April 2005: Jasper Fforde's THE EYRE AFFAIR
In a desperate bid to escape the doom and gloom of mud season in New England, my husband, daughter and I recently ran away to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. We actually arrived just in time for Rob and Amber's beachside wedding, but that is another story for another time. The really burning question: what does a suspense author take on vacation for beach reads?
The answer, I took along two Jasper Fforde novels which my local bookseller had highly recommended, THE EYRE AFFAIR and LOST IN A GOOD BOOK. I have to say, I couldn't have chosen better. Fforde's imagination knows no boundaries. Part mystery, part chick lit, part Lewis Carroll, Fforde has crafted a fictional work that is completely, utterly his own. His heroine, Thursday Next, is the spunky, sassy heroine we all recognize and love from so many works of fiction. Her job, however, is uniquely her own-she is a special operative working the literary beat in 1980s England, where the Crimean War is entering its second century of conflict, a conglomerate named Goliath virtually runs the world, and literary genius is so appreciated that every year, thousands of everyday people change their name to William Shakespeare in honor of the bard.
The novel is in turns bitingly funny, heart-stoppingly adventuresome, and powerfully poignant. Thursday suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome from her tour of duty in the Crimean War. Her struggle with depression, her innate distrust of government and her genuine grief for her brother give her a dark edge which comes in handy when she's teaming up with Bram Stoker to fight vampires, or appearing rather suddenly in the middle of JANE EYRE. Really, honestly, finding herself in the middle of the book, where any wrong move could alter the course of literary history.
So if you're looking for some fun escapism and a definite departure from the normal mystery fare, check out Fforde's series. Personally, I can't wait to read what Thursday will do next.
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