clairelm
Written on Nov 2, 2021
There is another 1985, somewhere in the could-have-been, where the Crimean war still rages, dodos are regenerated in home-cloning kits and everyone is deeply disappointed by the ending of 'Jane Eyre'. In this world, there are no jet-liners or computers, but there are policemen who can travel across time, a Welsh republic, a great interest in all things literary - and a woman called Thursday Next. In this utterly original and wonderfully funny first novel, Fforde has created a fiesty, loveable heroine and a plot of such richness and ingenuity that it will take your breath away.
- ISBN10 0670030643
- ISBN13 9780670030644
- Publish Date 28 January 2002 (first published 19 July 2001)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 1 July 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Viking Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 374
- Language English
Reviews
lisacee
Written on Jun 18, 2019
brokentune
Written on Aug 21, 2015
This book was a recommendation that arose from a discussion about a non-fiction book about extinction. I have a slight obsession with dodos and had to read The Eyre Affair because of it.
"I had been with Boswell and SO-27 for eight years, living in a Maida Vale apartment with Pickwick, a regenerated pet dodo left over from the days when reverse extinction was all the rage and you could buy home cloning kits over the counter."
And, yes, I want one.
"I used the time to get up to date with some reading, filing, mending the car, and also – because of the new legislation – to register Pickwick as a pet rather than a wild dodo. I took him to the town hall where a veterinary inspector studied the once-extinct bird very carefully. Pickwick stared back forlornly, as he, in common with most pets, didn’t fancy the vet much. ‘Plock-plock,’ said Pickwick nervously as the inspector expertly clipped the large brass ring around his ankle."
However, inconceivable as it may sound, there is much more to enjoy in this book, because as it turned out, this is not a book about dodos, but about a world in which time travel is possible and - hold on to your hats - where it is possible to enter books and physically meet characters. With great power, comes great responsibility, and there even is a special police unit that deals with works of literature - and the misuse and mistreatment of manuscripts and characters.
And why would you think such a unit is required? Because some villain might take it into his mind to hold the world at ransom and kidnap a beloved character. So, this is where our heroine, Thursday Next, comes in to save the world from the destruction of literature and life as we love it.
It is shocking and distressing to even think about such villainy, so best to soothe the mind with another quotation about the adorable Pickwick:
"I left Chester’s owner and the official arguing together and took Pickwick for a waddle in the park. I let him off the lead and he chased a few pigeons before fraternising with some feral dodos who were cooling their feet in the pond. They splashed excitedly and made quiet plock plock noises to one another until it was time to go home."
sarahjay
Written on Feb 23, 2015
ktshpd
Written on Aug 27, 2014
tellemonstar
Written on May 25, 2013
This was an interesting read. Lots of subtle in-jokes for lovers of books, and pun-filled names.
Thursday is not your average heroine, which is nice. She’s witty and amusing, but also has enough flaws and subtleties of character to make her accessible to most readers.
There were parts of the book that I could have done without, that made it feel a bit long. Not big things, but some of the Shakespeare stuff was a little bit excessive.
Another thing that annoyed me was that it felt a little bit like the author was trying too hard to be original. The book was screaming ‘look at me and how original I am’ over and over. Occasionally the plot got lost or fell through a wormhole or something, because it kept switching genres so much.
Amber (The Literary Phoenix)
Written on May 22, 2012
I have been intending to pick this book up for, I kid you not, seven years. It was well worth the wait. I remember the girl sitting next to me in tenth grade English reading it, and I asked her what it was about (we were reading Jane Eyre in class, which I thought was ghastly by-the-by, but that's one person's opinion). I've always had so many books to read I just never got around to it, but wow. I'm glad I did. Such originality and creativity.
As I mentioned, I am not, in any way, shape, or form, a fan of Jane Eyre. But that hardly matters with this book. Jane Eyre's story is merely a setting and the real delight lies in the puzzle pieces around Thursday learning about traveling into books, and stopping the dastardly villain (whom I always imagine with a mustache. Can't really tell you why). Anybody who enjoys literature will enjoy this series for similar reasons that Inkheart is delightful: the author has discovered a new way to bring books to life.
I particularly enjoyed how the book is written in all seriousness (there is a lot of conversation about "Crimea" which was a war that many of the characters fought in)... but yet there is also a lot of silliness thrown in (Thursday's father is just a hoot!). While I never got much to liking Thursday, all the people in this book as quirky and interesting and definitely make you want to keep turning the pages.
Michael @ Knowledge Lost
Written on Jul 22, 2011
Eve1972
Written on Apr 4, 2009