The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis

Last year, Connie Willis produced a delightful and long-anticipated mash-up of an alien abduction, a road trip, a screwball comedy, and western movie tropes. Aficionados of her fiction—of whom there are many—have been waiting for this novel for twenty years, if not longer. To be sure, during that time, she has produced a slew of other novels, novellas, and short fiction. THE ROAD TO ROSWELL begins with one of Willis’s trademark protagonists. Francie is a down-to-Earth woman intent upon talking some sense into her close friend and former college roommate who is bent on marrying a believer in UFO conspiracy theories. The fiancé is convinced an alien space ship crashed in the New Mexico desert and the government is covering it up. The wedding ceremony is to take place in the UFO museum in Roswell, New Mexico in a few days. But when reports reach the museum of more extraterrestrials landing outside town, the groom races off to investigate. Francie’s hopes of having the heart-to-heart discussion with her college roommate, however, are dashed when she finds herself in an automobile hijacked by an actual alien who knows enough about Earthlings to relieve her of her cell phone as soon as they head out of town. Thus begins the road trip through several settings, which are a study in contrasts: gorgeously stark deserts are interspersed with garish, cringe-worthy cities and towns that one can only hope will not form lasting memories of how a mysterious alien race sees us.

The ET abducts more people, thereby rounding out the travelers with an old lady who frequents casinos, a subscriber to yet loonier conspiracy theories, an RVer with a passion for westerns, and a man intent on selling abduction insurance to people attending an annual UFO festival in Roswell.

Willis is, as always, a master of screwball comedies and an aficionado of Westerns (films, not old TV shows). All the characters have hidden depths. As their complex personalities are revealed and the absurdities mount, I was utterly drawn in. The dialog sparkles as conversations weave their way from scene to scene. She’s also a master of deception, hiding things in plain sight as we find out that few of the characters in this ensemble cast are precisely what they present themselves as being. The story succeeds, in part, because Francie is as caught up in her own desires and perceptions as most people are, which impedes her ability to come to grips with some of the realities swirling around her. THE ROAD TO ROSWELL also succeeds, like the best romantic comedies, because the characters demonstrate their willingness, after some initial resistance, to rethink their preconceptions so that they may get on with the business of working together to solve the larger problems staring them in the face. Only after they have done so can readers be assured that the couple can work to resolve the issues inherent in their relationship.

A final note: while it is easy to shake one’s head in amusement at the irrational notions that true believers may cling to regarding alien abductions, we might keep in mind that belief in UFO crashes and suchlike are all too common. Indeed, one of the few things quite a few members of Congress on both sides of the political spectrum seem to agree about is the likelihood that extraterrestrials have visited our backwater of a planet. Only last year, Congress held a hearing on UAPs, which stands for “unidentified aerial phenomena,” including testimony from two ex-military pilots and a former military intelligence officer. The news service that aired the hearing saw a dramatic up-tick in viewers in that time slot. This is despite the fact that the Pentagon has never verified the existence on Earth of physical artifacts representing visitations by aliens possessing advanced technology.