Rating: 
Summary: Slow start, great read
Review: Any book the proposes an alternate reality (dodos, airships, vampires etc.) is bound to take some getting used to. This book is no exception. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to become immersed in the new world and get caught up in the goings on.Even in the context of this different world (Tuesday's father is a wanted time traveller) the thriller aspects of the story keep us engaged. It's great fun following Tuesday's adventures as she tracks down the elusive villain. I'm looking forward to the next story!
Rating: 
Summary: I wanted so desperately to love this book.........
Review: but it simply isn't for me. I read half of both this book and Lost in a Good Book, and was completely disinterested in finishing. There is no "whodunit" to keep you guessing, and no character of sufficient interest. If you require an engaging character (and I do), this series may not be for you. I was drawn to the premise. The books are well-written. I appreciate the artistry. It's a good story. I'm all for word painting and suspension of belief in the right context, and Fforde does that beautifully, but I think this series is thin on character development. I realize, of course, that character development is not what this series is all about, and that it isn't important to a lot of people. If this doesn't bother you, then you will like these books. I, however, need a character. If I don't know the characters, I simply don't care what happens in the story. And I didn't.
Rating: 
Summary: Never would have guessed
Review: I just purchased this book quite randomly from a local store spotlighting bestsellers. I was looking for something to read and the library was closed, and my own collection was just too re-read. Thankfully I have found a new author, series etc. to be excited about. What caught my attention was the comparison to Douglas Adams one of my favorite authors. The Eyre Affair is comparable in zaniness, but the dash of literary trivia is great fun too. And then there is the crime-solving element, chasing that ultimate criminal. And the love story. And the alternate history (done very well, especially since I do not always tolerate this). Highly reccommended.
Rating:
Summary: From Cover to Cover
Review: This book was 100% exciting. I had the hardest time putting it down. I will admit when I heard about it, I wasn't too interested, but after the first few chapters, I was hooked. Jasper Fforde is a genius! This is the perfect book for any avid reader, any English literature fan, or any one who wants to read a good book. I would recommend reading Jane Eyre first, it will give you even more appreciation for this book.
Enjoy it!
Rating:
Summary: A witty fantasy and a great twist on classic literature
Review: Fforde's The Eyre Affair is one of the best fantasies that I have read in recent times. The basic premise of the book is a giant focus on classic literature, with the boundary between fiction and reality fluid, set in an alternate-history England. Fforde's writing style is very witty and never drags on; it made me keep wanting to turn the page and read "just" one more chapter before I went to bed (what I call the "Just one more" phenomenon). The "quotes" that he adds at the beginning of each chapter (from "books" such as a History of the Special Operatives, an autobiography of the heroine Thursday Next, and several others) are a good touch as well. There are only a few inherent flaws in the book, which can't be avoided. It's not absolutely necessary that one reads Jane Eyre by Bronte before reading this, but if you're familiar with the plot (and especially the ending) of that book, many of the references in the book to Eyre, the Bronte Society, the ending, St. John Rivers and Rochester will make such more sense. Also, at times, the internal logic of the book is a bit confusing, especially about the Prose Portal, Rochester's entry into reality, and Thursday Next's jaunts into fiction. All in all, though, this book is quite witty and deserves a read.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful fun
Review: At the risk of being called a radical postmodernist, I highly recommend this goofy thriller. Hard to characterize, it is at once a murder mystery, on another, science fiction, and yet again literary play on words. We are dropped in on the life of heroine Thursday Next, Special ops Detective for LiteraTec, lately involved in the theft of an original Martin Chuzzlewit (a book, not a person). She is called upon to help in the capture of an old nemesis, Acheron Hades, and is involved in murder most foul. Well, this is a long way from apprending illicit translations of Dr. Faustus, but it beats getting sent to the Crimea and getting an arm blown off. Bending time, crossing literary genres and encountering an array of colorful characers (including Jack Schitt, Braxton Hicks and uncle Mycroft), Next pursues Hades to Swindon, her birthplace. This is unadulterated fun, and a great summer page turner. It shows just how far one can take a plot by abandoning all reason. Part postmodern thriller, part literary excursion, you could do no better with a couple of hours by the pool than read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Well, in this book you don't want to know Jack. Really.
Review: The book has a clever premise, that novels can be "rewritten" from "inside the novel" via fantasy premises. That's fine. The inclusion of Jane Eyre is fine. What gets old, really old, and old fast, is the bad guy from the Arms Manufacturers, a guy named Jack ******. Yes, as the reader, you know Jack ******. This is drummed into you. Over and over and over again. sheesh. You note, however, I've given this 3 stars. I've read much worse, and the bit about Chuzzlewit, Rochester time-travelling (or something like that) and having a dad who works for the secret police who police the secret police police, but who is AWOL and wanted, etc, are all good, as is the constructed political climate and the fact that the heroine's brother died leading the Charge of the Light Brigade (hardly a spoiler, you'll be there instantly).
Rating:
Summary: Put this Next on your list of "must reads" (mellion108)
Review: Thursday Next is a literary agent of a different sort. Living in an alternate reality of 1985 England, Thursday works as a Special Operative (SO) in literary detection. It is her job to track down the deadbeats and dredges of society--those people who dare to harm or forge great literary works. You see, this is a society that is ga-ga over literature. Instead of drug pushers on the corner, you are more likely to find someone trying to sell you blackmarket, forged copies of Shakespeare's works. The job alone is daunting enough with little praise, but then enters the most vile and dangerous criminal of all, Acheron Hades
(his brother is Styx). Hades has phenomenal powers and is the smartest and most sociopathic of criminals. His goal is to kidnap great literary figures from original manuscripts in order to hold the world hostage to his demands. Thursday must use all the resources available to her including time travel and her eccentric genius uncle's inventions to track down the accursed Hades before he destroys these works of literary art.
It isn't often that I pick up a book by a first-time author and then proceed to shout its praises from the rooftops. But Jasper Fforde has created a world that is simply fascinating. A bit science fiction, a bit satire, a bit fantasy...there is everything here for the dedicated reader. I had heard that it was a good idea to re-read Jane Eyre before tackling this novel, but I had no problem following the storyline despite the fact that it has probably been at least 20 years since I read Jane Eyre. There are tons of literary allusions and in-jokes in this novel, but don't let that intimidate you. The fun here is in the story, the story, the story.
I have praised this book to other people so much that I have to be careful to avoid revealing spoilers and ruining it for others. Let's just say that I chuckled at many of the character names in the novel. I fell in love with the dodos that have been reintroduced to the world. I guffawed at the lisping vampire and the production of Richard III that was more like a midnight showing of "Rocky Horror." I also related to Thursday because her troubles and anxieties over her career, family, and love life. Mostly I just found myself in awe of a society that values literature over empty fame and fortune. There is a little bit of something for any reader in this book.
(mellion108 from Michigan)
Rating:
Summary: Too clever by far but a ton of fun.
Review: This book will make you laugh aloud at all of the literary references and word-play names. The premise is completely original: a villain named Archeron Hades has stolen the originals of famous novels and threatens to destroy them. If the manuscript is destroyed the novel itself is lost for all eternity; all of the copies will simply disappear. When a minor character from Martin Chuzzlewit is kidnapped and killed he disappears from every copy of the novel in the world simulatneously. Our heroine, Thursday Next, must save Jane Eyre, one of the world's most beloved novels, from this evil genius and to do so she must enter the novel itself. In this alternate universe the Crimean War is still going on and the government of England has strained relations with the People's Republic of Wales. The best part of this world is that it is one where the whole population cares intensely about culture: poetry, great literature, art and classical music. There are whole branches of government dedicated to the preservation of culture and riots over interpretations of Shakespeare. It is the dream world for all of us out there who wish we lived in a more literate society, although the dream may be a nightmare as actors can go to prison for an unorthodox interpretation of Hamlet. The book is fun as a light read but by no means great literature. The characters are cardboard and the dialogue is stilted. In fact, what I enjoyed much more was rereading Jane Eyre itself beforehand so that I would not miss any references.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Summer Reading
Review: This book is NOT literature. This book IS, however, a great light read that I thoroughly enjoyed. The premise is classic sci-fi -- alternate universe, detective work, chaos caused and averted. The details are what make the book. Anyone who has no taste for literary classics will not understand the majority of this book. Set in an alternate world where classic authors are revered the way rock stars are here, the literary one-liners, puns, and casual references abound. Since classic literature is treated fairly casually, perhaps I should also caution those who take their literature too seriously -- especially Bronte fans. Thursday Next, as a character, is fascinating. I was a bit disappointed with who she wound up marrying (no spoilers there -- the chapter titles would give that one away), but enjoyed the way that it came about. The rest of the LiteraTechs are fairly shallow in this book -- I have hopes that they will be fleshed out in later books. There is a problem with point of view -- the book seems to shift from 1st person to 3rd person omniscient for no apparant reason, and that bugged me abit. Some of the characters were a little stereotypic -- uncle Mycroft is a great example of this, Jack Schitt is another, Asheron Hades himself a third. My favorite part of the book was Thursday's father. I looked forward to each of his appearances, and would LOVE to see him get his own series of books. All in all, this is not a perfect book, but it IS a great beach book, and I recommend it.
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