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For many people Jasper Fforde is an acquired taste, but I’ve always been glad to say it was one that I acquired early and I have enjoyed both his series of novels.
First Among Sequels is a return to the world of Thursday Next, Jurisfiction agent, supplier of floor coverings to the people of Swindon and cheese smuggler. I’ve always liked Thursday, her complicated family and cloned Dodo, Pickwick. Unfortunately, I was vaguely disappointed in this one, even setting it aside for several days.
The plot for this novel managed to be both simple and complicated at the same time, so I’m not even going to try to summarise it; if you have read any of the others then you will know what to expect., and if you haven’t, I really wouldn’t recommend you start here.
There were too many things going on, and I think I found the alternative Thursday Nexts (I’m not even going to try to explain how she manages to work alongside two alternative versions of herself) irritating.
However, I persevered until the end and was rewarded with some good jokes, interesting set-ups and a cliffhanger which presumably will lead us into another instalment. But these couldn’t save it from being somewhat unsatisfying.
St Mirren Park 31 January 2009
Things have been a little quiet around here lately, largely due to a mixture of
- contracting the flu (where I couldn’t do anything including reading and on the one day I dragged myself into the office for a couple of hours a colleague said I looked shocking – in a sympathetic way of course)
- spending some time with family in Glasgow (it was my birthday and I went with my brother to see St Mirren play their first match in their new stadium – see picture), and
- the effects of the bad weather on my return to London, which has had everyone in a bit of a tizzy and upset the natural order of things.
Back to normal shortly, I hope
Bride of the Book God 