The Eyre Affair: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: How much do you want to be Thursday?
Review: If you haven't read this book - please ignore the bad reviews, Fforde is one of the freshest writers out there and it would be a shame to miss this. I am completely amazed that people read this book and did not instantly A) want to be Thursday, B) want to have a dodo and C) fall in love with English literature all over again.

Fforde has taken a totally unique premise and built an entire world for us voyeurs (aka readers) to experience. His imagination is remarkable and the life of Thursday is both hilarious and some what familiar. Though her world is alien to our own, who can't relate to lost love, loony parents, disobedient pets, and of course, idiots at work. One also has to give credit to Fforde for being so well-read and knowledgeable. If you doubt that the man has an amazing grasp on literature, check out his website. There is a "reader" for all of the books that points out all those hidden meanings that one might miss in their enthusiasm to see what is happening to one's favorite Special Agent.

But a word of warning: if you haven't read Bronte's book, do that first. In reading The Jane Eyre Affair, one should have read the original Jane Eyre, otherwise it misses the point.



Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: When I came first came across the books, I was excited and intrigued. I have 5 young children who are avid readers (one an aspiring author) so I am always on the lookout for books that are imaginative, fun, and interesting. This seemed like it might fit. The biggest problem is the gratuitous profanity. There is no way I can share this book with my children when, for reasons not comprehensible, the author felt it necessary to through in f***. Maybe it makes it "more real". WRONG! The story also bogs down with the redundancy of Thursday's post-traumatic stress syndrome. It's okay to allude to some past experience and then later come back and clarify it or resolve it. But to go on and on is a tragedy for the reader.
The sequel "Lost in a Good Book", fortunately has the language cleaned up but it is extremely slow in places where we have to continually relive the heroine's past over and over again. It's even worse in this book.
As far as the imaginative and inventive, it is okay. After all nonsense can be fun. But the author sometimes can't quite make it work smoothly and coherently.
I usually give an author a second chance if I don't like the first book. I happened to get both at the same time. I will not be buying the third.