Jasper Fforde, Lost in a Good Book: A Thursday Next Novel

Published by Penguin USA, 2003

Reviewed by Allie McKnight

Fans of Thursday Next rejoice! The indomitable heroine of The Eyre Affair returns in this magisterial romp through prose and parody.

The fun begins when a series of unlikely coincidences involving a Neanderthal bus driver and some oddball passengers land Thursday in a spot of hot water. Add to that a pregnancy, a missing husband, an unrelenting media maven, an advocate who speaks only in footnotes-well, let's just say that any attempt to encapsulate Fforde's literate and literary plotting is sure to fall woefully flat.

Lost in a Good Book has something for everyone. Fforde turns his penetrating satiric gaze on everything-from a jaunt through a clothing label and washing machine manual to a used-book-sale catfight over a series of signed romance novels (between Dickens' Miss Havisham and Carroll's Red Queen, of all people, with Thursday as Havisham's accomplice!) and a tell-all talk show that tells nothing, advertises toasts and keeps the guests from outjoking the host.

Laugh aloud, "you've got to hear this" moments abound, and the plot is cleverly paid off. The adventure stands even without the innumerable sly jabs and wickedly funny turns of phrase. Some readers may find it too clever, however, or be frustrated as they feel joke after joke glide right over their heads.

Nevertheless, Fforde's wit matches his admirable facility with the breadth of English literature. All those who've ever wondered what Miss Havisham does between Pip's visits or whether the Red Queen is always nuttier than a fruitcake will appreciate this meander through the back alleys of British lit. One part Alice in Wonderland, one part Dr. Seuss, and one part doctoral thesis, Fforde's second novel succeeds at opening doors to literary fiction, while delivering a truly entertaining tale. Just don't get lost in the inkwell of intellectual humor.

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