One of Our Thursdays is Missing

One of Our Thursdays is Missing
By Jasper Fforde
Viking, 2011. 362 pgs. Fantasy

Alternative history, intriguing detective mysteries, time travel, and vast amounts of literary satire are just a few of the genre elements found in Jasper Fforde’s enjoyable Thursday Next series. Book six is set almost entirely in the Book World, a dimension where all the fictional characters ever written exist and wait to be read by someone in the real world so they can act out their scenes from the book. Thursday Next, who travels between the real and book worlds solving literary crimes in both dimensions has gone missing just before she was set to lead the peace talks over a border dispute between Racy Novel and Women’s Literature. Thursday, the one “written” for the formerly popular Thursday Next novels, must step into the “real” Thursday’s role to keep the peace talks going. But “written” Thursday isn’t so sure she can live up to the “real” Thursday’s reputation.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every Fforde book I have read. However, Fforde is the king of the tangent. Some readers may be overwhelmed by the number of entertaining but non-essential subplots. Fforde’s playfulness with language and literature make these some of the most entertaining books I have read. I highly recommend these books for anyone who loves literature or is looking for something different.

AJ