I've written about Jasper Fforde's work before. I find that while I love and admire the imaginative worlds he creates and the clever stories within, his endings feel rushed, convoluted and yet, too neatly tied together. And yet, I've read all his books. Why? He's just too damn clever. The Thursday Next books suppose an alternate version of our reality in which reading is VERY popular and as such, requires Literary Detectives. Additionally, his protagonist is able to jump in and out of fiction, allowing her to discover Jurisfiction, the policing agency of the fictional world along with the Council of Genres and so on and so forth. Is your head spinning? The later books in the series get very heady and the reader must pay strict attention as Fforde introduces two versions of the written Thursday, meaning fictional accounts have been written in Thursday's reality about her adventures (novels which exist in our reality). Fforde also includes an extensive time travel plot involving the ChronoGuard. In case you can't guess, my favorite parts of his books take place inside fiction. I could do without the rest, but it's a package deal and the map of fiction at the beginning of Fforde's sixth in the series is a bibliophile's wet dream. I'm not kidding. Women's fiction and Racy Novel engaged in a severe border war? Of course. Cliffs of Notes, the Abridged Bridge, the Ungenred Zone and an island of Books Only Students Read. Convoluted plots forgiven!
If you are a big fiction nerd, read the Thursday Next series. I suggest not reading all the books at once. I find it more fun to be reminded and surprised by all the fictional in-jokes with each new book in the series. It's delightful fun and you'll feel smart while reading for getting all the jokes.
--KER
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