The Eyre Affair

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (2001), 374 pages

In this very clever book, we follow Special Operative Thursday Next as she tracks down Acheron Hades before he can snatch Jane Eyre out of the novel Jane Eyre. It is a fun fantasy/sci-fi novel that imagines 1985 England as a place where people can travel in and out of time and in and out of literature. It is creative (real life bookworms!), silly, and fun for folks who love to pick up on classic literature references. My only real criticism is that the actual Jane Eyre plot line doesn't pick up until the second half of the book. I kept thinking I had missed it somewhere. Also - I listened to the audio book version. The narrator, Susan Duerden did a wonderful job. Her voice, though, has such a soothing, classic British sound to it that I sometimes felt like the characters were woodland creatures a la Peter Rabbit.