Eddie Russett lives in purposefully antiquated caste-based world where your position depends solely on which color (yes, singular) you can see, with Purples riding high and mighty at the top. As a Red, Eddie is just a step above the drudge-working Greys, and when his innovations in queuing dare to challenge the infallible Rules, he is given a humility inducing task (chair census) and is sent to the rural East Carmine as punishment. However, once he arrives, Eddie's natural curiosity starts getting him noticed (and not necessarily in a good way) by the local prefects, as he finds more and more things that make him question the Rules.
This is a ridiculously difficult book to explain, and the paragraph above only captures a tiny sliver of the absurdity of this novel. Eddie's world is also full of references to deadly swan attacks and ball lightning, a distinct lack of spoons, and regular Leapbacks, which are governmental mandates to destroy anything too modern or technological. Like all of Fforde's books, this one is silly, smart, and too creative to be believed. It's also one of my favorites, and I was well overdue for a reread, especially since the long-awaited sequel came out last year and I have yet to read it. But guess what's up next!
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