Rating: 
Summary: A new classic you've got to read to believe
Review: I must tell you that I never would have picked up this book had I not read the review in the Jan/Feb issue of Book Magazine. Shame on me! What a delightful find! I can't even begin to catagorize it; not really si-fi, but sort of; what one would expect from a futuristic novel, but it's not. I mean, who wouldn't love to jump into their favorite novel and converse with the characters we enjoy so much? Mr. Fforde takes the chance that his altered universe is believeable and interesting, so he doesn't waste words setting it all up. It's just there to enjoy and delight in. I was disappointed when I reached the end. Hurry up, Jasper! We're anxiously awaiting Thursday's Next adventure!!
Laurie Beck
Rating: 
Summary: I'm out of sync with the rest of the reviewers...
Review: ... but I thought this book would have worked far better if it were aimed at the teenage market. Call me cynical, but I have an idea of how this book came to be published. The publishers wanted to cash in on all the adults who are reading the Harry Potter books on their own. So they combined English Lit with the sci-fi genre and they came up with the character Thursday Next, convinced they would have a sure-fire hit on their hands. Yes, there are clever literary allusions sprinkled throughout the book, although none that are too terribly challenging for anyone who has had an introductory high school class in English. Literature. Also, there are frustrating inconsistencies within the book. For instance, whenever Thursday's father appears in a scene from recent time travels, everybody freezes except for Thursday. Why? Her immunity to the "time freeze" is never explained. Is it a genetic thing? Also, with the Chronoguards ability to travel through time, why isn't the "Shakespeare-authorship" issue (a theme which, tiringly, runs throughout the book) already settled? I know that with the science fiction genre, one is not supposed to get too analytical, but let's at least remain consistent and "logical."
Rating:
Summary: What a Great Book
Review: I'm a bit of a Jane Eyre obsessive, I'll admit. Even from across the bookstore, I saw the word "Eyre" and had to investigate. I read the summary on the inside of the book jacket and decided to buy it. I read it in a day. I simply couldn't put it down. It was funny, clever, and, for a sci-fi loving Eyre-head such as myself, the perfect book. If only people could actually enter stories like that...
Rating: 
Summary: Pure Pleasure
Review: What if literature/art had the same place in our culture has sports/Hollywood? Jasper Fforde's wily "The Eyre Affair" takes this premise and runs with it. Cleverly combining elements of science fiction and literary history, Fforde creates an engaging plot where Literary Detective Thursday Next must stop super-villian Archeron Hades from destroying the world's great literary texts in an imaginary 1985 England.Next is an entirely likeable heroine, juggling career, boyfriend, parental and pet problems all the while trying to survive in her quest to capture the delightfully evil Hades. While their personal duel is the overriding plot of the book, the sub-plots concerning the ongoing Crimean War (131 years and still going), her time-traveling father, and even who really wrote Shakespeare's plays are equally satisfying. "The Eyre Affair" is laugh-out loud funny, the kind of book that keeps one reading late into the night. Here's hoping that rumors of sequel(s) are true.
Rating:
Summary: wow!
Review: Cross Monty Python with Literary Classics, and you might come up with an approximation of this wonderfully weird universe! I just loved this book, and I really liked the heroine. She was "hard boiled" without being ridiculously overdone, a center of calm in a world gone mad. The sheer sense of fun in this book overshadows any of the plotting flaws that other reviewers have pointed out. Just go with it, and enjoy literature in a way that your teachers never envisioned. I am recommending this book to everyone I know!
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining
Review: I just finished this book about a week ago and it's been quite a trial explaining it to people who ask what I've been reading. It's definitely literary fiction, but it's also got bits of fantasy, mystery, sci-fi, romance, comedy and any number of other things all wrapped into this one novel (plus there's a pet dodo-bird, of which I don't feel there are enough in modern literature). Comparisons of Jasper Fforde to authors such as Julian Barnes, Douglas Adams or even Umberto Eco and Reginald Hill are well-deserved. Its heroine, Thursday Next, is a decent, down-to-earth Crimean War veteran-turned-literature cop who just wants to do the right thing. Its villain, Acheron Hades, is evil for the sake of being evil (as villainy for profit is just too, too common), and he is indeed deliciously evil. I really enjoyed the background on Thursday and how she got into the LiteraTec field, and her history with Hades. The tale of trying to save Jane Eyre and the novel to which she belongs is an engaging adventure (_Jane Eyre_ is one of my favorite books). I also liked the wordplay and allusion immensely, and the alternate history was an interesting premise. Even the epigraphs at the head of each chapter were amusing. However, the ending seemed slightly thrown together and contrived and then I was somehow all of a sudden on the last page. Hopefully the forthcoming Thursday Next story will maintain the same humor, adventure and intelligence and just wrap up a bit more convincingly. Overall, though, a VERY entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Clever and entertaining
Review: Very original and funny, reminiscent of "The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy". Thursday Next is a character that you immediately take to. The fantasy in the book is just enought to stir you imagination without going overboard.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic, funny read!
Review: This is one of those books you just want to share! I devoured it in record time (especially considering my husband and I were battling it out for our one copy), and then started plotting which of our friends to lend it to first. Full of literary allusions, witty asides, and jokes that will have you digging out your old English Lit. texts, "The Eyre Affair" is a fantastic first novel! What if we lived in a world where literature was more important than sports--and gangs of artists roamed the streets? What if everyone had the equivalent of a masters in the classics, and pop culture was made up of, well, culture? Combine these absurdities with secret service agents, time travel, and a bit of romance, and you have a great engaging mix. I can't recommend the book highly enough... and it may even inspire you to dig out your dusty old copy of Jane Eyre!
Rating:
Summary: Amusing science fiction adventure
Review: In 1985 time travel and cloning are a consistent part of life. In Britain, English literature has become so in vogue, original manuscripts are quite valuable. Just ask any of the zillion Williams, Charles, or Miltons. Acheron Hades, currently ranked as the third most wanted man in the world, wants to move up to numero uno. He steals the original manuscript of Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit and "kills" off a secondary character by erasing him from the first book. All subsequent copies of the novel no longer contain that character because he does not "exist" in the pre-printed prototype.
Word amongst the secretive publishing industry is that Acheron plans to remove Jane Eyre next. This calls for a special literary agent, Thursday Next of the undercover Special Operations Network's Literary Detective Division. She begins her inquiries with the Dickens' tale and soon follows the pages to Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and a Rocky Horror version of Richard III. Will Thursday save the literary world in time to return home by Friday or will she become an editorial delete due to a poor critical review?
Jasper Fforde writes a zany, wild and weird affair that is part science fiction, part alternate history, part classic literature and all amusing satire that never stops to look back at what is ripped besides a page or two. The story line is fast-paced and loaded with action, but never forgets to wink at the audience. Acheron is quite a villain and Thursday is a superb heroine. Along with a strong support cast that rounds out what is on, the characters insure that this novel is going to be recognized as one of more jocular tales of the year. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A remarkably wonderful first novel!...
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It was witty and clever, which is remarkable for a first novel author. I loved the plot, and thought it was very original. I also enjoyed the suttle little tidbits of cleverness that he throws in (i.e. banana, francis bacon) which made me snicker. I can't wait to pick up his next one, and hope it continues the story of Next Thursday!
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