Francesca recommends books: Thursday Next!
By FrancescaFrancesca has recently read the first two of a series of books about the crazy, unbelievable, completely surreal adventures of the fabulous character Ms. Thursday Next. All the books, by Jasper Fforde, have been New York Times bestsellers, but Francesca has only gotten to them now. They are delicious!
The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel
Thursday is a police officer in a parallel universe almost like ours. In theirs, the Crimean War is still going on; airplane travel sounds impossible but travel through the center of the earth is common; and it is possible to jump into works of fiction and hang out with Jane Eyre, Miss Havisham, and the Red Queen.
Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next Novels)
The books are fantastic, both in the sense of “imaginative” and of “excellent.” They are entertaining, witty, and imaginative romps for the bibliophile. Francesca cannot wait to read the third installment, The Well of Lost Plots, and the fourth, Thursday Next: First Among Sequels.
Happy reading!
December 20th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Cara Francesca, please do not miss the fabulous Something Rotten, which is the fourth installment in the series. First Among Sequels is the fifth. And if you cannot get enough of Fforde, as many of us cannot, you will also love his “Nursery Crime” series, which is a sort of spin-off of the Next novels.
Also delicious is the Flashman series by Geo. MacDonald Fraser, a send-up of Victorian adventure novels, written nearly 30 years ago. They are thoroughly politically incorrect, with tongue firmly in cheek, and a pure delight.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:26 am
Great recommendation Francesca, Thursday Next is one of the best literary heroines of recent times.
December 21st, 2007 at 6:36 pm
I loved the first Thursday Next story! I especially like the part where they have the Rocky-Horroresque performance of Richard III, with full audience participation. This is definitely a book for English majors — you’ll love the inside jokes.
December 22nd, 2007 at 7:50 pm
I just started reading these books myself and I too am enjoying them greatly!
December 24th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Ah, these have been my favorites for awhile now! Glad to see you’ve discovered them. :)
December 26th, 2007 at 12:46 am
Also one of my favorites. I love playing Spot the Literary Reference. Plus, Thursday is just plain awesome.