This was just a fun listen. Interesting mash up of story in a story and a mystery. ( )

This was Jasper Fforde's remarkable debut novel. It's written in the first person from the viewpoint of a deceptively average-looking woman named Thursday Next, age 36, who's an ex-soldier and literary detective, an expert on classic literature and specialist in Shakespeare. She carries a gun and uses it when necessary.

She lives in England in 1985, whose government seems to share power with the sinister Goliath Corporation.

The Crimean War has been going on since 1854; and, not entirely by coincidence, the People's Republic of Wales has been an independent country since 1854.

She's in love with a man named Landen Parke-Laine, whom she can't forgive for telling the truth about her brother Anton, who died at least 10 years ago in the Charge of the Light Armoured Brigade. She and Landen also took part in the Charge, but survived; Landen lost a leg.

She has a father who constantly travels in time, an uncle who invents impossible gadgets, and a pet dodo called Pickwick, a product of genetic engineering.

She's up against Acheron Hades, a master criminal engaged in sabotaging works of literature. A ruthless and murderous man, he's mysteriously invulnerable to gunfire and has apparently magical powers.

As a matter of friendship, Thursday sometimes helps a colleague who has the dangerous job of hunting vampires and werewolves.

She also has a friendly relationship with Edward Fairfax Rochester, the fictional hero of Charlotte Brontë's novel "Jane Eyre" (1847); occasionally they meet, talk, and try to help each other.

I'm not normally keen on wild fantasy, in which impossible things happen without following any apparent rules. I make an exception in this case because, somehow, it all works.

I think the prime reason why it all works is that Thursday and the other characters take it seriously. They're just trying to get through life as best they can, with all this stuff going on.

The good points of the story are the tireless imagination and inventiveness that run through it, and the vivid and likeable character of Thursday herself, who carries us through it all. The fact that it's a very British book also appeals to me.

One criticism is that the characters other than Thursday are quite lightly drawn: there's not much to them.

I find that I get used to the names. Yes, Landen Parke-Laine sounds like Land On Park Lane (which you might do when playing Monopoly), but that doesn't distract me for long, and after a while it's just a name to me. I think Fforde's decision to give his characters silly names was a bad risk, especially in a first novel, but he must be at least half mad to write a book like this at all, and I suppose it just appealed to him. ( )

loved this book. great characters and a very imaginative story. ( )

I'm not a big fan of books I have to learn new terminology to read. I think that's why Scifi isn't my fav. genre. Although this book had a little of everything, it was a little too mushy at times, and I thought the dialogue was pretty boring. ( )

This was a very fun, genre-defying book... a little bit of science fiction, alternate history, fantasy, horror, time travel, historical fiction, romance, literary parody... it's pretty much got it all, and it blends them well.

Thursday Next is a LiteraTec in an alternate 1985 UK, except that it's not the UK since Wales is an independent and somewhat hostile state. Everyone is nuts about classic literature, so LiteraTecs exist to combat literary crime. There are over two dozen other special operations units with various functions, and with whom Next comes into contact frequently throughout the book. Her father is a renegade member of SpecOps-12, the ChronoGuard. Next finds herself pitted against a heinous villain, fumbling around a long-lost love, traveling through time, shooting people and getting shot, among other things. I won't spoil the other things like the back of the book does (OMG DON'T READ THE BACK OF THE BOOK WHATEVER YOU DO IT RUINS THE FIRST 200 PAGES).

Despite that annoyance and some obnoxious writing pet peeves (occasional dialogue in which you can't tell who's talking, etc.), it's a very entertaining read. I think there are something like five more in the series now, and I would consider picking up more of them at a later date. ( )

In general we do not really care if a story or plot is clever, not even in mystery novels. We're pleasantly surprised by a good ending and we gasp if it turns out the narrator is the murderer. But we're not gasping because of the cleverness of the plot, we're gasping because it was that particular character who we thought had to be innocent that turned out to be the killer. Sure, it's ingenious how the the plot was plotted but we're more involved in why the antagonist hated the murder victim. It's the human drama that we're picking up on.

With the Eyre Affair we're stuck in a novel that is incredibly clever. Much too clever for its own good and unfortunately character development suffers greatly because of it. There's a strong female protagonist who for all intents and purposes acts like a guy if we hadn't told she wasn't. This by itself isn't important, we're currently inundated with all kinds of strong female leads who appear to be confused as to what strong means and figure it must be the masculine version. We're introduced to a villain who just will not die, but we know he must. Lots of cleverness is going on from page one and we learn that Dodos exist again through gene splicing. We also find out that there is such a thing as a Special Operations department for the protection and preservation of important literature and most astonishing of all we're told the Crimean War is still going on. The incredibly evil and elusive Acheron Hades thrives in all this oddness and has established an evil lair in the now separatist state of Wales. He has capture Thursday Next's uncle who devised a machines that can transport anyone into a work of literature. Of course it can also extract a character from a novel or story.

Through many literary alliterations and allusions we're shoved through many remarkable events as Thursday attempts to stop Acheron from messing with the the story of Jane Eyre and in the process get her aunt lost in a poem. The plot bubbles along relentlessly and predictably and we know that in the end Acheron must be defeated and it must be done in a rather clever way. Everything is wrapped up nicely and all's well that ends well. But it doesn't sit well. True, the novel is an interesting romp through an alternative history and reality with lots of twisty turns, but for some remarkable reason the story isn't as immersive as would be expected from a book who's premise is that stories can come to life. It is difficult to pinpoint what's lacking. Perhaps there was too much emphasis on the clever bits, or perhaps the author didn't elaborate enough on some obviously open questions: how did Acheron become the evil creature he is? The Eyre Affair makes for an entertaining and refreshing read, but not enough to go through all the sequels. ( )

Second attempt, this time for irl book club. Got to p. 76 and just got tired of how clever it all is. I don't like mysteries, so the fact that this is, under the world-building, just another airport kiosk thriller didn't help.

Interesting to see how many other books the blurbs and praises compare it to. Adams' Hitchhiker irreverencies I can sorta see... but Harry Potter? Ah, no, not so much.

Jasper Fforde is my favorite new discovery! The book was really inventive and fun. I can't wait to read more! ( )

C (Indifferent).

A cop pursues a magical person (Possibly a demon? That's never mentioned.) who threatens to re-write literary classics. Not much happens with the plot (they do eventually go into Jane Eyre, almost as an afterthought), but there is some random, aggressively quirky addition to the setting every few pages. People who like this book praise the worldbuilding. This is not worldbuilding; it's brainstorming.

(Jun. 2024) ( )

Imaginative, dry humor. Braxton Hicks made me grin every time he appeared. Not a particular Jane Eyre fan, but enjoyed the book tremendously anyway. ( )

Supposed to be hilarious, but after 165 pages I hadn't even smiled, so I guess I just don't get it. Recommended by at least one reader for those who like "humor, mysteries, sci-fi, fantasy, literature & language" -- all of which I like, but it didn't seem to help. ( )

This book was downright insulting to one's intelligence. Amateurish, pretentious garbage -- Fforde thinks highly of his own humor and the condescending tone of the heroine grates immediately.

The plot is awful, the romance poorly wedged in, and every character is a cardboard cutout. The pity is, this book had potential and was squandered on literary tricks and cheap gimmicks. For shame, for shame! ( )

I've had this book on my ereader for ages. So many friends have recommended this series and while I've read other books by Fforde I hadn't gotten around to starting this series.

Based on the recommendations from friends I was pretty sure I'd love it and I was right. It's different, it's funny, it's imaginative, it's a little weird but in a great way and I'm looking forward to continuing with the series.

1985 alternate history set in the UK. Things are very different. Pet dodos are common now that they've been regenerated (some versions are better than others). The Crimean War has still not ended and Wales is a socialist state. That's just the beginning

Thursday Next works for the Special Operations branch of Literary Detectives (LiteraTecs) who deal with literary crime. This is definitely a series for book lovers. She's on the trail of Archeron Hades a villainous mastermind who is stealing original literary manuscripts and altering them by entering the stories and removing characters.

It's a whirlwind mix of science fiction, fantasy, and literary history and I loved it. ( )

Can't believe this is over twenty years old! Read it back when it first came out, still love it just as much. Have jumped straight into [b:Lost in a Good Book|18870927|Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next, #2)|Jasper Fforde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1384955005l/18870927._SY75_.jpg|1918119] and can't wait to re-read every last one of them. ( )

I have read this twice, and love it so much. My favorite part is when they go to see Richard III, and the audience participates with the cast. It's such a fun, well written book! ( )

I fully expected to love this book, but it just didn't do anything for me. I wish the author would have allowed the reader to spend more time in the books rather than focusing on Thursday's life. I definitely won't be reading any more Fforde books. ( )

Fun because it's set in an alternate 1985, where the Crimean War is still going on and state operatives defend and protect literary works. Thursday Next is very much like Kinsey Milhone of the Sue Grafton books - irreverent, fearless, and lucky. The author uses a lot of literary jokes and even has an audience-cast Richard III play to a house of Rocky Horror-like fans who join in and heckle. It's science fiction too, because owning an original manuscript and controlling a new technology make it possible to change everyone's copy of the book forever, by changing the story. There's also a running gag about who wrote Shakespeare's works, and even a romance. ( )

Fun because it's set in an alternate 1985, where the Crimean War is still going on and state operatives defend and protect literary works. Thursday Next is very much like Kinsey Milhone of the Sue Grafton books - irreverent, fearless, and lucky. The author uses a lot of literary jokes and even has an audience-cast Richard III play to a house of Rocky Horror-like fans who join in and heckle. It's science fiction too, because owning an original manuscript and controlling a new technology make it possible to change everyone's copy of the book forever, by changing the story. There's also a running gag about who wrote Shakespeare's works, and even a romance. ( )

It takes a few chapters to warm up to this weird, witty world, but once you get there, it's awesome. I'm not sure whether to call it sci-fi, fantasy, or alternate reality, but if you majored in English literature and/or love Bronte, Shakespeare, and Dickens, you will mostly likely love up on this, whatever genre it is. Stupendous! ( )

I didn’t know what to make of this unusual and sometimes confusing literary detective romp at first, but as the machinations of Fforde’s alternative, literature-driven universe began to slot into place and the adventure gathered pace, I couldn’t help but surrender to the nuttiness. Some slow bits along the way but, ultimately, a delightfully bonkers and inventive introduction to the Thursday Next series. ( )

Not perfect but good escapist fun. ( )

A re-read, having read this some years ago, and unfortunately I think I enjoyed it more the first time around. There are shedloads of ideas: an alternative history in which Germany occupied Britain in WWII, the Crimean war has persisted until 1985 with 'hot' periods, in one of which the heroine, Thursday Next, won a bravery medal for saving comrades but didn't manage to save her brother Anton, and a Goliath Corporation that controls the government and society. There us also organised time travel by a special operations unit.

Thursday is a detective in another special operations division which deals with literary crime, and this alternative society is art-mad, with people lionising dead poets such as Milton to the point of changing their names to match, and riots breaking out between surealists and adherents to representational art. Genetic engineering is so advanced that extinct species such as dodos have been brought back as pets, although there are only a few aeroplanes and most travel is by airship (at least until we reach book 2 in the series). Thursday's uncle Mycroft is a genius inventor in the Professor Branestawm line and one of his inventions, the Prose Portal, in conjunction with the bookworms he engineers, allows real people to travel into works of literature, but things go wrong when a villain Acheron Hades steals the device, kidnaps Mycroft (and his wife Polly who is trapped in a Wordsworth poem by the action) and then holds the world to ransom by killing off a minor Dickensian character and ultimately kidnapping Jane Eyre.

On paper that's a lot to like. And yet ... the use of silly names for everyone does get a bit wearing after a while. None of the characters seems real, they are all quite cardboard including Thursday herself so you don't feel involved in her various predicaments. The villain is evil because he likes being evil. The Prose Portal isn't really such, or it wouldn't work for poetry either. The constant witty inventiveness grates after a while - a Rocky Horror type version of Richard III for example, is one of the things just thrown in to pep up the mix and perhaps disguise the fact that the plot and characterisation are thin. And the cliches extend into scenes such as when the heroine looks into a mirror so she can describe herself. Plus it is meant to be her story from her POV and yet there is constant head hopping or describing things from the POV of other characters when she isn't present. There is a 'will they, won't they' subplot with an old flame who Thursday busted up with 10 years before due to his testifying to the military that her brother caused the disaster - a more modern Charge of the Light Brigade - in which he and others died and the old flame lost a leg - when he pointed to the wrong valley, only here it happened in 1975 and is the 'Charge of the Light Armoured Brigade'. There is too much inventiveness really, with things rushed or mentioned in passing, and no real development to the characters or the world, perhaps because the world can't really made to work and would be obviously nonfunctional if there was more of a focus on all the zany details.

So despite the dodos which I love this can only reach a 3 star rating. ( )

A fun read... enjoyable. I wouldn't mind reading more with Thursday Next.

Oh how to review this? [return][return]Tuesday Next lives in the alternative version of Swindon, with her parents (her father is a Time Agent so keeps popping up at various ages at various points in her life) and her pet dodo.[return][return]She becomes a "literary agent" - which is not what it sounds. It means there are books (those that already exist, those that could have existed but dont and those that will exist), and it's her job to keep things straight and true to form. In this story, someone is trying to change the story of "Jane Eyre" and so Tuesday needs to go in and sort it out. [return][return]It's useful to have a resonable knowledge of literature - not just Jane Eyre - but you dont have to know all the stories brilliantly to understand what's going on. (e.g. in a later book there is mass confusion - even between the characters themselves - when a bunch of Russian characters from Tolstoy turn up. You dont need to know Tolstoy, just that everyone has at least 3 different names and it's very hard to keep track of who is who).

So much fun ( )