The Eyre Affair

A Thursday Next Novel

By: Jasper Fforde

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

The first in a series of outlandishly clever adventures featuring the resourceful, fearless literary detective Thursday Next—a New York Times bestseller!In Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career. Fforde's ingenious fantasy—enhanced by a Web site that re-creates the world of the novel—unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix.©2003 Jasper Fforde; (P)2009 Penguin

Fun, fun, fun for book lovers!

This wonderfully fanciful story is set in a world which revolves around books. The protagonist works as a literary detective which provides a launch point for a wide assortment of interesting events. The plot thickens EVERYWHERE! There are murders and mayhem with a sprinkling of love and lust, topped with a mad scientist and a few dodos. An all-around fun read. If you like Terry Pratchett, try this one too.

Disappointment

The premise of the story is great and there is every reason for this to be a good book but it just didn't hold my interest. There is nothing in it to make you care about the characters or the outcome of the story. I stopped listening after listening to 60% of it.

Better Options Out There

Jasper Fforde is an excellent world builder, which is why is pains me that I found myself somewhat disappointed with the Eyre Affair. His far superior Shades of Grey, which I have actively recommended to everyone I know, is a clever, original, Orwellian tale that describes a society in which one's social hierarchy is determined by one's ability to see the higher/lower end of the color spectrum. The Eyre Affair has also constructed brilliant world (OK, not as great as Shades of Grey, but still engaging) filled with enough literary references to make every English major swoon. However, while entertaining, the Eyre Affair received only a 3-star rating as I found the antagonists somewhat two-dimensional.

Great book!

I read this book decades ago and found it charming. I was very pleased to find that it’s quirky humor has stood the test of time. The reader was wonderful and added to my pleasure in the story. It’s English humor and I know I missed some of the literary references but laughed out loud at the ones I got. Anyway, I hope you’ll give it a try. I’m going to download the next in the series🙂

summary doesn't do it justice

Very well written and surprisingly witty. Looking forward to hearing the next Thursday Next book!