Books

by Jasper Fforde

This book is a sequel to a book read for Book Group called The Eyre Affair. While I truly enjoyed The Eyre Affair and I would recommend you read it first (Lost is a Good Book is a sequel), I believe I liked this book a lot better.

The series centers on the career of Thursday Next, a literary detective for a government agency called the Special Ops Network (division 27). She and her division authenticate long lost manuscripts of the literary classics such as Shakespeare and Byron as well as provide protection for rare copies that go on tour.

Our heroine, Thursday Next, has the fascinating ability to jump into books and interact with the characters in them. Though this ability isn't wide spread, some with the in-born talent and others aided by technology also find their way into numerous works of fiction. The portal also works for fictitious characters who occasionally wish to try their hand at surviving in the "real' world.

Enter the operatives of the evil, world-dominating, global corporation called Goliath, a time-traveling father, unexpected, but timely assistance from Miss Havisham (Dickens's Great Expectations), and the threatened eradication of her one true love and a wonderfully inventive story unfolds.

This was a fantastic book that I found extremely hard to put down. Though I borrowed this copy, I feel I'll have to purchase it for my personal library. I'm also very eager to read the next book in the series...especially since this one ends in a cliffhanger!