Originally posted June 2, 2009
Rating ***
I picked up The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde on my monthly trip to the library in May. I had never heard of the book prior to reading Chère’s review of the book and was instantly intrigued. Fforde tells a story about a literary detective named Thursday Next in an alternate 1980’s England. The Wall Street Journal had this to say:
Filled with CLEVER wordplay LITERARY allusion and BIBLIOWIT, The Eyre Affair combines elements of MONTY PYTHON, HARRY POTTER, STEPHEN HAWKING and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. But its quirky charm is all its own.
I thought it was very clever and quirky! Although I love British humor, I still feel like I was missing some of the laughs. If you are going to read this book without having read Jane Eyre I highly recommend you read a summary at the very least. It vastly helped in my understanding of what was happening.
I completely agree with Chère in that you have to suspend your disbelief and step into Fforde’s world. I didn’t have much of a problem with this (I’ve been blessed with an overactive imagination), but I can see how this could be difficult. The story contains time travel, vast historical changes, a seemingly all-powerful bad guy, jumping into and out of books… to name a few. The story contains aspects of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, satire, romance, and thriller all rolled into one.
The Eyre Affair is the first in a Thursday Next series. Although I’m not impatiently waiting to get my hands on the next book, I will pick it up when I have the chance. Overall, I would recommend giving this book a try if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary.
