For the Love of Jasper

If you've never heard of Jasper Fforde, you're not alone. It seems Fforde is somewhat of an acquired taste. But I have to say, I quite enjoy his work. And, if you like Douglas Adams, Monty Python, Christopher Moore, Christpher Fowler, or even Shakespeare, you may too. His latest novel Shades of Grey, the Road to High Saffron is an "...insanely clever novel... a cult classic for people who crave a rich brew of dystopic fantasy and deadpan goofiness..." according to the Washington Post.
Fforde is an author whose imagination, humor, and literary sense create hilarious, fun reads.  What I like best about him is his love and understanding of language - and his ability to have fun with it.
His first novel, The Eyre Affair, published in 2001, began his Thursday Next, Literary Detective series. Of which four more have followed. (The fifth in the series is slated to be published in March 2011). The story begins  in "Great Britain circa 1985, but a Great Britain where literature has a prominent place in everyday life. For pennies, corner Will-Speak machines will quote Shakespeare; Richard III is performed with audience participation … a la Rocky Horror and children swap Henry Fielding bubble-gum cards." [PW] 
Publishers Weekly said of it, "Surreal and hilariously funny, this alternate history, the debut novel of British author Fforde, will appeal to lovers of zany genre work (think Douglas Adams) and lovers of classic literature alike." 
He has yet another series that is a spin-off of the Thursday Next books, called The Nursery Crime Series. To date, he has only published two books in this series [The Big Over Easy and The Fourth Bear]. These haven't gotten great reviews primarily because they're not as involved as either Thursday Next or Shades of Grey story lines (some went so far as to call them shallow). But they're still fun, and very quick reads should you come across a copy of either.  The first book, The Big Over Easy, springs from one of the Thursday Next story lines in which book characters (some of whom star in nursery rhymes) are allowed to take 'working vacations' in lesser read books (it is, after all, hard work to be on call 24-7 in case someone wants to read your book). It's here that we're introduced to Detective Jack Spratt (whose history of eating no fat is kept under wraps). In this spin-off, Detective Spratt must investigate the death of Humpty Dumpty. Was his fall an accident or was it murder?
His sequel, The Fourth Bear, follows the same nursery rhyme scenario suggesting that there was a another bear with Goldilocks and her crew. Again, goofy, but fun.
 
Probably most noteworthy, for Fforde fans, is his foray into the Young Adult genre. His novel, The Last Dragonslayer is due to be released in November 2010.  This will supposedly be the first in a trilogy.
For more information check out Jasper Fforde's Web site - full of frivolity and goofiness galore.

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