Summer Reading Project, BookLikes Satellite

I have been recommending Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair ever since I first read it in 2004. Nothing compares to its anarchic take on literature and the jokes still have me chortling. Every time I read it, I catch more references. (This time I finally understood the Vorpal’s Special gag at the Cheshire Cat bar.) But when I mention those gags and the fact that The Eyre Affair takes place partially inside Jane Eyre, some readers demur and say they don’t know enough to understand. This is a mistake. Five minutes with Wikipedia and anyone will know enough to understand the plot. I also know from personal experience that this book and the rest of the series have inspired me to dive into classic literature so that I get the rest of the references. Oddly enough, this hilarious book and the rest of the Thursday Next series are great entry points into nineteenth century literature, Shakespeare, and the glories of literary imagination. Do I sound hyperbolic? Well, it’s only because I love these books so very much...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.