Book Review: Lost in a Good Book

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

Lost in a Good Book     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Jasper Fforde
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Science Fiction   Time Travel   Alternate History
Series: Thursday Next # 2

It's very difficult to write a coherent review of Fforde's books - his style is so unique, filled with so many surprising and enjoyable twists and turns. He plays with concepts of time and distance, reality and fantasy, and to quote ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY "brainy silliness."

Thursday Next has recently completed her adventures in "The Eyre Affair" in which she has managed to change the ending of the book to the one so familiar and beloved by generations of readers. She has managed to place an arch enemy in a sort of literary limbo - marooning him in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven."

Besieged on the one hand by endless requests for interviews and a consequent heavy censorship and on the other hand by the sinister colleagues of the man stuck in the Poe poem, Thursday strives to get back to work investigating the alleged discovery of a previously unknown play by William Shakespeare. Not surprisingly, things don't go smoothly and she makes the unsettling discovery that the story of her husband's life has been drastically changed - he died in infancy! But Thursday is pregnant with his child (or so she hopes) and is desperate to return him to a full life span.

I know this sounds confusing - it's best to just relax and go with Fforde - he provides and excellent read. Sets of operatives with sly names such as King and Nosmo, clueless brothers named Orville and Wilbur, a literary analysis of Beatrix Potter books comparing Mrs. McGregor to Lady MacBeth, sly pokes at reality TV, airline customer service, Hill Street Blues, vampire legends, and a Miss Havisham set free from her dusty wedding banquet in "Great Expectations" are all part of the fun.

Woodstock - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM