Rating: 
Summary: A Literary Cream Puff--Flaky and Fun
Review: Okay, so unlike the books it alludes to, "The Eyre Affair" is not serious literature. It's more like a fictional cream puff--light and flaky, kind of empty in the middle, but still lots of fun to indulge in. I guess it's beach reading for people who consider themselves a cut above reading the latest Jackie Collins or Tom Clancy novel.The premise is clever (and reminiscent of Jonathan Lethem and Douglas Adams, though not quite in the same league). The character names are hilarious and some of the ways things have turned out in this alternate 1985 make for a very entertaining read. The plot is somewhat predictable in that the reader can guess how things are going to end, but you are never quite sure by what twisted path Thursday Next is going to get there. You can, however, tell it is a first novel, or at least a poorly edited one. The perspective constantly switches from first-person (Thursday's point of view) to third-person omniscient, and the transitions are often messy--Thursday will narrate her own adventure and then say "Meanwhile, my aunt and uncle were back in the basement laboratory" and relate a whole series of events referring to "my aunt" and "my uncle" even though she wasn't there and couldn't possibly have known what they said to each other. Still, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to any English major-type who has a good sense of humor and wants something light to read in between digesting more serious literary meals.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a great book that is a lot of fun to read!
Review: This book was suggested to me by a friend and fellow English geek. At first I thought "science fiction?! no way!", but after reading about it here on amazon, I was intrigued. People going into classic works of literature and possibly changing the texts forever?! I started reading it and was hooked! Fforde is so creative in his use of the English language (the names are fantastic!) and his blending of futuristic ideas and classic works of literature. What's interesting is that this book, although futuristic-feeling, is set in the past - nearly 20 years ago! I would highly suggest this to anyone looking for an intriguing novel that offers a change of pace from the "Oprah book club"-type novels that are flooding the market right now. The ending seems to leave it open to a series - please come out with a new book as soon as possible, Mr. Fforde!!!
Rating:
Summary: Really creative and fun.
Review: I am a bookworm who rarely sits down to read novels anymore but read a review of this in the New York Times which made it sound great -- and it is. The plot is outlandishly funny for anybody who likes books, and pushes some very creative notions on you with good effects. Surprising in many, many ways but with the familiar tone & twists of a popular murder mystery. A slightly slow start but worth getting into it. Moves fast, funny and flatteringly insiderish -- perfect beach book.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging -- English Lit Majors Should Delight in It
Review: It's no small task that Jasper Fforde was able to create a world where genetic engineering has reached a point where people can own dodos as pets, Britain has been at war with Russia for 130 years, time travel is a common occurrence, and most incredible, English literature is actually pertinent to modern life. This book is a lot of fun, the arguments about Shakespeare's Plays' true authorship, plus other satrical pokes at the world of English lit should keep any bibliophile snickering, and if the characters get out of control sometimes, well that happens with a first novel. Ultimately I found myself thinking about this book when I wasn't reading it, and looking forward to getting back to it. There are some laughs, a fun plot, an incredible setting, and just enough jibes at literary deconstructionists to make one feel smart, which is not generally how one leaves the world of literary deconstruction. Others have already outlined the plot well enough. If you liked Mark Frost's, List of Seven, or China Mieville's Perdido Street Station, then land somewhere in between, add some whimsy and sit down to a really fun read. Let's call Fford's new sub-genre, Lit-Punk. It looks as if this is going to be a series, and I look forward to Fford's next book. Thursday Next is a great character and now, with his bizarre world established, Fford can sharpen his chops on more off-the-wall humor -- not because his work needs it, because we all do.
Rating:
Summary: A reader's circus
Review: This really is a book for readers and a break from modern novels about dysfunctional families. The more that you have read (and the more that you remember about Jane Eyre) the more you will enjoy this book. I read constantly, and I cannot remember when I have read something that was more creative. My Book Group knows that I sometimes am skeptical that characters would behave in certain ways, but somehow I had no difficulty embracing the wild make-believe premise that underlies all of the action. Once you make that initial leap, the rest is easy. If you cannot take the first step, you might as well stop there. The book is filled with quirky and sometimes truly hilarious details. There were times that I laughed out loud on the airplane. This is not a book that will change the world or even change you. It is not deadly serious or oppressing. It is tremendous fun and there is more insight into human nature underlying the light touch. Jasper Fforde manages to create his own world, populate it, furnish it in detail, and manage it in a way that is internally consistent and logical. As light as it is, it does lead to thoughts about what the human race would really do with time travel. Would we still be rewriting history?
Rating:
Summary: Alternate realities don't get any better than this...
Review: THE EYRE AFFAIR by Jasper Fforde is a tome whose aboriginal law of physics most closely resembles those of a black hole, i.e. there is seemingly an infinite amount of enjoyment packed in a relatively miniscule geometry of space. Exaggeration? Sure. But then, Fforde's tale thrives on hyperbole and cartoon-like convolutions; the result is a thoroughly successful synthesis of an ersatz existence that, although in no danger of ever being accused of lofty, hard science-fiction promulgations, nevertheless wraps the reader in a pleasurable cocoon of such sophisticated writing that the level of intelligence is higher than most fantasies (or, at the very least, the perception of such is present). Fforde's parallel universe is populated by denizens who regard books as avatars and demi-god-like things...they are revered and worshipped like near-Messiahs, their analysis the obligation of all in the pursuit of lives which are both whole and complete. It is against this backdrop that we meet Thursday Next, part of the mysterious SpecOps agency, a bureaucracy of shadow-governmental levels which makes the X-Files organization look like a corner grocery store. Next is a tough female protagonist, resourceful and kind, smart and literary; her SpecOps affiliation puts her in touch with cases involving book-related crimes, which can carry severe penalties. Original manuscripts are considered beyond numeration, and when a famous one is easily pilfered from its high-security environment with virtually no hard evidence left behind, it's a no-brainer to assume who might have done it: the fiendish Acheron Hades is not one to be fooled with, for he possesses supernatural powers on loan from the Devil Itself. Hades, like Hannibal Lector, is not one to scoff at the virtues of random, superfluous evil; sure, he could use his IQ to revolutionize next-generation computers and put Gates out of business, but where's the fun in that? Why not kidnap Next's Uncle Mycroft and use his Prose Portal to enter the original manuscript of Jane Eyre and change all existing copies by extracting the main character herself? Why not use this leverage to extort countless numbers of pounds from the British government? Why not hook up with the monopolistic and despotic Goliath corporation and really turn the screws? All these existential interrogatives are easily approved by the devious Hades, who turns out to be one of the most compelling- if unavoidably derivative- antagonists in recent memory. AFFAIR isn't just about jumping between fictional worlds and normal reality- several subplots run throughout the course of the piece. There's the geopolitical potboiler of England and Russia on the brink of cataclysmic conflict; there's the puzzle of authentic authorship in regards to Shakespeare's masterpieces; there's Miss Next's time-hopping father and member of the ChronoGuard, an outfit dedicated to identifying and neutralizing threats caused by spontaneous temporal anomalies; and then there's the tragic love story of Next and Landen...all of these engaging elements are resolved in the end to form one satisfying, symmetrical narrative. Fforde's more than competent in his execution. His writing is economical, consisting of a jump-cut style which keeps the inertia at an agreeable, breezy pace. His decision to utilize third-person voice as a necessary supplement to the main first-person perspective afforded by Next might be regarded as a cheat by some, but it ultimately proves justifiable and logical once hindsight settles in during the post-read evaluation. His use of comedy is approached in measured doses, never over-the-top or off-putting, and it is never less than integral (the scene satirizing our reality's love affair with The Rocky Horror Picture Show is absolutely priceless). Perhaps the main criticism which can be levied at the author is his insistence to invoke the taboo of deus ex machina on a few occasions; although this device is decidedly regrettable, it is arguable that the intrinsic humor of the work camouflages such lapses. If there is a uniform intellectual theme throughout AFFAIR, it might be that books are more powerful than people think, while at the same time people are no slouches either; after all, how many times in history have authority figures tried to ban and burn artistic accomplishments in the name of protecting the masses? Interestingly, AFFAIR actually pontificates on a sort of inverse situation: what if government tried to control the people with books? Discussing Next's escapades on this level does make for diverting subject matter, but its sheer entertainment value will be what draws most people in, and probably deservedly so. There's just so much to rave about it, it tends to be an amalgam of the best idiosyncrasies of a plethora of authors, that's the best way to explain it. You like Crichton? There're cloned dodos for you. Enjoy Clancy? Read how the plasma rifle just might be the sum of all fears. Fan of Hamilton's Anita Blake series? Meet Spike the Vampire Slayer. King your Maine man? Ride the dark rapids of Hades. Get off on Asimov and Bradbury and Heinlein? Oh, try keeping all the time-jumping paradoxes straight in your head. And, of course, there's Jane Eyre for all you classics buffs, although it might not be exactly as you remember it- but that's okay. The book could have definitely come out a terrible, trying-too-hard discordant mess in sloppier hands, but Fforde pulled off the complex machinations with laudable aplomb; it would be interesting to know how much planning he put into the plot, as it would be difficult to fathom a make-it-up-as-you-go approach. THE EYRE AFFAIR came to my notice on the staff recommendations shelf at my local [store], to which I thank the God of serendipity for such intervention. I highly recommend the novel as well, and hope that a benign literary metastasis will spread throughout the reading world in regards to Mr. Fforde's great pilot outing for Thursday Next.
Rating:
Summary: most interesting book I've read for a while
Review: I read about a book a day but I finished this one several days ago and I still keep thinking about it. I loved the adventure, the mystery, all the plays on familiar plots -- I most loved the resolution to the great mystery of who REALLY wrote Shakespeare.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book!
Review: I just can't wait for the next installment of Thursday's literary adventures. A witty, engrossing read. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Imaginative and Ingenius
Review: I'm not done with The Eyre Affair yet, but a third of the way through. The idea behind the story is highly imaginative; I love the idea of a world where people are so passionate about literature and philosophical movements that there's a need for a literary detective branch of law enforcement. Too cool! I find myself re-reading passages simply to confirm that I read what I *thought* I read. But then again, I'm not a purveyor of sci fi. Still, I think the author has done a great job to weave a tale that is so far free of vulgarity, gore, violence, or perversion. I give this book only 3 stars because in spite of its virtues, there's a lack of depth here. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I find myself wanting M O R E substance to the story. Not to change the story, but for it to have more depth. Perhaps more character building, more of an inside view of our girl Thursday. Also, I wish there was more of an intermingling of the classic tale with the main story. But perhaps it will develop in the next third of the story. Meanwhile, I look forward to digging into this book. I'd say it's worth the hardcover price, especially with a discount.
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasure to read
Review: Mr. Fforde has written a wonderful fantasy. I find it difficult to believe it is a first book. This is a very literate and witty author. It may take an English or Fine Arts major to catch all the jokes, but even if you miss a lot of them, it is still both a good mystery and a great sci fi. I actually burst into laughter at the thought of militant Baconians, subversive abstract expressionists, and furtively whispered suspicions about Shakespeare and Marlowe. What a howl! I loved it.
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