Thursday Next series - Jasper Fforde
I am about a quarter of the way through the first book in this series, The Eyre Affair, and I am hooked. It is a parallel universe style mystery/suspense style book with a heavy literary twist. Just a little bit weird, but strangely 'unputdownable' (if that is a word). The central character, Thursday Next, is a LiteraTec - A special ops agent who investigates literary crimes. She has a pet dodo and a father who pops in and out of time. She has LiteraTec workmates called Paige and Turner, not to mention Victor Allegory and a former boyfriend called Landon Parke-Laine. She is working on a case involving the disappearance of Jane Eyre from her novel. The literary references are thick on the ground and at times it's easy to miss them if you aren't paying attention or if you don't know your classics well. eg there is a byline to a newspaper article written by 'Millon de Floss' (reference to The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot). I will fill you in on my final judgement when I get to the end. This is one book that I won't be glancing at the end for a clue to the finale. It's all so bizarre that I have no idea where it's going and I don't want to ruin the surprise.

I just finished this on Sooze's recommendation. WHat a fun read. I spent most of my time running from book to computer to look up all the names etc that I just knew were references, but couldn't place them myself. But even with all the clevernesses, the book's plot was fun and exciting enough on its own. You know how sometimes the author is just trying too hard to be smart, that he/she neglects the characters? Not so in this case.

I think it is the kind of book that you could easily read more than once. You would pick up different references on a second read through. I'm hoping to pick up the next book in the series, Lost in a Good Book, at the library on Friday. I agree with the 'trying too hard' thing. Some authors spend so much time planning the multiple levels of meaning that the plot and characters really seem to suffer. This book was lots of fun and the added references just made it more enjoyable.

I've just started the third book in this series (Well of Lost Plots), having finished the second (Lost in a Good Book) a few days ago. There is a quote on the front cover referring to the first book as 'a silly book for smart people' and that's exactly what these books are - full of clever, literary silliness. I love it. I love all the references to characters and plots of well known classic literature and genres. The corny names are great and the plot is interesting enough that it keeps you reading. Jasper Fforde has definitely become one of my favourite authors.

I've recently finished the fourth book in this series (Something Rotten). It did take a few chapters to get into, but then I couldn't put it down. There was a great twist at the end that I didn't see coming, although looking back over the past 2 books, I can see hints along the way. Hamlet plays a big part in this one. You will never read the play the same way again. The character Hamlet plays a significant role in this book and I found it quite amusing that his favourite version of his own play was Mel Gibson's. I love that croquet is the sport of the nation, that the intimidating multinational 'Goliath' finally meets it's match and that it is all just so clever. Reading these books has made me want to dust off some of those classics I have sitting on my shelf (Hamlet, Great Expectations) and read them again. These books are highly recommended to anyone who enjoys classic literature and has a reasonable knowledge of the classics (You don't have to have read them necessarily, you just need to have a basic idea of major characters/plot). There is a new one in this series that has just been released (First Among Sequals) which I will try to get my hands on soon.