Thursday, June 05, 2008

THE EYRE AFFAIR by Jasper Fforde

The Book: Jasper Fforde, THE EYRE AFFAIR. Viking, 2001 (first U.S. edition). Signed by the author. Fine condition.
First read: 2001
Owned since: 2001

In a world just a little different from our own, the United Kingdom takes literature very, very seriously. Time travel is routine, and it's even possible to visit the worlds of classic novels -- as long as you don't touch anything.

Special Operative Thursday Next of the Literary Detective Division spends most of her time tracking down forgeries and plagiarisms, until a true crisis happens: someone kidnaps Jane Eyre. Thursday Next must chase down the evil genius Acheron Hades before he can wreak permanent havoc on the literary universe; along the way she meets up with the love of her life, who is not as dead as she'd thought.

It's complicated, silly, and very, very funny, the first in a series of novels that have gotten progressively more complicated, even sillier, and even funnier. As with all time-travel novels, it doesn't pay to try to follow them too closely; just strap in and enjoy the ride.

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