I picked up this seemingly obscure book, just by the ‘Eyre‘ word in the title. I flipped the book over and was blown away by all the reviews. I have not had this much fun reading a literary novel in a long time. The Eyre Affair is brilliant. It is creative, hilarious & ingenious.
“The industrial age had only just begun; the planet had reached its Best Before date.”
Jasper Fforde fills his world with inside book lover jokes and quaint references. His style is fresh, original and clever. He builds a universe where love for literature is immensely important, time travel is possible, war is ongoing and craziness is at every corner.
Like Harry Potter’s Ministry of Magic, the Spec Ops divisions can range from the mundane to the bizarre. Thursday Next, our heroine, is a Spec Ops agent. Not young and beautiful, but impulsive and resourceful. And in love.
“True and baseless evil is as rare as the purest good–and we all know how rare that is…”
Acheron Hades is her adversary. An outright evil lunatic villain who casts no shadows, does not get killed by bullets and is invisible on camera.
Thursday’s uncle is a genius who invents miracles. Like book worms! They feed on prepositions and belch out apostrophes.
“Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time.”
In this magical and mysterious speck of time, travel to and from books is a reality. Hades is hellbent on ruining our favourite books and Thursday is equally ardent in ensuring a happy ending.
I have to agree with all The Eyre Affair reviews that compare it to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It has the same cheerful disdain towards reality and oodles of eccentricity. In addition, this one has smart references to popular stories that throw me into a fit of sweet madness. How much there is to read in this world!
The Eyre Affair also has high-speed chases, a blood sucking vampire or two, Edward Fairfax Rochester and an undying untiring love full of miscommunication.
“I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Neither do I. That’s a coincidence, isn’t it?”
What more could one possibly wish for in a novel? So, suspend any traces of disbelief and pick up a novel that will remind you of some other series, franchise or genre you love (specially if you enjoy reading and thrive on weirdness). But, please don’t dare be serious.
Did you ever dream of falling into the pages of a book? Tell me.
