Reviews

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde

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meet_cute_librarian's review against another edition

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4.0

I'm looking forward to the next one. It seems to take place almost entirely in Jurisfiction which I love!

karacharlesworth's review against another edition

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4.0

This zany series reminds me of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but for literature nerds. Thursday Next lives in a parallel universe where time travel is commonplace, genetically engineered dodos are popular house pets, and literature is a VERY big deal. In fact, some people can travel into books, and this is a skill that our protagonist cultivates in this second installment of the Thursday Next series.

The second book picks up more or less where the first left off, after Thursday changed the ending of Jane Eyre and was responsible for the death of Acheron Hades. Now Thursday discovers that someone is out to eliminate her—possibly for revenge. What’s more, the Goliath Corporation has eradicated her husband via time travel, and oh, the world is about to end.

This is one of those books that caters to a specific kind of reader. It’s great for lovers of classic literature, sci-fi, and quirky British humor. It’s so clever and original, but I can think of a lot of people would find it just too silly for their tastes. In addition to comparisons to Douglas Adams, I’ve also seen Jasper Fforde’s work compared to Monty Python (accurate) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I wouldn’t have thought of this myself, but I can totally see it now). My one issue with the writing, especially in this second installment, is that plot and character development take a backseat to humor and literary references—but honestly, Jasper Fforde is just so witty that I enjoyed being along for the ride.