Well Begun and All Done: "Thursday Next: First Among Sequels"

For complete information on this topic, please see post of February 22, 2010.

The book: Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde.

Opening Line:

The dangerously high level of the stupidity surplus was once again the lead story in The Owl that morning.

Closing Line:

"It's Thursday," I panted, running to get clear of the airship before it hit the ground, "and I think we've got a situation. . . ."

How you respond to First Among Sequels, the fifth installment in Jasper Fforde's "Thursday Next" series, depends largely on how you respond to the following selection:

"'Item Three: The inexplicable departure of comedy from the Thomas Hardy novels is still a cause for great concern. . . . Hard to believe Jude the Obscure was once the most rip-roaringly funny novel in the English language, eh?.'. . .

"Even until as little as thirty years ago, the whole Thomas Hardy series was actually very funny--pointlessly frivolous, in fact. As things stood at the moment, if you wanted a happy ending to anything in Hardy, you'd be well advised to read it backward."

Some of you may be cackling hysterically, others may think you have just received some heretofore unsuspected (and, for what it's worth, incorrect) information. If you're like the Solipsist, you're smiling knowingly: You're amused, but not doubled over, gasping for breath, wiping tears from your eyes.

The Thursday Next novels are amusing, and nothing more. Not that there's anything wrong with amusement, but if you're looking for a profound literary experience, look elsewhere. These novels bring a smile to one's face, particularly if one is a lover of books. Much of the humor hinges on the reader's ability to laugh at things like a whimsical Thomas Hardy.

Thursday Next is a literary detective--officially retired at the start of this latest novel. In her world, people take their books very seriously. Far from being inviolate, though, great (and not-so-great) works of literature are constantly threatened by malevolent forces. In the first Thursday novel, The Eyre Affair, no less an iconic figure than Jane Eyre is kidnapped from her own novel, and it is up to Thursday to set things right. The novels are also chock full of time travel, werewolves, malevolent multinationals, dodos, cricket-playing neanderthals, cheese-smugglers, and official stalkers--readers will not suffer from a lack of stimulation.



The first line of First Among Sequels sets the tone. Due to the unremittingly good governance of Prime Minister Redmond van de Poste's Common Sense Party, politicians have gone so long without committing any acts of egregious stupidity that the situation is becoming dire: If something isn't done to restore balance--and soon--the inevitable stupidity explosion will be devastating. Indeed, a truly idiotic government scheme to drain the stupidity surplus will ultimately threaten the Bookworld, and it will fall to Thursday to thwart the plan.

What can we say about the last line, except that it indicates that Jasper Fforde will bring back Thursday for yet another adventure. Indeed, the last page of the novel features a list of proposed titles: Last Among Prequels, Apocalypse Next, Paragraph Lost, etc.

If you think you might enjoy a light-hearted quasi-thriller from an author who obviously loves books as much as you do, check out the Thursday Next series. If not, check out some of the classics referenced therein, instead.