
Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Sent to East Carmine to inventory chairs, Eddie Russett has gotten himself in a fair amount of trouble - some it it instigated by Jane, whom he loves, but who has tried to kill him twice. In the rigidly color-coded world of Chromatacia, they're both finding out much more about how the world really works - and what there might be outside it.
Review
I think this is the best thing Fforde has written. I’ve been a fan since the first Thursday Next novel, and I’ve read most of his books. Largely, I’ve liked them, though it hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing. The precis that sets up this book – giving the highlights of what will happen – is an example; I found it more confusing than helpful. Happily, the rest of the book is much better.
In Red Side Story, Fforde has firmly found his groove. The champion of absurdist satire, he creates a world that’s both profoundly ridiculous and internally consistent and credible. Unlike authors whose aliens are frequently indistinguishable from humans, Fforde gives us humans whose outlook is reliably alien.
It occurred to me as I read that in some ways, Fforde is this generation’s Jack Vance. The worlds and characters he creates are often ridiculous, but compellingly readable. Often through the eyes of a relatively normal protagonist, he’s telling a relatably human story of facing down the accreted and unquestioned oddities of generations. Vance and Fforde have entirely different writing styles and voices, but I think they’re achieving a similar effect.
While Red Side Story fulfills and even exceeds the promise of Shades of Grey, Fforde often has trouble keeping his series on track, and there’s a shift in milieu at the end of this book that poses a considerable risk. Nonetheless, I’m loving this series, and looking forward to the next book (should there be one; if not, this is an adequate, but not fully satisfying place to stop).
My edition had a ‘bonus’ short story – irritatingly, told through images that weren’t full screen – that’s pleasant, but far from essential.