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One Of Our Thursdays Is Missing
Taking place almost entirely in the Bookworld, this story suffers a little for Thursday less strong than normal. As with all Fforde books, however, the finale ties together disparate plot elements well, this time with what feels like a funny pastiche of Heart Of Darkness.
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Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
A true classic that I should have read a long time ago, with brilliant characterisation of the major protagonists. The central question of what it means to be human is beautifully set up and then tantalisingly left unanswered, as Deckard realises he cannot honestly give the definition any more. The subtext that most things in […]
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First Among Sequels
Takes a while to get going, with a lot of exposition and a number of seemingly unrelated threads, but really sparkles in the last third as they are expertly woven together. Fforde’s appetite for metaphor and the subversion of narrative mechanics is seemingly boundless. This thinly veiled critique on modern society’s lack of attention span […]
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Super Sad True Love Story
A post-modern tragedy set during the decline of American influence. The protagonists are by turns vulnerable and infuriating, unable to take what they want, instead worrying more about a society that is collapsing around them. Lacks a satisfying conclusion to match the tense build up, reflecting the passivity of the characters.
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Something Rotten
More laughs from Fforde with his customary punning and wit. He has built a funny and coherent narrative throughout the series and it is nice to have a resolution to some of the sub-plots here, even as other avenues are opened up. And where else would you find Hamlet, Emperor Zhark and The Jabberwocky all […]
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Sh*t My Dad Says
This is clearly a book that came from Twitter. Many of the funniest moments come entirely outside the anecdotes, as Halpern adds a few choice quotes to the end of each chapter, without bothering to wrap a narrative around them. Luckily, there are enough good stories here to make up for the relatively poor writing. […]
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The Well Of Lost Plots
Another good read from Fforde, which benefits from a more compelling plot than his previous. It is fair to say he has mastered the genre, and perfected the art of ironically employing cliched narrative devices to great humorous effect. It’s a lot like cheating actually, but I can forgive him because it’s genuinely laugh out […]
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Lost In A Good Book
Fforde goes further into narrative deconstruction than he did with The Eyre Affair, using books themselves as a device for exploring new worlds and new locations. Famous characters from every genre and period fly past in a literary whirlwind as he once again demonstrates his passion for the written word. The repeated reliance on coincidence […]
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The Eyre Affair
Like Pratchett if he had an obsession with Victorian literature, Jasper Fforde weaves a funny and inventive narrative in an alternative-reality England. With endless wit and a pun on every page, he manages to breathe new life into old classics, wrapping them in pastiche and satire while still showing his obvious love for all things […]
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Outliers
Gladwell has the knack of taking a potentially dry topic and creating a strong narrative around it. Here, his contention that luck plays a significant part in extraordinary success is logical and well-researched, and full of interesting anecdotes to support his case. He might not understand Twitter, but here he is on fine form.
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The Lost Symbol
There’s no denying the richness of the research and history here, though as is typically the case with Dan Brown it is used to dress up a routine thriller, this time with an unusually anti-climactic finale. The final reveal manages to be both confused and trite, with plenty of mixed messages and an ending that […]
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Virtual Light
As a straightforward thriller, albeit with an interesting McGuffin, this could easily be a pretty run of the mill story. However, Gibson’s language drips with distinctive grace-notes, which taken together weave a rich tapestry of the near-future, without succumbing to the need to invent hundreds of new words to sound futuristic. A novel you can […]
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The Blind Assassin
Three chapters in and we’re already following three separate narratives in this complex, layered story. Atwood excels at giving each thread a unique voice and the story unfolds into a neat mystery that is resolved successfully.
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The Great Gatsby
One of the most lyrically beautiful books I’ve read in a long time. Every character, moment and emotion is exquisitely portrayed and replete with descriptive grace-notes that immerse the reader in the period and bring warmth and character to what is a relatively uncomplicated story.
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The Crying Of Lot 49
Obtuse, deliberately so, but enthralling. Sentences that demand to be read three times and a thousand oblique references that I missed most of, it comes perilously close to being unreadable, but has a sense of humour that is irrepressible.
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The Language Instinct
Interesting premise that comprehension of language is something we are born with a priori. The Language Instinct gave me terms for ideas and concepts that I had naturally intuited learning Japanese but could never describe well.
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Where Good Ideas Come From
Nice treatise on how good ideas come about as a result of collaborative environments, open sources of information and the clash of multiple disciplines, rather than just the “flash of inspiration” that people generally assume.
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Howdy!
Technology and travel stories from a global roaming, kangaroo loving, sake drinking gaijin pom.
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