Rating: 
Summary: I was disappointed
Review: When I read the description of the book and saw the illustration on the cover, I expected an action oriented version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, the wonderful play and movie that takes place inside Shakespeare's Hamlet. Other than a minor character being thrust into a Woodsworth poem where she sits quietly by a lake and a very brief episode in which our heroine is instrumental in causing Rochester to fall, there is no action inside literature until four fifths of the way though the book and that action is no where near so clever as Rosencrantz. Most of the book is a rather lackluster tough cop story that pales in comparison to James Ellroy. It is set in an alternate history some of which is good and some of which is pointless. The good involves a society that takes literature far more seriously than do we. The pointless is an alternate history in which the Crimean War has endured for 140 years without end such that the soldiers who charged with the Light Brigade did so in armor rather than as cavalry. ... The military is evil and lying. Corporations are evil and lying. Religion is a joke. None of this is intelligent or original and may best be described as boring.These characters are not believable nor particularly likeable. The plot is, well, plodding. The biggest problem, however, is the presentation of the concept itself which is simply not logical. Illogic may be forgiven in a "realistic" story for indeed life is full of illogic. However, illogic in a fantasy story, and this is primarily a fantasy story, is unforgivable because it destroys the reader's ability to willingly suspended disbelief.
Rating: 
Summary: A pleasing foray into a different world...
Review: The Eyre Affair is really a book about a world somewhat like ours, but vastly removed from it due to the widespread love of plays, fiction and poems, which achieve such focus as we have afforded the movies today, and the commonplace supernatural creatures who live there, and the peculiar technologies that people develop. The people in Ffordes world are so obsessed with the written word that a Special Ops division has been set up in England to investigate literary crimes. The Eyre Affair revolves around a series of these crimes, which culminates in the kidnapping of Jane Eyre right out of Charlotte Bronte's novel, a feat afforded by a strange technology, misused by a megacorporation and the government. This book is an eyepopper, a fresh and unusual fantasy. Although it has several subplots that occasionally left me considering how things tied together, I kept reading. This is a great one for a bibliophile, but most could read this and understand the literary references Fforde expounds on. As a thriller, it had me turning pages all the way to the end.
Rating: 
Summary: unique, exciting and one of the best debuts of the year
Review: THE EYRE AFFAIR is one of the most starkly original books I have read in years. Not knowing what to fully expect, I never made it past the first fifty pages upon my initial reading of it last year in spite of the universal acclaim that accompanied it. I, therefore, decided to give it another chance and am quite glad I did. Thursday Next is our heroine. She is what is characterized as a literary detective. She pursues our villain, Acheron Hades, an old professor of hers who now kidnaps characters from original manuscripts and holds them for ransom. Thursday, in her quest to thwart the plans of Acheron, must enter into the stories themselves to save the characters. One of Acheron's most vile threats is to remove all traces of Jane Eyre in the novel bearing her name. Is this novel a mystery? Probably not. I would characterize this work as a science fiction/ fantasy thriller. The plot of a mad villain wreaking havoc on the free world who can only be stopped by the hero probably is the reason for its enthusiastic inclusion in the mystery genre. I place a premium on originality and this book definitely is just that. There is much that the reader must understand and accept before they can get truly swept up in the exciting narrative. Among them is the ability to enter into books through a special portal. Time can be traveled both backwards and forwards and can actually stop as evidenced by the infrequent visits of Thursday's time hopping father. Names are truly wonderful. Unforgettable examples include (besides Thursday Next) Braxton Hicks and Jack Schitt. The book is full of playful references to words and literature and never takes itself truly seriously. THE EYRE AFFAIR is unique, exciting and one of the best debuts of the year.
Rating:
Summary: A Literary Dream Come True!
Review: "The Eyre Affair" brings to life the dream of almost every avid reader, to step through the pages of their favorite novel and meet the characters. In this case, the book is "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte, thus the title. And the reader does, in fact, meet Mr. Rochester, Mrs. Fairfax, Bertha Mason Rochester, Grace Poole, and even Pilot the dog through the experience and eyes of our heroine Thursday Next, Special Operative in literary detection. Unfortunately we do not meet Ms. Eyre, as the novel is told in the first person and no one wants to distract her from her mission of forwarding the plot. What world has the reader stepped into? Where exactly are we that such things are possible? Jasper Fforde's London of 1985 is familiar in many ways. Her citizens look much as they do now, although styles have a retro look. People watch TV, listen to their favorite music, go to work each day to pay the rent and they still fall in love...and out of it. However, the computer chip has not been invented nor has the jet engine, so people's eyes don't glaze over staring at computer monitors. They travel long distances by ship or dirigibles. The Crimean War, between England and Czarist Russia is in its 131st year - England's Viet Nam taken to greater depths...or heights. The Russian Revolution never happened, so no Cold War, Lenin, or Stalin...but serfs are still around, I guess. The nation's favorite pastime is, of all things, literature. These folks read big time! Many change their names to John Milton, Charles Dickens, George Gordon, Lord Byron, etc., and Shakespeare denialists abound. This is a time when people can literally get lost in a book...or poem. Wales is an independent country, The People's Republic of Wales and England is a police state. Thursday Next, is a tough but tender lady with a dry, wry sense of humor, and a veteran of a very bloody Crimean campaign in which she lost her beloved brother. Her job as "operative grade I" for SO-27, the Literary Detective Division of the Special Operations Network is to track down stolen manuscripts and spot forgeries. She is recruited by SpecOps to track down Acheron Hades, one of the world's most heinous criminals. He had been her professor at university and she had successfully avoided his numerous attempts at seduction, perhaps the only girl who got away. Thus Ms. Next is able to resist the effects of his hypnotic voice and persuasive abilities to this day. Hades has stolen a device that allows him to enter books and cause great mischief...perhaps irrevocable damage to great literature, like absconding with characters and altering plots forever. We all know by the title that Jane Eyre becomes a target. And the mystery and adventures commence. I am not a fan of sci-fi, fantasy or alternate history, but this book is a blast, especially for those who love their lit. The jokes, puns, allusions are very clever and often made me laugh out loud. Fervent Baconians constantly feud with staunch Shakespeareans about who wrote the world's greatest plays. Shakespeare's Richard III plays every Friday night at a local theater, a la "The Rocky Horror Show" with audience participation. Thursday's dad, a rogue ChronoGuard, travels through time haphazardly to avoid capture but always visits his daughter, even if just for seconds. Mr. Fforde's writes tight, skilled, imaginative prose. He has come up with a remarkable character in Ms. Next, and since this book has been destined to be part of a series, we will be reading more about her and her slightly mad adventures. I can't wait!
JANA
Rating:
Summary: loose yourself!
Review: This book is Harry Potter for bibliophiles. No, really. The HP books are so popular, because they bring out our childhood dreams while still staying (at least, partially) grounded in everyday world we know. The adventures of Thursday Next are build on the premise of being able to enter the works of fiction and interact with the characters. If you ever dreamed about this - you'd love the book. Also the "real world of Ms.Next (I mean, outside the books) is a treat for a book-lover. With tidbits like collected cards not of football players, but of book characters. I enjoyed every page of this novel!
Make no mistake, this book has as much to do with pulp stories as it has with the classic literature of ages past. And while I would love the characters to be more three-dimensional, I don't find the lack of depth of characters to be a drawback of this book. The sheer number and imagination of Ffordes ideas helped me to get lost in a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Hasn't really earned its praise
Review: This little book was amusing at first. It boasts a lot of creative and interesting tidbits, but ultimately fails to do anything but titilate readers with flashy narrative devices. I've read this book twice, and I have to say that, having done so, Fforde's debut novel has even less to recommend it than I originally thought. Most of the characters have quizzical, if not nonexistent, motivations and a good portion of the book involves tangents that lead nowhere or fall flat. He doesn't even do anything interesting with the characters from 'Jane Eyre.' All in all, the book is melodramatic, confounding and, above all, cynical, relying as it does on bells and whistles sure to draw the attention of readers (and especially reviewers) hungry for anything remotely clever in concept. True, there are some amusing parts, and the prose is competent, but there's no accounting for the sensation this book was.
Rating:
Summary: A good book to get lost in
Review: I got this book mainly because of its connection to classic literature. I can't say I knew much about it before I read it except that it had something to do with Jane Eyre (a book I love). I was pleased to find that this book appeals to me on more levels than just that one. It is fast-paced and intriguing with an affable protagonist for whom I couldn't help but root, in addition to being quite humorous (imagine a literary geek crossed with Monty Python - I loved the bookworms!). I read this book at lightning speed and am now salivating at the thought of its sequel (Lost In A Good Book). This book won't appeal to everyone. I know there are plenty of people out there who detest classic literature, abhor the humor of Monty Python or any sort of absurdist, and/or are not keen on reading books full of unorthodox ideas. However, if those remarks do not apply to you, then The Eyre Affair comes with my highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: What a trip
Review: First-time novelist Jasper Fforde has concocted the most original, dazzling and inspired (not to mention precocious) debut novel in recent memory. Set in police-state Britain of 1985, this Monty Python-esque world brims with so many delightfully cartoonish, cleverly named characters (Thursday Next, Acheron Hades, etc.), sly literary references, plays on words and moments of madcap surrealism that you'll probably read a page over again from time to time to make sure you haven't missed anything, or to enjoy a particular scene or jot of witty dialogue. This is a world where the Crimean war still rages after over a century of fighting, where a Big Brother type company named Goliath watches the every move of every citizen, and most importantly, where great literature is treated with supreme reverence by every single person. People constantly discuss and debate who the true author of Shakespeare's plays was, Richard the Third enjoys weekly midnight performances a la Rocky Horror, obsessed fans dress and live and act as Lord Byron, and you can get lost (literally) in Wordsworth's 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.' Literature is so important that forging copies of certain books and texts is illegal and heavily punishable by law. (You'll get death if it's a severe enough charge.) A special police force makes sure that everything in the literary world is in ship shape. That's where we meet our heroine, Thursday Next, a 'jurisfiction' officer working to protect the world of literature, and hopefully rid it of her arch nemesis, Acheron Hades. The evil mastermind has a plan more diabolical than usual. Using a device called a Prose Portal, he travels inside the original copies of books and messes around, thereby changing every single copy of that book irrevocably. At first, he removes a very minor character from a Dickens novel, but he has his eyes on a greater goal. He sets out to attack the titular character of Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre', and Thursday Next is soon the only person who can hope to stop him. The climax finds her inside of the actual novel, battling it out with Hades in Thornfield Hall. The novel begins at a breakneck pace and never slows down. There's time travel, exploding airplanes, chase scenes, piercingly funny exchanges between characters, and so much more. Thursday is a wonderful heroine, but it's the crazy characters about her who make this work truly rich. She has a father on the lam from the government, travelling through time to escape capture. She has an ex-fiance with whom she fought in Crimea, the great one-legged novelist Landen. She has an uncle Mycroft (if you know Sherlock Holmes, this is funny), a loopy inventor who creates the prose portal and a plethora of other weird inventions, like bookworms that burp grammatical errors. Then there are the villains, a delightfully nasty Acheron Hades, and a double-crosser named Jack Schitt (his comeuppance is especially fun). And don't forget Jane and Mr. Rochester, both sweet and wonderful and written with dead-on accuracy by Mr. Fforde. If you know 'Jane Eyre', there's a really hysterical moment where Hades's kidnappers interrupt the two lovebirds. This book is so wildly complex, it would take two more reviews to explain everything. Just know that, if you're a book worm, you'll be delighted with all of the subtle references to great works and authors, and if you're not a bibliophile, not to worry. There's enough humor and action and excitement to keep anyone entertained. This is a great, great first novel by a writer who shows incredible promise. If you like this, buy 'Lost in a Good Book', a perfect continuation of Thursday's adventures. The third book, 'Well of Lost Plots' is set to come out spring of 2004.
Rating:
Summary: A Wild Fantasy Adventure for Literary Fans
Review: Thursday Next enjoys her job as a literary detective in London's branch of the Special Ops. Her job is interesting, tracking down literary forgers and keeping competing cults of literary fanatics from going to far to prove their points. The most excitement her life sees is the occasional visit of her father who pops in for a few minutes at a time as he stays on the run through time. Her life changes when a priceless Dickens original manuscript is changed. Suddenly, she finds herself on the trail of Acheron Hades, the third most wanted criminal in the world. With his special powers, he's almost impossible to capture. Transferring to Swindon, she finds her paths crossing with a former flame. Will love rekindle? Meanwhile, Hades is holding the characters of Dickens' novel hostage and threatening to kill them. Can Thursday figure out a way to stop him before he ruins some classic works of literature? This is a wonderful Fantasy Adventure novel. The alternate world of 1985 presented here is a great place to escape. The idea of crossing between reality and works of fiction is something I've never seen done before but often dreamed of doing and is handled here quite well. The novel started quite slowly, with what I was expecting to have happen not really getting going until the second half. It also helps to be more familiar with literature then I am to fully appreciate this book. Still, this is an imaginative tale well told. Here is a book that readers will truly appreciate and a fantasy novel that literary fans will have to read. I'll certainly be back to check out the further adventures of Thursday Next.
Rating:
Summary: Fun fantasy
Review: This is the first in the series featuring Thursday Next, literary detective. It is set in an imaginary 20th century in which literature is of supreme importance, and organised crime revolves around stealing original manuscripts, forging literary works etc. Thursday is in pursuit of master criminal Acheron Hades, whose fiendish plan is to steal the original manuscript of Jane Eyre from Haworth, kidnap Miss Eyre and hold her to ransome, knowing that the literature-mad world will do anything to get her back. In this world, Jane Eyre ends with Jane going off to India with Rivers, but in the course of thwarting Hades, Thursday manages to alter the ending to have Jane marry Rochester. Personally, I think this a great mistake. Jane would be much better off going to India with Rivers than marrying that dreadful Rochester, a man who would keep his first wife chained up in an attic and pretend she doesn't exist would do ANYTHING, I wouldn't trust him an inch. Thursday is a veteran of the Crimean war, which has been dragging on for 130 years, and there is a rather boring love-interest involving a former flame of Thursday's from the war, but this aside the Eyre affair is a funny, exciting fantasy thriller.
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