The Eyre Affair

Rating:
Summary: Personally, I'd go inside some Victorian Erotica
Review: The Eyre Affair is a wonderful literary concoction. Creating a world where literature is king, Fforde has a masterful sense of style and setting that I haven't seen equaled in a while. It has everything from cloned dodos to time travelers to stories within a story. Only a sense of illogic about the history of the world in which Fforde writes mars an otherwise excellent novel.

Fforde's imagination is breathtaking. While the characters are fairly mundane (with the exception of Thursday herself and Acheron a bit), the world Fforde has created is extremely novel and interesting. I'll deal with character first so I can get it out of the way. Next is a wonderful protagonist, full of intriguing idiosyncrasies, a biting sense of humour, intelligence and street smarts. The book is mostly told in first person from her point of view, though there are some passages that are in third person, almost as if they were told to her later. This makes an effective mix as the reader gets to hear about events that happen away from Next, but almost the entire book is coloured with Next's unique interpretation of things. Hades makes a really good villain, though he is a bit stereotypical. Then again, I think that's the point, as Fforde writes him deliberately over the top. He takes pride in his evilness, and even makes statements like "I haven't committed a despicable act in the last ten minutes!" He does have a bit of a third dimension, but he operates more as a foil for Next then as a true character. Thankfully, though, he doesn't suffer from "stupid villain" syndrome, where the villain is required to do something dumb in order to be defeated. Instead, a bit of luck and some good observational skills on Next's part do him in. He's a lot of fun, and the game that he plays with Next is entertaining to watch.

The rest of the characters are quirky but don't get a lot of detail added to them. There's Next's father, a rogue ChronoGuard who is roaming through the timelines. There's Jack Schitt, the Goliath corporation man, who's as slimy as most corporation "villains" in books nowadays. There's also some of Next's partners, who get just a little characterization, enough to make them at least two-dimensional instead of just one. And, of course, there are the literary characters, such as Jane Eyre and her love, Edward Rochester, as well as Mr. Quaverly from Martin Chuzzlewit. Fforde does a bit better with Rochester, who is more involved with the ending and helps Next out when she really needs it.

But as I said, this is not really a book about character. This is a book about images, ideas, and style, and this is where Fforde excels. He has truly come up with an interesting world to play in. Literature is almost everything, and the arts are first and foremost (except for wars, of course). Baconians go door to door to try and convince people that Francis Bacon wrote the plays the are credited to William Shakespeare. Surrealists are condemned, but then later made legal. When this happens, anti-Surrealists riot. There are kiosks at the blimp stations (blimps are the main form of air travel in this world) that give you snippets of Shakespeare. Next plays a five-minute snippet of Richard III while she's waiting for her flight. Imagine a performance of Richard III that's performed every weekend for fifteen years, where the audience members are the actors and there is a form of audience participation very familiar to Rocky Horror Picture Show fans.

Most impressive of all, a machine is created that will allow people to enter a novel or a poem. If this happens in the original manuscript and things are changed, the changes are reflected in every copy of the book in existence. If it happens in just a copy, then other copies are unaffected. You can interact with characters in the novel, and if those characters are not "on-screen" in the novel, you can do anything you want. Since Jane Eyre is told in first person, Next has to avoid her when she's in the novel. But she can interact with Rochester as much as she wants, as long as Rochester is not interacting with Jane. It's a fascinating concept and Fforde presents it all very well.

The world is different from ours in many other ways, too. The Crimean War between Britain and Tsarist Russia has been going on for 150 years with no end in sight (though there have been negotiations). It is implied that the French Revolution is fairly recent as well. The only fault in this world, and it really is minor considering how illogical the world is anyway, is that some of the history doesn't fit together. If the Crimean War is still going on and the French Revolution is recent, there is no way there should have been a big war with a Nazi Germany. The conditions that created Nazi Germany would probably not have existed in this type of world. Thankfully, this is just mentioned in passing before Fforde continues with his narrative.

I loved everything about this book, though. I laughed at some of the absurdities (like the Baconians and the ongoing debate about Shakespeare's plays, which gets "solved" in a unique way that avoids treading on any of the real theories that are out there). The characters are just good enough to drive the narrative forward and present this wonderful world that Fforde has created. They do what they have to do. Fforde's writing is marvelous and his use of language is really impressive. When he writes scenes that take place in famous works of literature, they don't feel out of place. He's succeeded in writing an extremely literary novel that doesn't necessarily take itself too seriously. He has fun, and so will you. Check it out today.

David Roy

Rating:
Summary: Jane Eyre with a twist
Review: Imagine a world where, instead of sports and movie stars, Shakespeare is IT. Dickens is the thing. Christopher Marlowe has practically his own cult, complete with door to door "salesmen."
where people travel by dirgible, and participate in Richard the III like they do with Rocky Horror. Time is all an iffy thing, too. Barely explainable and understandable, especially in this book. Then add Agent Tuesday on top---its a pretty interesting fantasy scenario. Not a grabber, but keeps us going along.
The Jane Eyre part was pretty interesting, and there was a subtle humor to the story. I still would've liked to know, then, if Hades couldn't die with bullets, ...Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Weekend Book
Review: The Eyre Affair is definetly a fun book to read. It is slow moving in the beginning but by page 100 I was hooked into it. This fantasy takes place in England in the 1980s. It's not the England we know but one where the Crimean War is still raging and literary and art police are present. The Eyre Affair is both a fantasy and a science fiction novel. Time travel is present and there is a machine which enables people to enter into novels. This book is funny at times . It's a good rainy day book.

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Summary: The Eyre Affair is a hoot!
Review: I was completely surprised by this mystery novel. The author has a wonderful sense of humor with the names he uses for characters and the play on today's society. The inane pet dodos ( various cloned versions) and the Head of the large corporate monster Jack Schitt. Well, this is just a taste of a delightfully fun series. Lots of imagination and a good read.

Rating:
Summary: downright hilarious
Review: Quite the funny-book. The plot is absolutely absurd, which is oen of the reasons it's so incredible! The irony and the dialogue in the so-British humor is absolutely intoxicating and hilarious. Knowledge and/or reading of Jane Eyre is somewhat recommended, but not required to enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous fun!
Review: What a fun novel!! An alternate world where people can travel into books and change the most loved classics--including Jane Eyre. Thursday Next is a fun character, sort of a British version Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum--ballsy, brash, and brave. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves literature and suspensful mysteries.

Rating:
Summary: worth a read
Review: This was defintely and interesting read.. although the ending felt like a cliffhager, till i started on Ffordes next book. If you wanna get this book, you should read Jane Eyre first, maybe twice if you can take it.(i'm lucky since i studied it in high school)anyway, this makes for a fun read if you're into the literary world and all for poking a bit of fun into it.

Rating:
Summary: Original, witty and compelling
Review: This book is a delightful read. I was both intrigued and doubtful about the premise. When I try to tell others about it they say, "Hmmmm."

But Fforde pulled it off. He takes a wild premise and runs with it in such a way that you are [taken] in, giggling and shaking your head all the way. It's not often that books have me howling out loud. The last one that did that to me was "Me Talk Pretty One day" by David Sedaris.

Much to the dismay of those who have to live with me, Fforde managed to have me cackling like a madwoman.

I finished the book last night, laughing too loudly into the wee hours.

I would definitely recommend this title. If you doubts, set them aside and give this book a chance.

Rating:
Summary: A Real Page Turner!
Review: I couldn't put this book down once I started it! Fforde's combination of detective story, science fiction and literary homage/allusion is irresistable to a fan of all three. My husband also loved the book, but he often asked me to explain the literary references, so people with a good grasp on canonical British literature might get more out of the book than those who don't remember their college English courses. I particularly suggest a quick review of Jane Eyre and Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade before starting Fforde's novel. It will be MUCH funnier and more interesting that way!
Both this novel and its sequel are great books for weekends or vacations. They are the perfect choice for people who read a lot of canonical literature but also enjoy lighter and more humorous novels. In other words, English teachers are guaranteed to love you if you give them this book!

Rating:
Summary: Enchanting, fun, and it will send you back to Jane Eyre.
Review: Thursday Next is a wonderful heroine, and her strange family adds to the entertainment. Even if you don't ordinarily enjoy alternative histories, you may like this one. A little science fiction, a little mystery, and lots of humor. By the time I'd finished reading it, I simply had to dig out Jane Eyre for another reading. I'm back for a second round, having just finished the second book in the series--which was great fun as well.