Book Review: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Having mentioned Dodos in the last post I thought I'd review Jasper Fforde's excellent novel The Eyre Affair. This is fact the first in a series of novels centred around the character of Thursday Next who happens to have a pet Dodo, although that isn't really central to the plot of the book.

It is difficult to pigeon hole Jasper Fforde's work, it is an odd blend of crime, science-fiction, fantasy and, in the case of the Thursday Next novels, classical English literature. They really do have to be read to be truly appreciated! A word of warning though if you ever intend to read Brontë's Jane Eyre then read that first as the entire plot line is exposed in The Eyre Affair.

Thursday Next is a policewoman. She doesn't, however, deal with ordinary everyday crimes. She is in fact a literary detective, tracking down "counterfeit Coleridge or a fake Fielding ... arresting the gang who were stealing and selling Samuel Johnson first editions". But when someone starts kidnapping famous characters out of their stories and holding them for ransom Next's job takes an interesting turn.

My Rating: Worth reading just to see a footnoterphone in action!