Book Nook: The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

[David Flin]

Comment on this review of The Eyre Affair. Reviewed by @Jared .

 

[Yokai Man]

As someone who read all of Fforde’s novels,this pleases me.

 

[Jared]

Comment on this review of The Eyre Affair. Reviewed by @Jared .

I made a significant error in the first paragraph - that should read "have been fighting the Crimean War since 1854", not since 1985.

 

[David Flin]

I made a significant error in the first paragraph - that should read "have been fighting the Crimean War since 1854", not since 1985.

Corrected.

My apologies. I proofread the thing and should have caught it.

Mind you, a Crimean War with Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire on one side and Russia on the other starting in 1985 would certainly count as AH.

 

[Charles EP M.]

"Baconians door-knocking" arg, the ultimate AH dystopia!!

 

[Thande]

I haven't read Fforde's books for a bit but I remember being very impressed with The Eyre Affair (despite not having the literary background to appreciate the Jane Eyre references). It felt like the first time that a more recent author had started to climb the heights of the Terry Pratchett/Douglas Adams peak of an indefineable genre. And the use of AH was also interesting. I love the casual references to things like Britain being occupied during the war or the fact that one of the two superpowers of the cold war is based in Africa (the Draka??)

 

[Pete U]

I keep meaning to reread them - I suspect (like Sir TP) there will be jokes I missed the first time (or second) time around. [It took me way too long to get Millon de Floss first time]

I'm also a fan of the casual references, adding more colour to a world that is already saturated without it detracting from the main story.