Thursday Next: First Among Sequels

(Viking, 400 pages)

by Jasper FfordeTHURSDAY N<$> is an invigorating romp for all lovers of literature.In his 2003 novel, The Eyre Affair, Fforde introduced readers to a futuristic world where books reigned supreme.

We met the intrepid Thursday Next, a literary detective who is smart and funny, well-read and vulnerable — a true literary heroine. Next worked in the Literary Division of the Special Operations Network and was on a mission to stop criminals from stealing and holding for ransom characters frolassical fiction, including Jane Eyre.

Now, years later, she’s back, older, wiser, married with children and working for Jurisfiction, the policing agency that works within books. She and her colleagues — both real and fictional — work “tirelessly to maintain the continuity of the narrative within the pages of all books ever written”.

Next jumps between the real world and the worlds found within the pages of literature where life goes on normally as characters wait for readers before resuming their proper roles, settings and plot lines.

It’s an ingenious premise that makes for a thrill ride of a read. And it’s not entirely necessary — though perhaps more fun — to read the books in the proper order.

Fforde gives enoughckground in Thursday Next <$>to inform readers of all they need to know to find both books hilarious, exhilarating and just a bit exhausting.