Something Rotten: A Thursday Next Novel

This book is provided by Recorded Books not Highbridge Audio. I suspect that's why the narrator is different. Too bad - Elizabeth Sastre had it down pat!

Of the Thursday Next series, this is my favorite. I haven't laughed out loud this much while enjoying a book in a long time. I would give the book a 10 for its overall witty fun. I felt the ending was too muddled and bogged down an otherwise perfect book. I, too, missed Ms. Sastre's narration and almost opted to read the book instead of listen. However, I decided to keep an open mind, enjoyed the narration for the most part and am glad I listened!

I haven't really spent much time with this new Jasper Fforde novel, but I am already disappointed in the new narrator.
Her voice is a bit too "fussy" for the calm Thursday Next.
Whatever were the audio people thinking?

Jasper Fforde is a very unique writer, you really have to like this sort of thing. I only recommend him to certain people, but if you love the odd and unusual and have a good imagination you will love his writing. I would never recommend him to someone who doesn't like sci-fi, Monty Python or Douglas Adams. If you like any of the above, Fforde is for you.

Oh, I know Ms. Sastre has her fans, and she did a creditable job on the first books. But she mispronounced Acheron and Haworth, which pretty much ruined the first book for me. Many of the comments people are posting about the narrator of this book are a bit unfair, I think.

Jasper has given us another outstanding adventure from Thursday Next. Unfortunately, the narration leaves much to be desired. Elizabeth Sastre had become Thursday's voice, no doubt, and the new narrator couldn't even be bothered to learn how to pronounce many of the character's names. It's distracting, and takes away from some of Fforde's outrageous humor. I'm going to make sure to read this one on paper, so I can hear it with the "Real Thursday" in my head.

In this last installment to the Thursday Next series, our heroine is desparately trying to retrieve her eradicated husband. She spends her time embroiled in real world politics with a few bookworld characters popping in and out. While not as immersed in literary reference, it certainly takes a shot at the politics of today. Be prepared for a shocking conclusion!

OK, so I don't love the narrator on this book quite as much as the narrator on the three previous Jasper Fforde books, but c'mon folks - how many books can make you laugh as often as anything in the Thursday Next series. These are gifts from the OutLands and should be cherished. Yes, I almost drove off the road while laughing at the game show where politicians vied to be the best at evading questions. If only we had television access to "Celebrity Name That Fruit" life would be as wonderful as a Thursday Next book!

Mr. Fforde has created another excellent entry in his Thursday Next series, answering questions that had been left dangling in previous books and pretty much tying up loose ends as if he'd decided to stop writing books for the series. The switch to Emily Gray as the reader is a bit unnerving to say the least, and I dearly miss the delightful talents of Elizabeth Sestre who brought the first three books to life. Although I got used to Ms. Gray about halfway through, her pronunciation of certain names drove me crazy right up to the very end because she didn't pronounce them like Ms. Sestre.

This was not the best of the series to begin with, but the combination of horrible narration, the mispronunciation of character names and other key information, makes this a difficult experience. Read the book. Avoid the audio.