Thursday Next: First Among Sequels
Happy New Year!
First Among Sequels (2007) is the latest in the
Thursday Next series by
Jasper Fforde. It is hopefully not the last.
In this installment, Next is living a double triple life, working for the Book World, for the book crime division of
Swindon’s crime enforcement body, and working as one of the owners of a semi-successful
carpet company. At the same time she is trying to motivate her teenage son to stay on track to be one of the key people saving Swindon (and the rest of the world) from upcoming total destruction. Next is a busy person.
This novel is fun to read with many literary allusions, as in all of the Thursday Next series novels, but First Among Sequels is more dependent of the structure of the world Fforde has built in the series than previous Next novels are. Even bearing that in mind, this is a good novel to read on its own or to read after reading the proceeding installments.
Labels: Fforde, fiction, literature
The Fourth Bear
The Fourth Bear (2006) by Jasper Fforde is part of his Jack Spratt Investigates series. The first book,
The Big Over Easy concerns the murder of Humpty Dumpty. In this book Detective Jack Spratt (who eats no fat), and Seargent Mary Mary investigate the death of Henrietta Hatchett, aka Goldilocks.
Goldilocks visits three bears and is never seen again. It is just a simple nursery story, or is it??? Nothing is ever straightforward and simple in the
Nursery Crimes Division. Spratt and Mary discover that there was a fourth bear in the tableau between Goldy, Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear. They discover that the company behind the latest theme park is not all that it seems. They discover that
cucumbers are not always a benign tasty lunch accoutrement. They discover love.
What is there not to like about this story? Nothing.
Labels: Fforde, fiction, literature, nursery
Something Rotten
Something Rotten (2004) is
Jasper Fforde’s fourth book in the Thursday Next series. As you know, I
love Jasper Fforde’s books. I have read every one I can get my hands on.
In this installment,
Thursday and her son Friday attempt to get her husband Landen un-eradicated, bring renegade character Yorrick Kaine back to his fictional world – away from the real world of politics, and keep
Hamlet (yes that Hamlet) from wreaking havoc in the real world.
This book is so funny. There is a big surprise (a couple of surprises, actually) right at the end. There are many great details and the story line is handled with a healthy dose of humor throughout. I cannot wait to read the
next book in the series. It came out earlier this year so keep your eyes peeled for a post on it.
Labels: Fforde, fiction, nursery
The Big Over Easy
Jasper Fforde is an author who I keep coming back to because I invariably love his work. In
The Big Over Easy, (2005) Fforde begins his new Jack Spratt Investigates series. This is a truly funny book.
Spratt and his new partner Mary Mary investigate the death (by falling off the wall) of
Mr. Humperdink Jehoshaphat Aloysius Stuyvesant van Dumpty, better known as
Humpty Dumpty. They encounter eminently readable rival detectives, members of an insane asylum community, and frightening foot-care conglomerate owners. In the tiny
Nursery Crimes Division, Spratt and Mary work to find the answers behind Humpty Dumpty's suspicious death.
This book has so many references to
nursery rhymes and
tales that every chapter made me laugh for a different reason.
I enjoyed this enough that there will be a few more Jasper Fforde book reviews in coming posts.
Labels: Fforde, fiction, literature, mystery, nursery
