I've been right busy lately, which means I have time for reading—always!—but not necessarily for reviewing. However I'm about to finish a second book that will need to be reviewed, and the idea of a backlog terrifies me. So …
I'm happy to report that Jasper Fforde has returned to his series featuring literary detective Thursday Next. First Among Sequels skips a few years since the last Next (boy, that sounds weird) offering. Thursday is now married and has three children: Friday, the eldest and a boy, Tuesday, his younger sister, and Jenny, the youngest of the group. I mention the children specifically because they're involved in a plot twist that, IMHO, illustrates what Fforde does best—he creates a world where absolutely anything can take place and be believable. I can't say more because the twist is by far the best moment in the book, and I sure wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for anyone who might choose to read it.
As always, I admire a writer who can express some thought where either the thought itself or its expression can make me stop and go "oh, wow." First Among Sequels had several such moments.
1) Thursday ruminates. "Reading, I had learned, was as creative a process as writing, sometimes more so. When we read of the dying rays of the setting sun or the boom and swish of the incoming tide, we should reserve as much praise for ourselves as for the author. After all, the reader is doing all the work—the writer might have died long ago." (page 52) Interesting. Do I agree? Dunno. But it is making me think.
2) Thursday considers the achievements of a linguist she knows. "But his hits were greater than the sum of his misses, and such is the way with greatness." (page 97) Okay, I'll buy that.
3) "'A phantom,' said my uncle Mycroft, who had just materialized, 'is essentially a heteromorphic wave pattern that gains solidity when the apparition converts thermal energy from the surroundings to visible light.'" (page 110) I'm amazed. I think I understand that. Now I'll run it past my physicist husband.
4) Time travel, used frequently in all the Next novels, has yet to be invented. Thursday tries to clarify the position. "'Let me get this straight,' I said slowly. 'You're using technology you don't have—like me overspending on my credit card.'" (page 123) Cleared things up for me.
5) First Among Sequels frequently moves into satire. Discussion of a national problem occurs. "The stupidity surplus had been beaten into second place by the news that the militant wing of the no-choice movement had been causing trouble in Manchester. Windows were broken, cars overturned, and there were at least a dozen arrests. With a nation driven by the concept of choice, a growing faction of citizens who thought life was simpler when options were limited had banded themselves together into what they called the 'no-choicers' and demanded the choice to have no choice." (page 233) Remember how simple life used to be? And many leaders tell us it can be so again.
6) Reading is down; watching TV is up, particularly the ratings of reality shows. A television producer who has decided to capitalize on the trend explains how the first literary classic will be used. "'Pride and Prejudice,' announced Yogert proudly. 'It will be renamed The Bennets and will be serialized live in your household copy the day after tomorrow. Set in starchy early-nineteenth-century England, the series will feature Mr. And Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters being given tasks and then being voted out of the house one by one, …'" (pages 272-3) I can see it happening next fall on ABC. Can't you?
Bottom line: check out the world of Thursday Next. I think you'll like being there.
