Jasper Fforde
Looking for a good mystery? How about some old-fashioned time travel? Or maybe it's time to get back to the basics with some classical literature--Shakespeare, Jane Eyre, Heathcliff? So many options, so little time. What's a person to do?
There's no need to pick up half a dozen books in differing genres just to introduce a little variety into your reading life. I have two words for you: Jasper Fforde.
Say what?
Jasper Fforde. Specifically Thursday Next.
If you're looking for a good mystery, Fforde's got you covered. Want to puzzle over the complexities of time paradoxes? Again, Fforde's on the case. And all those dusty, musty old English classics that you know would be good for the edification of your soul if you could just convince yourself to open them? Never fear. Fforde gives you the low-down on Hamlet without the mind numbingly boring prose of yesteryear.
So just who is this Fforde guy and why should you read him? He's an author, obviously, and a damned good one. He is the creator of a world so surreal and original that no one quite knows how to describe it. Creatively eccentric seems to be the best I can do. His imagination is in overdrive, bringing you a reading experience like no other.
Seriously, to really get a taste of this man's mind you simply have to read his Thursday Next series. And no, it's not about a day of the week.
Thursday Next starts the series as a literary detective. That sounds weird because it is weird. In Fforde's world books are the number one priority and they are subject to constant changes by villains and do-gooders alike. Thursday is a CIA agent of the literary world. She protects books while landing herself in a boat load of trouble.
Did I mention she has a pet dodo and her dad is a sporadic time traveler? Believe me, you just have to read these books to understand the absurdity of it all.
Fforde exploded on the literary scene in 2001 with The Eyre Affair, a tale of literary woe. As you can imagine, Jane Eyre and her co-characters were heavily featured in the book. In fact, they became characters in The Eyre Affair, made possible by a machine that Thursday Next's genius uncle created. If you've ever dreamed of stepping into your favorite book, the Prose Portal is sure to capture your imagination.
Sound confusing? It is. And that's just the tip of the ice berg. There's also a problem with mammoth migration, renegade Neanderthals and power-hungry fictional people. Oh, and Jack Schitt. You've just got to love an author who names one of his villians Jack Schitt.
Currently the Thursday Next series is comprised of The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, and the just published Something Rotten. Each book is crazier than the last, but if you go into it with an open mind and an appreciation for creativity and literature of the absurd you're sure to love the strange world Jasper Fforde has created, even if you do wish you would have paid more attention to British literature and history back in your school days.