by Jasper Fforde
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. 287 pgs. Young Adult
Jasper Fforde's usual literary snortfest, but this time for teens and older elementary school kids. Jennifer Strange runs an employment agency and boarding house (Zambini Towers) for magicians whose power is fading, which would be pretty much all remaining magicians because all magical power is disappearing in the Ununited Kingdoms. Those few magicians who are left have to make their living rewiring houses and replacing plumbing (no plastic, thank you very much) without actually having to tear anything out or up. But suddenly magical power flares up again, and various practitioners begin to have dreams and visions of the death of the last dragon at the hands of the Last Dragonslayer. At noon. On Sunday. And most surprising of all, Jennifer turns out to be that dragonslayer. Even better than Fforde's sparky plot are his mind-boggling array of characters: The Sisters Karamazov (Deidre and Deidre); the Quarkbeast; the Transient Moose; and Mysterious X. If you don't laugh out loud at least once while reading this book, Fie upon you! Ye dinna have a humorous ( humerus, maybe) bone in your body.
LW
1 comment:
Thanks for the push to read it - it was just such a quirky fun book!
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