Lost In A Good Book

Jasper Fforde’s second novel in his Thursday Next literary detective series had me staying up nights truly lost in his entertaining prose. Fforde is extraordinarily clever and writes well enough to keep the reader engaged. The book reminded me of a bunch of English majors sitting around discussing the literary equivalent of science fiction fans arguing what would happen if Captain Kirk fought Han Solo. I printed out the reader’s guide on Fforde’s website so as not to miss any of his trivia. I found I did not get bogged down in the literary references as I did with his earlier novel the Eyre Affair.  Fforde's website also has an interesting Wordamentary in which he talks about how to go about writing a sequel and how he came up with some of the ideas in the book. He's one of those authors I'd like to have at my imaginary dinner party. What really sets Fforde apart as a good narrator is he doesn’t forget the details.  For example The Cheshire Cat doesn’t like to write because it’s difficult for him to hold the pen in his hands. It keeps the reader grounded in some reality while creating a world of fantasy. The ending was a bit lame but sets up Thursday’s next adventure in the Well of Lost Plots.   Which I will read as soon as I see it in the bargain bin at Barnes & Noble, which is where I picked up LIAGB.