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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
This was a rollicking good read. I had never heard of it until my best friend Shannon recommended it to me based on our mutual admiration of “Jane Eyre.” And this book made me feel smart, it made me laugh hysterically (the out loud kind, not just a lengthy snicker), and it threw things at me that I never would have expected. Fforde’s alternate reality was just confusing enough to keep me on my toes, and it was highly appreciated. The villains were just diverse enough, the protagonists just sarcastic enough, and the bit characters just flavorful enough. Add to this so many literary allusions and illustrations that even my former professors might be challenged to recognize them all. Nothing is safe from being used to further the story or make it a bit more entertaining, not even the rules of grammer, the history of literature, or the concepts of time travel and science. Spot on, Mr. Fforde, spot on.
A book that picks characters from other stories in the manner of fanfiction, but in the style of humor-sci fi. Funny, if you're into people going on about conspiracy theories regarding Shakespeare authorship and literary insanity.
Might not be your cup of tea if you like a deeper side to your comedy.
Might not be your cup of tea if you like a deeper side to your comedy.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A thoroughly enjoyable read! If you love literature (and Jane Eyre), and can handle fantasy (some reviewers were dead set against it), you'll love this well-designed "thriller"!
This book is definitely a marmite book, you either love it or you hate it. We had both ends of the scale in the bookclub on Thursday.
Thos that didn't enjoy it as much felt that there were too many in jokes, it felt as you were reading that you might be missing things that other readers were enjoying. Often we felt that characters were more along the lines of plot devices rather than actual characters. They sometimes didn't make a great deal of sense other than to make something happen within the story. For example, Hades was hard to understand as a character but was better understood as a plot device.
We all agreed it was in a similar vein to Terry Pratchett, it felt very light hearted for an adult novel although it also contained a great deal of deeper literary references. It felt to many of the group like a comic book that had been created in written rather than pictorial form. We could all see it clearly as a film or a cartoon rather than a book. This is interesting because Jasper worked originally in film, maybe his film eye is better than his writing eye?
One important thing to note is the length of time is takes to get into a Jasper Fforde book, this was not something some of the members enjoyed. It really does take a while for his books to get going so there's a lot of investment of time reading the first book of a series. Once you get into further books the investment then pays off, but this is not immediately obvious on only reading the first book from one of his series.
The most interesting thing to many of the members was the love of literature shown by everyone in Jasper's world. We wondered what it would be like if our world valued writing and books in the same way, rather then fixating on famous people and sports stars. We also tried to decide whether we would prefer to be able to time travel or book jump as a special skill. Some prefered to visit their favourite novels, others would prefer to travel in time to (for example) find out who wrote the Shakepeare plays!
Overall we gave the book 7 out of 10 with scores ranging from 2 to 9 showing the love/hate relationship readers had with this book. Those that enjoyed would like to go on and read other books by Jasper.
Thos that didn't enjoy it as much felt that there were too many in jokes, it felt as you were reading that you might be missing things that other readers were enjoying. Often we felt that characters were more along the lines of plot devices rather than actual characters. They sometimes didn't make a great deal of sense other than to make something happen within the story. For example, Hades was hard to understand as a character but was better understood as a plot device.
We all agreed it was in a similar vein to Terry Pratchett, it felt very light hearted for an adult novel although it also contained a great deal of deeper literary references. It felt to many of the group like a comic book that had been created in written rather than pictorial form. We could all see it clearly as a film or a cartoon rather than a book. This is interesting because Jasper worked originally in film, maybe his film eye is better than his writing eye?
One important thing to note is the length of time is takes to get into a Jasper Fforde book, this was not something some of the members enjoyed. It really does take a while for his books to get going so there's a lot of investment of time reading the first book of a series. Once you get into further books the investment then pays off, but this is not immediately obvious on only reading the first book from one of his series.
The most interesting thing to many of the members was the love of literature shown by everyone in Jasper's world. We wondered what it would be like if our world valued writing and books in the same way, rather then fixating on famous people and sports stars. We also tried to decide whether we would prefer to be able to time travel or book jump as a special skill. Some prefered to visit their favourite novels, others would prefer to travel in time to (for example) find out who wrote the Shakepeare plays!
Overall we gave the book 7 out of 10 with scores ranging from 2 to 9 showing the love/hate relationship readers had with this book. Those that enjoyed would like to go on and read other books by Jasper.
Initially read in August 2005: *****
Reread in January 2010: ****
Reread in January 2010: ****
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Absolutely adored this book! I was hesitant about it for a while, but as soon as it started diving in to the plot, I was hooked! Got to give it a few chapters before things start rolling. Such an interesting twist on what would be considered a somewhat historical-style story. Best part was the Easter eggs and references! Going to read it again in paperback!