The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1) in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Feb 11, 2012 Nadine in NY Jones rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, time-travel, alternate-planes-and-histories

This had been on my TBR list for a while; I finally read it as part of the popsugar 2015 Ultimate Reading Challenge, first book by a popular author. I'm not sure exactly how popular Fforde is, but ... Close enough?

This book is quirky in a way that I was completely not expecting. What I expected: a detective interacts with Jane Eyre in an off-kilter investigation. And while that does happen, that's not the quirky part. The quirky part is that all these odd things are going on and mostly being tre This had been on my TBR list for a while; I finally read it as part of the popsugar 2015 Ultimate Reading Challenge, first book by a popular author. I'm not sure exactly how popular Fforde is, but ... Close enough?

This book is quirky in a way that I was completely not expecting. What I expected: a detective interacts with Jane Eyre in an off-kilter investigation. And while that does happen, that's not the quirky part. The quirky part is that all these odd things are going on and mostly being treated as totally unsurprising, even normal. I expected silliness, along the lines of a Mother Goose mystery I read to my kids once. And okay, one guy is named Jack Schitt, so I guess it's silly, but in a very dry way.

The central conceit, which is very subtle, is that this is an alternate universe, where many many little things are different, leading to some big differences. I appreciated the subtlety, and found it very charming and appealing. (view spoiler)

What kept me from really loving this book was the odd remove the characters seem to feel from the events unfolding. The characters were in grave danger, but kept a very British stiff upper lip throughout. "It'll be a doddle." Their apparent lack of concern left me feeling less than engaged.

An odd little quirk, which would set me off balance each time, was the occassional mention of the religion, "GSD.". For me, GSD has a very definite meaning, which is German Shepherd Dog. In this book, it means Global Standard Deity, the one meaningless and ridiculous religion that has overtaken and absorbed all other religions. Now, I'm fine with treating religion as ridiculous, but I'm not sure if Mr Fforde intended this particular confusion.

I will definitely read more from this series someday, but it's not at the top of my list. ...more

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Feb 11, 2008 Julianne Dunn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014-friends-recommendations

Read this originally in 2011 as a book.

Recommended by Laura Megivern #2014ReadingChallenge - reading as a Kindle in 2016

While in Belize, I re-read "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde, recommended by Laura Megivern for my ‪#‎2014ReadingChallenge‬. This was already one of my favorite books so it was fun to jump into it again. Based in a slightly different version of today, there are time agents, vampires, and people who can change other's perception of them. But most importantly, the line between b ...more

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Mar 27, 2008 Rae rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery

A most unusually delightful book that is difficult to describe. It features the Literary Detective Thursday Next in a world where England is still involved in the Crimean War with Russia. This novel is wacky, full of literary worldplay, and just plain odd. And I absolutely loved it!

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Jul 31, 2007 Christina rated it really liked it

Shelves: bronte

For anyone who enjoys total absurdity and reading, especially if you've ever wished you could go into a book. Not the best of the series, but a good start and would be worth it just as a gateway to the next two. ...more

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