5/2012: Jasper Fforde, "The Eyre Affair"

GWC Community Book Club Winning Nominees and Polls
#1

I highly recommend the entire series to any and all sci-fi/fantasy fans. Fforde has a brilliant sense of humor along the lines of Douglas Adams.

The first book, The Eyre Affair, takes place in an alternate version of England circa 1985. The main character is a cop in the Literary Detective division who’s father can control time. There is extinct animals brought back to life (much like Jurassic Park), werewolves, vampires, time travel, traveling into books with some of the great characters from literature, a super villian with some fairly cool powers, some pretty funny alternate history bits and Fforde’s amazing ability to play on words. Some of his character names alone make me laugh every time I read them, even on multiple rereads. The series has nods to folks like T.H. White, Tolkien, and several funny Star Wars references.

The series has been described as Monty Python, meets Harry Potter and Buffy.

#2

I am not familiar with this series. Great description; it sounds like a lot of fun to read. I will check it out.

#3

It is definitely fun to read. Everything is game for Fforde as far as jokes go, he even cracks on fanfiction in one of the later books.

#4

I highly recommend this book and the series. Although not required…having a knowledge of the subject matter (Jane Eyre) and literature in general only adds to the experience.

Yes. Yes. Yes. :smiley:

#5

oh, they’re fabulous books - my friend recommended them to me a year ago and I’ve read a couple of them now - very funny, caused great embarrassment on the train when I giggled whilst reading!

#6

Here I am in San Francisco last summer on Fforde’s book tour. He was hysterical in person, just like his books and very generous- he let everyone who wanted to take a picture, which almost never happens anymore. I highly recommend the series. They silly sometimes, but his world is incredibly clever and fun.

Sorry the picture is so big, I’ve just learned how to do photos, but I don’t know to make them smaller yet.

#7

If you use Flickr, it automatically provides smaller sizes. I’m not sure if photobucket can do that.

#8

I love the Thursday Next books! I, like Lady Fluff, laughed out loud the whole time I was reading them!

#9

Yet another book that has been languishing on my to be read shelf. Would love to read this for Nov/Dec

#10

Me too! I can always use a good excuse to read these books again. I wish his next book was another Thursday Next book. Thursday is awesome.

#11

Happy Labor Day! It’s May 1, and I get to announce that the Book Club selection for May and June is The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde!

My father had a face that could stop a clock. I don’t mean he was ugly or anything…

SPOILERS AHEAD

#12

Fun to revisit this thread… especially because The Eyre Affair is the May/June 2012 book club selection! Join the discussion here :slight_smile:

#13

This selection has got me off my virtual duff and put a book in my hand. I read the first couple chapters while the kids i watch enjoyed the lovely spring day. It took a little for me to get into “the voice” but it lways does when it is a firt person narrative. I like it and m quite intrigued. My hubby is happy that i am finally reading the book. :slight_smile:

#14

This is still one of my favorite books. I love Fforde’s wordplay and his hilarious knack for appropriately naming characters. Thursday Next is one of my favorite literary heroines. Now I want to go re-read this book for the 10th time.

#15

Just got my copy from bookswap today. Looking forward to getting into it.

#16

I’m almost finished this novel and I must say that I’ve been enjoying it so far. Even though I haven’t gotten most of the literary and historical references, it hasn’t taken anything away from the story. I’ve liked the humor in this book and it sort of reminds me of Douglas Adams. Also there seems to be a bit of a Doctor Who and Torchwood influence. Maybe that’s just me. I will definitely continue reading this serious.

#17

Finished the book, and I have to admit, I liked it a lot. Quirky, but with a darker side. I remembered just enough of high school English and History to get the general idea on most of the allusions. However I know next to nothing about the “Who Wrote Shakespeare” theories, so Jasper could have been blowing smoke through all of that and I wouldn’t have known the difference.

#18

Jealous! I’m still waiting on a library copy… either there are lots of book club readers in my area, or it’s a book a lot of people want to read.

#19

This is one of the greatest books ever written…and the followups only get better. Totally jealous of those who have not read this, might just be time for a re-read!

#20

I loved it. It was so good that I spent two hours by the pool when I was only planning on spending 30 minutes, in almost 100 degree Virginia humid heat, because I didn’t want to stop reading.

I loved the literary stuff - though I am somewhat sad it is so Western focused (as much as I enjoyed it). Towards the end I found myself wondering how the book would play in the parts of the world in which British literature just isn’t as important as it is in Anglophone countries.

As a funny aside, I was reading part of the book while I was proctoring a foreign language exam, and when one of my students asked how to say “supervision,” I had to ask hir to clarify if ze meant supervision or Super Vision. :stuck_out_tongue:

I adore Thursday Next. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the books… unfortunately I’m too cheap to buy the e-books when the paper copies are significantly less expensive, but I’m moving in a month and really shouldn’t acquire more books before the move… aaaaaaggghhh! :slight_smile: