There is a slight unbalance in the Universe that has to be redressed.
I am now up to 5 books that I have read and not reviewed.. oh and I have to report 3 more that I ordered on-line. See... 5 read 3 new ones... no balance. My plan tonight is to go and redress this balance by having a major session of reviewing. I have just had my dinner, I have had a decaf coffee and Home Alone has just about finished so I am officially out of excuses not to go and do this. Then if only I can figure out how many books I have read my work for today will be complete.
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The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
This one was a good read! It is kind of a book lovers book as it paints a world in which books are big business and there are literary detectives making sure that literature stays safe for the general public.
It is interesting because most of what you read about in the book seems absolutely normal. Yet, this world is not the same as ours and it offers possibilities that I personally cannot wait to see happen in ours. To be able to go into a book. Surely that beats space travel any day. Also, having a dodo for a pet. How cool is that!
This book is the first in a series and in it we are introduced to Literary Detective Thursday Next. She has a time travelling father (who travels through history staying one step ahead of the Chrono Guard), a dead brother and a man she would rather not be in love with but is. In this world we find Thursday in there is an organisation called the Special Operations Network who try to keep this world in order and also keep literature safe for the rest of us. In the SO it seems that the higher your grade the more obscure and dangerous your job gets.
It all starts of with someone stealing a manuscript.. not just any manuscript but Martin Chuzzlewit. The strange thing is that no-one seems to be able to figure out how the manuscript was stolen. Whoever did this seems to be able to go around unseen and wreak havoc on literature. There is a suspicion of who has done this vile act and Thursday is drawn into everything because she happens to know he suspect. This guy is no fluffy bunny criminal. He can apparently sense when his name is spoken dodge bullets, go around unseen and can make people do whatever he wants. He can bend their will to his purpose. He has a great name though: Hades. One of the other parties interested in the case is a shady company called Goliath. Fitting name for a mysterious organisation with a finger in many pies although we are not quite sure which finger is in which pie at any one time. They are represented by a fellow of the name of Jack Schitt (I am not kidding you, it made me chuckle). To cut a long story short... Thursday gets a temporary promotion and is asked to assist in finding the missing manuscript. the operation goes horribly wrong and everyone but Thursday ends up dead. In the middle of figuring out what she wants to do with the rest of her life Thursday gets some advice from a familiar face and decides that a job in Swindon is just what she needs. This is where we meet Thursday's mother, Aunt and uncle. He is a real gem and a really clever guy too. Mycroft has been a busy boy inventing all sorts of useful things. One of the things he has done is find a way into a book.
Then tragedy strikes again and another manuscript is taken. This time it is one closer to Thursday's heart... Jane Eyre. Thursday has been inside the book before when she was a little girl. Also Rochester has been out of it to see her so this make her interest in the taking of it personal. To prevent a further crime against literature taking place (and to save her uncle and aunt) Thursday has to find a way into the Republic of Deepest Darkest Wales. Naturally she succeeds and finds the manuscript. However, she then has to get inside it to get at Hades. Naturally she succeeds at this as well and all of Thornfield is mobilised to help keep Jane and the story safe. Naturally all is well that ends well and good triumphs over evil. Although Jane Eyre is never the same again.
The only little let down in the book is the back story of Thursday and Landen. It really does not need it. There is plenty going on without Thursday having some unresolved love affair going on. If it was meant to drag the whole issue of the Crimean War (yes it is still going on ) into the story then there was already her brother who died in it so we have the link to it right there. Thursday does not seem like the kind of girl who would sit in her parlour with a daisy going "he loves me, he loves me not" but apparently Fforde wants her to be a hopeless romantic.
What I liked about this book is that it created a world where books are important. For some lucky souls they are places that you can actually go and visit. The idea that you can change a story by going into the manuscript itself is genius. This whole world that Fforde has created is great and imaginative. Just think that you could turn up in Macbeth warn Duncan not to stay the night at Macbeth's. What if you could go and slap the annoying, sanctimonious Mr Collins in Pride and Prejudice. Or if you could simply wander around in the heroic tales of the Greek Myths. How good would that be?!
I loved the fact that the original Jane Eyre in this book had a different ending and that Thursday being there changed it. I also loved the fact that there is a group of people who cared enough to stage a protest. Then there is the whole discussion in the book of who actually wrote Shakespeare's plays. Lots of possible authors are raised and it is a discussion that is going on in our world as well.
This book by far has the most fun character names I have ever encountered in any book. I mean, we have Thursday Next, Paige Turner, Boswell, Jack Schitt, Victor Analogy Acheron Hades.. and his brother Styx... you could not make this stuff up! This is part of the attraction of the book. If you have read a book or two or/and are interested in books there will be some character somewhere that you recognise. Linked to that one of the most annoying things about the books is that you constantly find yourself thinking "what am I missing". Whenever a new character is introduced you wonder if this is another literary figure or person that you should really know. I thought of google-ing all the characters but thought better of it in the end.
Apart from liking the way in which Fforde has designed his little book focussed world I also like his humour, his use of character names, his creativity in inventing machines that can aid his story and I kind of like Thursday. the book has a good pace and it reads really well. It makes you want to discover more about this world that is so similar to ours but not. This is only the first one in the series and once I get through a bit more of my own I might get my friend to lend me the next one in the series.
Title: The Eyre Affair
Author: Jasper Fforde
373 pages
Hodder
ISBN nr 0-340-73356-X
Books to be reviewed: 4
Books to be read: who knows, right, here we go again.. (why is this never easy)... at the last count I was down to 101 books to be read. This included the Stephen King one and my two bargains. Therefore... having finished another two in the meantime I am now on 99 again...this seems right... right???
Books bought (but not yet arrived in the house so not added to the total just yet - my blog my rules!!): 3
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