The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Synopsis:
Welcome to a surreal version of Great Britain, circa 1985, where time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem, militant Baconians heckle performances of Hamlet, and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection, until someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature. When Jane Eyre is plucked from the pages of Bronte's novel, Thursday must track down the villain and enter the novel herself to avert a heinous act of literary homicide.

My Rating: 9/10

My Thoughts:
About a year and a half ago I was at my university bookstore buying my text books. I was taking two lit classes and so I was in that section picking up The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin and Daisy Miller, when I happened to look at the shelf right next to me. Really it was the title that had caught my attention, because I had just finished reading Jane Eyre, and I wondered if this novel had anything to do with the Charlotte Bronte book. After quickly scanning the back, I was happy to discover that this book looked very interesting, so on an impulse I bought it. At that time, I knew nothing about it, but I'm so glad that I brought it home, because I love this book.

All I can say about this novel is that it's crazy awesome. It took me a few chapters to get the feel for the alternate Britain that Fforde creates, and believe me a good understanding of classic literature and history are necessary for you to really understand a lot of the references. At the very least I would recommend knowing the story of Jane Eyre, since that is the most prevalent novel featured.

Other than the awesome literary and historical references, the situations many of the characters find themselves in are hilarious. From home dodo cloning kits to a father who can travel through time to the ever present question of who really penned Shakespeare's plays, the creativity never ends. This novel is so unique and contains everything I want in a book. There is even a bit of a love story to satisfy the hopeless romantic side of me. I think everyone should read this, ESPECIALLY classic literature buffs.