Sunday, March 20, 2011

Review: One of Our Thursdays is Missing

 It's been almost four years since the last installment of the Thursday Next series, but One of Our Thursdays Is Missing: A Novel by Jasper Fforde was well worth the wait.  The novel follows the Written Thursday as she traverses BookWorld looking for the Real Thursday, who seems to have gone missing while deep undercover.

The majority of the story takes place in BookWorld, which has recently undergone a remaking based on a geographic model.  The peace talks between Racy Novel and Women's Fiction and Dogma are coming up fast and the Written Thursday is being pressed upon from all sides to find the Real Thursday or replace her at the peace talks.  Her journey takes us all around the BookWorld, through fiction and non-fiction, with interesting treks into Vanity and Fan Fiction.  Along the way, she manages a trip into the Outland, where she finally meets her love, Landon.  Landon is killed off early in the written series, so the Written Thursday has spent her life longing for someone she's never known.  Her trip to the Outland raises questions about her identity:  could she possibly be the Real Thursday?  Suffering from some sort of delusion?

I love this series.  The stories are original and smartly written.  Fforde uses literary device to his own ends to create something spectacular.  This is classic.  He reminds me of Mark Twain in his use of humor to address societal issues, while still poking fun at himself and his work.  I can't find strong enough words to explain how much I enjoy his work.  If you haven't read any of the Thursday Next series, go get started on The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel.

Mr. Fforde, if you're out there, please do not make us wait another four years for Thursday.  While worth the wait, not much out there that can fill the void while we await another Thursday Next adventure.

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