Book Review: Shades of Grey, Jasper Fforde

Shades of Grey, the Road to High Saffron, Jasper Fforde

Jasper Fforde has this uncanny ability to make the absurd compelling. He creates worlds that are just enough like our own to make us feel at home and just different enough to keep us intrigued. He slyly plays with language and concepts to create layers of meaning & gives his readers enough credit to use their own brains to unfold this meaning. And, within all the absurdities, he manages to underscore issues relevant to our world and our generation(s).
This is the first book I've read in a long time that, when I reached the end, I wanted to flip back to page one and start reading it again. I actually found myself reading more and more slowly as the end of the book approached. Refusing to put the book down, I even read the acknowledgements (something I never do because I don't want  reality to interfere with the story). I wish I could pick up the next book in the series & keep reading. Alas, I have to wait for that book to be written. (In the mean time, maybe I'll re-read The Eyre Affair.)
Readers over at Amazon give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars
Goodreads readers give it 4 out of 5 stars
I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

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