of the novel," writes Gary Wolfe.) Pat Briarley Joanna's English teacher in high school who spoke often of the events surrounding the Titanic, which Joanna has internalized and largely forgotten; he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Kit Gardiner Pat Briarley's niece, who has become her uncle's caregiver, and who becomes good friends with Joanna, offering to do research for her among Mr. Briarley's many books. Carl Aspinall A coma patient in the hospital (whom the nurses and Joanna irreverently call "Coma Carl"). Like a dreamer in rapid eye movement sleep, he sometimes talks and gestures; his caretakers mistakenly interpret his movements as "rowing" and his utterances as "patches" and "oh, grand." When he suddenly awakens, Joanna learns that he was experiencing a sort of NDE set in Arizona, in which he was menaced by Apaches, was muttering about the Rio Grande river, and was attempting to send smoke signals, not rowing. Though a minor character, he actuates the novel's climax by unintentionally enlightening Joanna that the NDE is a process of sending a message, both physiologically and symbolically.
Мэйзи Неллис – девятилетняя девочка, страдающая кардиомиопатией и периодической фибрилляцией желудочков и предсердий; часто находится в больнице и включена в список ожидания пересадки сердца. Она переживает околосмертные переживания и является подругой Джоанны. Она одержима известными катастрофами, включая пожар в цирке в Хартфорде (который становится местом её последнего околосмертного переживания). Мэйзи заражает Джоанну своей одержимостью, так что в последнем околосмертном переживании Ландер присутствуют люди, погибшие в том пожаре. «Мэйзи, по сути, со своим дерзким и бесстрашным отношением к смерти, владеет духовным центром романа», – пишет Гэри Вулф.
Joanna Lander A clinical psychologist who attempts to learn the true nature of near death experiences through interviews with patients. She is kind, often absent minded, but as dogged as Sherlock Holmes when she is after a clue to her investigations. Joanna, who has no children of her own, loves Maisie Nellis, calling her "one of the world's great kids." Richard Wright A neurologist who wants to discover a way to revive patients after clinical death. Described as blond and cute, he is considered aloof by Amelia Tanaka and by Nurse Tish, who want to date him, and a great catch by Vielle, who wants Joanna to date him. He is a nurturer: Joanna never thinks to bring lunch for herself, although an ongoing joke in the novel is that the hospital cafeteria is never open; Richard often feeds Joanna the oranges, crackers, candy bars and sodas in his coat pockets which he brought from home. Vielle Howard A nurse who works in the ER, and Joanna Lander's best friend. They regularly get together to watch movies. Vielle has a crush on a police officer who looks like Denzel Washington; but she is pursued by a morgue employee. Maurice Mandrake A charlatan researcher who interviews patients who have had NDEs, convincing them that their experiences were exactly as he describes in his best selling books. Amelia Tanaka A pre med college student who volunteers for the NDE study because she thinks Richard Wright is cute. She reports that her NDEs make her feel warm and loved, but very late in the book it is revealed that she lied, having told Wright what she thought he wanted to hear. In fact, her NDEs took place in her college's department of chemistry and frightened her, to the point that she quits the project. Ed Wojakowski A gregarious elderly man who volunteers for the NDE study and claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy, but is discovered to borrow other people's experiences and possibly just to lie about all the rest. After many meandering and irrelevant stories, avoiding what he has actually experienced in an NDE, he tells Joanna after she nails him with a direct question that his NDE happened aboard a ship. She assumes it is the Titanic. Maisie Nellis A nine year old suffering from cardiomyopathy and occasional ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation; often in the hospital, she is put on the list for a heart transplant. She has NDEs and is a friend of Joanna. She is obsessed with famous disasters, including the Hartford circus fire (which becomes the setting of her final NDE). Maisie infects Joanna with her obsession, so that Lander's last NDE includes people who died in that fire. "Maisie, in fact, with her junior gonzo way of facing down death, owns the spiritual center of the novel," writes Gary Wolfe.) Pat Briarley Joanna's English teacher in high school who spoke often of the events surrounding the Titanic, which Joanna has internalized and largely forgotten; he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Kit Gardiner Pat Briarley's niece, who has become her uncle's caregiver, and who becomes good friends with Joanna, offering to do research for her among Mr. Briarley's many books. Carl Aspinall A coma patient in the hospital (whom the nurses and Joanna irreverently call "Coma Carl"). Like a dreamer in rapid eye movement sleep, he sometimes talks and gestures; his caretakers mistakenly interpret his movements as "rowing" and his utterances as "patches" and "oh, grand." When he suddenly awakens, Joanna learns that he was experiencing a sort of NDE set in Arizona, in which he was menaced by Apaches, was muttering about the Rio Grande river, and was attempting to send smoke signals, not rowing. Though a minor character, he actuates the novel's climax by unintentionally enlightening Joanna that the NDE is a process of sending a message, both physiologically and symbolically.
Пат Бриарли – учитель английского языка Джоанны в старшей школе, который часто рассказывал о событиях, связанных с «Титаником», которые Джоанна усвоила и в значительной степени забыла; он страдает болезнью Альцгеймера.
Joanna Lander A clinical psychologist who attempts to learn the true nature of near death experiences through interviews with patients. She is kind, often absent minded, but as dogged as Sherlock Holmes when she is after a clue to her investigations. Joanna, who has no children of her own, loves Maisie Nellis, calling her "one of the world's great kids." Richard Wright A neurologist who wants to discover a way to revive patients after clinical death. Described as blond and cute, he is considered aloof by Amelia Tanaka and by Nurse Tish, who want to date him, and a great catch by Vielle, who wants Joanna to date him. He is a nurturer: Joanna never thinks to bring lunch for herself, although an ongoing joke in the novel is that the hospital cafeteria is never open; Richard often feeds Joanna the oranges, crackers, candy bars and sodas in his coat pockets which he brought from home. Vielle Howard A nurse who works in the ER, and Joanna Lander's best friend. They regularly get together to watch movies. Vielle has a crush on a police officer who looks like Denzel Washington; but she is pursued by a morgue employee. Maurice Mandrake A charlatan researcher who interviews patients who have had NDEs, convincing them that their experiences were exactly as he describes in his best selling books. Amelia Tanaka A pre med college student who volunteers for the NDE study because she thinks Richard Wright is cute. She reports that her NDEs make her feel warm and loved, but very late in the book it is revealed that she lied, having told Wright what she thought he wanted to hear. In fact, her NDEs took place in her college's department of chemistry and frightened her, to the point that she quits the project. Ed Wojakowski A gregarious elderly man who volunteers for the NDE study and claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy, but is discovered to borrow other people's experiences and possibly just to lie about all the rest. After many meandering and irrelevant stories, avoiding what he has actually experienced in an NDE, he tells Joanna after she nails him with a direct question that his NDE happened aboard a ship. She assumes it is the Titanic. Maisie Nellis A nine year old suffering from cardiomyopathy and occasional ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation; often in the hospital, she is put on the list for a heart transplant. She has NDEs and is a friend of Joanna. She is obsessed with famous disasters, including the Hartford circus fire (which becomes the setting of her final NDE). Maisie infects Joanna with her obsession, so that Lander's last NDE includes people who died in that fire. "Maisie, in fact, with her junior gonzo way of facing down death, owns the spiritual center of the novel," writes Gary Wolfe.) Pat Briarley Joanna's English teacher in high school who spoke often of the events surrounding the Titanic, which Joanna has internalized and largely forgotten; he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Kit Gardiner Pat Briarley's niece, who has become her uncle's caregiver, and who becomes good friends with Joanna, offering to do research for her among Mr. Briarley's many books. Carl Aspinall A coma patient in the hospital (whom the nurses and Joanna irreverently call "Coma Carl"). Like a dreamer in rapid eye movement sleep, he sometimes talks and gestures; his caretakers mistakenly interpret his movements as "rowing" and his utterances as "patches" and "oh, grand." When he suddenly awakens, Joanna learns that he was experiencing a sort of NDE set in Arizona, in which he was menaced by Apaches, was muttering about the Rio Grande river, and was attempting to send smoke signals, not rowing. Though a minor character, he actuates the novel's climax by unintentionally enlightening Joanna that the NDE is a process of sending a message, both physiologically and symbolically.
Кит Гардинер – племянница Пэта Бриарли, которая стала опекуном своего дяди и подружилась с Джоанной, предложив ей провести исследование среди многочисленных книг мистера Бриарли.
Joanna Lander A clinical psychologist who attempts to learn the true nature of near death experiences through interviews with patients. She is kind, often absent minded, but as dogged as Sherlock Holmes when she is after a clue to her investigations. Joanna, who has no children of her own, loves Maisie Nellis, calling her "one of the world's great kids." Richard Wright A neurologist who wants to discover a way to revive patients after clinical death. Described as blond and cute, he is considered aloof by Amelia Tanaka and by Nurse Tish, who want to date him, and a great catch by Vielle, who wants Joanna to date him. He is a nurturer: Joanna never thinks to bring lunch for herself, although an ongoing joke in the novel is that the hospital cafeteria is never open; Richard often feeds Joanna the oranges, crackers, candy bars and sodas in his coat pockets which he brought from home. Vielle Howard A nurse who works in the ER, and Joanna Lander's best friend. They regularly get together to watch movies. Vielle has a crush on a police officer who looks like Denzel Washington; but she is pursued by a morgue employee. Maurice Mandrake A charlatan researcher who interviews patients who have had NDEs, convincing them that their experiences were exactly as he describes in his best selling books. Amelia Tanaka A pre med college student who volunteers for the NDE study because she thinks Richard Wright is cute. She reports that her NDEs make her feel warm and loved, but very late in the book it is revealed that she lied, having told Wright what she thought he wanted to hear. In fact, her NDEs took place in her college's department of chemistry and frightened her, to the point that she quits the project. Ed Wojakowski A gregarious elderly man who volunteers for the NDE study and claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy, but is discovered to borrow other people's experiences and possibly just to lie about all the rest. After many meandering and irrelevant stories, avoiding what he has actually experienced in an NDE, he tells Joanna after she nails him with a direct question that his NDE happened aboard a ship. She assumes it is the Titanic. Maisie Nellis A nine year old suffering from cardiomyopathy and occasional ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation; often in the hospital, she is put on the list for a heart transplant. She has NDEs and is a friend of Joanna. She is obsessed with famous disasters, including the Hartford circus fire (which becomes the setting of her final NDE). Maisie infects Joanna with her obsession, so that Lander's last NDE includes people who died in that fire. "Maisie, in fact, with her junior gonzo way of facing down death, owns the spiritual center of the novel," writes Gary Wolfe.) Pat Briarley Joanna's English teacher in high school who spoke often of the events surrounding the Titanic, which Joanna has internalized and largely forgotten; he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Kit Gardiner Pat Briarley's niece, who has become her uncle's caregiver, and who becomes good friends with Joanna, offering to do research for her among Mr. Briarley's many books. Carl Aspinall A coma patient in the hospital (whom the nurses and Joanna irreverently call "Coma Carl"). Like a dreamer in rapid eye movement sleep, he sometimes talks and gestures; his caretakers mistakenly interpret his movements as "rowing" and his utterances as "patches" and "oh, grand." When he suddenly awakens, Joanna learns that he was experiencing a sort of NDE set in Arizona, in which he was menaced by Apaches, was muttering about the Rio Grande river, and was attempting to send smoke signals, not rowing. Though a minor character, he actuates the novel's climax by unintentionally enlightening Joanna that the NDE is a process of sending a message, both physiologically and symbolically.
Карл Аспиналл – пациент в коме в больнице (которого медсёстры и Джоанна небрежно называют «Карл в коме»). Как и во сне с быстрым движением глаз, он иногда говорит и жестикулирует; его опекуны ошибочно интерпретируют его движения как «гребёт», а его высказывания как «лоскуты» и «о, великолепно». Когда он внезапно просыпается, Джоанна узнаёт, что он пережил своего рода околосмертное переживание в Аризоне, где ему угрожали апачи, он бормотал о реке Рио-Гранде и пытался подавать дымовые сигналы, а не грести. Хотя он второстепенный персонаж, он запускает кульминацию романа, непреднамеренно просвещая Джоанну, что околосмертное переживание – это процесс отправки сообщения, как физиологически, так и символически.
Joanna Lander A clinical psychologist who attempts to learn the true nature of near death experiences through interviews with patients. She is kind, often absent minded, but as dogged as Sherlock Holmes when she is after a clue to her investigations. Joanna, who has no children of her own, loves Maisie Nellis, calling her "one of the world's great kids." Richard Wright A neurologist who wants to discover a way to revive patients after clinical death. Described as blond and cute, he is considered aloof by Amelia Tanaka and by Nurse Tish, who want to date him, and a great catch by Vielle, who wants Joanna to date him. He is a nurturer: Joanna never thinks to bring lunch for herself, although an ongoing joke in the novel is that the hospital cafeteria is never open; Richard often feeds Joanna the oranges, crackers, candy bars and sodas in his coat pockets which he brought from home. Vielle Howard A nurse who works in the ER, and Joanna Lander's best friend. They regularly get together to watch movies. Vielle has a crush on a police officer who looks like Denzel Washington; but she is pursued by a morgue employee. Maurice Mandrake A charlatan researcher who interviews patients who have had NDEs, convincing them that their experiences were exactly as he describes in his best selling books. Amelia Tanaka A pre med college student who volunteers for the NDE study because she thinks Richard Wright is cute. She reports that her NDEs make her feel warm and loved, but very late in the book it is revealed that she lied, having told Wright what she thought he wanted to hear. In fact, her NDEs took place in her college's department of chemistry and frightened her, to the point that she quits the project. Ed Wojakowski A gregarious elderly man who volunteers for the NDE study and claims to be a World War II veteran in the United States Navy, but is discovered to borrow other people's experiences and possibly just to lie about all the rest. After many meandering and irrelevant stories, avoiding what he has actually experienced in an NDE, he tells Joanna after she nails him with a direct question that his NDE happened aboard a ship. She assumes it is the Titanic. Maisie Nellis A nine year old suffering from cardiomyopathy and occasional ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation; often in the hospital, she is put on the list for a heart transplant. She has NDEs and is a friend of Joanna. She is obsessed with famous disasters, including the Hartford circus fire (which becomes the setting of her final NDE). Maisie infects Joanna with her obsession, so that Lander's last NDE includes people who died in that fire. "Maisie, in fact, with her junior gonzo way of facing down death, owns the spiritual center of the novel," writes Gary Wolfe.) Pat Briarley Joanna's English teacher in high school who spoke often of the events surrounding the Titanic, which Joanna has internalized and largely forgotten; he suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Kit Gardiner Pat Briarley's niece, who has become her uncle's caregiver, and who becomes good friends with Joanna, offering to do research for her among Mr. Briarley's many books. Carl Aspinall A coma patient in the hospital (whom the nurses and Joanna irreverently call "Coma Carl"). Like a dreamer in rapid eye movement sleep, he sometimes talks and gestures; his caretakers mistakenly interpret his movements as "rowing" and his utterances as "patches" and "oh, grand." When he suddenly awakens, Joanna learns that he was experiencing a sort of NDE set in Arizona, in which he was menaced by Apaches, was muttering about the Rio Grande river, and was attempting to send smoke signals, not rowing. Though a minor character, he actuates the novel's climax by unintentionally enlightening Joanna that the NDE is a process of sending a message, both physiologically and symbolically.
Прием
Гари К. Вулф, первый из многих рецензентов Locus, обсудивших книгу во время публикации, сравнивает роман во многих аспектах с «Соньями Линкольна» Уиллис и пишет: «Помимо своих очевидных достоинств как захватывающей истории на неотразимую тему, большой, амбициозный новый роман Конни Уиллис «Пассаж» должен особенно заинтересовать ее читателей тем, как он перекликается с основными темами и приемами, которые она использовала в своей карьере, и тем, что в нем она, кажется, стремится показать все, на что способна. В каждом из них историческое исследование становится важным фактором создания напряжения, а конкретные исторические детали — Гражданская война в «Соньях Линкольна», крушение «Титаника» здесь — рассматриваются как улики в детективной истории. Вулф продолжает: «Как и «Книга Судного дня» (1992), роман затрагивает одну из величайших тем — смерть — и использует неспособность главных героев делиться ключевой информацией друг с другом как еще один прием для поддержания саспенса. Как и в комических рассказах Уиллис, здесь высмеивается институциональная культура — в данном случае больницы с их запутанной архитектурой и политикой, основанной на личных амбициях, — а также жуткие аспекты поп-культуры, такие как гуру, обещающие жизнь после смерти, как Джон Эдвардс (имеется в виду Джон Эдвардс), и пособия по самопомощи для тех, кто недавно потерял близких. Джонатан Страхан из Locus хвалит «серьезность» романа, «ясный и ироничный юмор» и «забавное изображение жизни в большой больнице», которое само по себе является «сбивающим с толку и подавляющим портретом», — все это делает его «ее самым амбициозным романом». Он добавляет: «На три четверти пути в «Пассаже» Уиллис делает то, что ни один рецензент не должен раскрывать, но именно это во многом делает книгу достойной прочтения. Она пытается найти способ взглянуть на смерть и жизнь после смерти так, чтобы это не противоречило вопросам веры, но при этом соответствовало рациональной основе научной фантастики». SciFi.com описывает «Пассаж» как «эмоционально изнурительное путешествие», которое в конечном итоге оказывается «вознаграждающим опытом». В рецензии на The SF Site говорится, что роман «начинается медленно и слишком длинный. Традиционная для Уиллис привычка делать какой-то раздражающий аспект повседневной жизни повторяющимся мотивом или шуткой (в данном случае — трудности с навигацией по больничным коридорам и никогда не открывающаяся столовая) здесь переусердствует»; напротив, рецензент Стивен Ву считает, что «первая часть книги мастерская, с несколькими леденящими душу сценами, захватывающей тайной и потрясающим клиффхэнгером. Но только на третьей части книги события начинают замедляться». Рецензент A.V. Club пишет: «В «Пассаже» нет ничего утешительного, ведь персонажи погружены в смерть во всех ее проявлениях — быструю и внезапную, долгую и мучительную. Сатирический талант Уиллис поначалу заставляет Лэндри и Райта носиться как три богатыря, жонглируя невозможными графиками в невозможной обстановке и сталкиваясь в каждой главе с чрезмерно колоритными персонажами. Однако поворот в середине книги переносит историю в более мрачное и запоминающееся русло, помогая превратить «Пассаж» в сложную, тонко проработанную, преследующую историю, которая заставляет свет в конце туннеля казаться не таким уж и светлым. Рецензент из Scientific Gems написал о романе: «Он хорошо написан, имеет интересный сюжет и содержит полезные мысли о природе науки и медицины. Например, один хороший совет: «Джоанна говорит, что нужно говорить только то, что ты видел, а не то, что другие говорят, что ты должен видеть». [Сказано Мэйзи Неллис]. «Действительно, важность истины неоднократно подчеркивается в книге. Отчасти благодаря очень юной пациентке со странным вкусом в литературе [опять же Мэйзи], в книге также интересно обсуждаются исторические катастрофы».
Gary K. Wolfe, the first of many Locus reviewers to discuss the book at time of publication, compares the novel at many points with Willis's Lincoln's Dreams and writes:
Apart from its simple virtues as a compelling story on an irresistible theme, Connie Willis's big, ambitious new novel Passage should be of particular interest to her readers because of the ways in which it recapitulates major preoccupations and techniques of her career to date, and because in it she seems fiercely determined to show us everything she's got Each makes historical research a major vector of narrative suspense, with specific historical details—the Civil War in Lincoln's Dreams, the sinking of the Titanic here—treated as though they were clues in a murder mystery. Wolfe continues: Like Doomsday Book (1992), it grapples with one of the grandest of all themes, death, and uses the inability of major characters to communicate key bits of information to each other as another suspense device. Like Willis's comic short fiction, it pokes fun at institutional culture—in this case hospitals, with their mazelike architecture and ego driven politics—and at such ghoulish aspects of pop culture as afterlife gurus like John Edwards" (i. e., John Edward) "and self help manuals for the recently bereaved." Jonathan Strahan of Locus praises the novel's "seriousness", "clear eyed humor" and its "amusing portrayal of what it's like to be in a big hospital", which is itself a "confusing, overwhelming portrait," as parts of what it makes "her most ambitious novel". He adds, "At the three quarter point of Passage, Willis does something that no reviewer should leak but it is much of what makes the book worth reading. What she attempts is to find a way to look at death and life after death in a way that doesn't conflict with matters of faith, but which also is consistent with the fundamentally rational underpinnings of science fiction." SciFi. com describes Passage as "an emotionally exhausting trip" that is ultimately "a rewarding experience." The SF Site review judges that the novel "starts slowly, and it's too long. Willis' trademark habit of making some set of frustrating everyday life details a recurring motif or running joke (in this case, the difficulty of navigating the hospital corridors, plus the never open cafeteria) is over extended here "; conversely, reviewer Steven Wu felt that "Part One of the book is masterful, with several chilling scenes, a compelling mystery, and a doozy of a cliffhanger ending. But then, only a third of the way through the book, things begin slowing down." The A. V. Club's reviewer writes: There's certainly nothing comforting about Passage, which steeps its characters in death of all kinds — swift and sudden, prolonged and painful. Willis' satirical flair originally has Landry [sic] and Wright running around like The Three Stooges, juggling impossible schedules in an impossible environment and careening amidst exaggeratedly colorful characters in every chapter. A mid book twist, however, takes the story into darker and more memorable territory, helping turn Passage into a complex, finely crafted, haunting story that makes the light at the end of the tunnel impossible to take lightly. A reviewer from Scientific Gems wrote of the novel, "it is well written, it has an interesting plot, and it has useful things to say about the nature of science and the nature of medicine. One piece of good advice, for example: 'Joanna says you should only say what you saw, not what anybody else says you should see.'" [Spoken by Maisie Nellis] "Indeed, the importance of truth is underscored repeatedly in the book. Thanks partly to a very young female patient with a strange taste in literature [Maisie again], there is also some interesting discussion of historical disasters "