By Jasper Fforde
I liked this book. Other than that, I genuinely don't know where to begin. The Eyre Affair is the first novel in a series of alternate history, fantasy, vaguely dystopian mysteries involving clever nods to classic fiction that will make literature buffs chuckle. There are so many different elements to this universe that when I was planning out this blog post, I almost forgot to mention the dodos. There are dodos in this novel. They really don't serve a purpose, but they are great.
Thursday Next—frankly characters' names might be the worst part of this thoroughly overwhelming book— is a kind of literature detective in 1980s England. Except the England in this universe is very different from the one we might be familiar with. Thursday is a veteran of the Crimean War, which is still going strong after 130 years. Also Wales is an independent, hostile country. Also England is kind of a police state, but that really isn't dwelled on with much concern. The dominance of a private arms manufacturer, Goliath, over English society does play more of a role, with vaguely applicable commentary on our war-industrial complex.
Most of that, though, isn't even relevant to the core of the plot. Thursday is a literature detective (within the police state) because society in this universe is wildly attached to the world of fiction. Baconians go door-to-door in the style of Jehovah's Witnesses, trying to convince people that Francis Bacon actually wrote Shakespeare's plays. People attend performances of Richard III in a manner similar to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, dressing up and heckling and throwing things. Most importantly, characters in novels (like Jane Eyre, per the title) can even cross into reality, meaning they can most definitely be murdered.
I don't think I've ever spent that much time in summary for a review, but I promise there aren't even any spoilers. This book is overly complicated and convoluted, but I really enjoyed reading it. The universe is so ridiculous it's fun, and the literature references are pretty clever. Objectively, I know it's a mess and could probably be separated into at least three different premises, but I just like it. It's not particularly profound, but it will make you question how wrapped up you would be in your love life if your own uncle had just been kidnapped and your aunt trapped in a Wordsworth poem, so that's something. Against my better judgement, I would recommend this book to most people. Also, in this universe the science of genetics has advanced enough to revive extinct species, so dodos.
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