THURSDAY NEXT: FIRST AMONG SEQUELS

THURSDAY NEXT: FIRST AMONG SEQUELS
Author: Jasper Fforde
Copyright July 29, 2008
Penguin Books
Paperback $15.00
978-0-14-311356-0
384 pages

“There are three things in life that can make even the worst problems seem just that tiniest bit better. The first is a cup of tea-loose-leaf Assam with a hint of Lapsang and poured before it gets too dark and then with a dash of milk and the smallest hint of sugar. Calming, soothing, and almost without peer. The second, naturally, is a hot soaking bath. The third is Puccini. In the bath with a hot cup of tea and Puccini. Heaven”

THURSDAY NEXT is fun reading. The above quote is just how reading this book makes you feel. There’s the warmth of the returning characters, the excitement with Thursday’s life, and the contentment and reassurance of her family and friends.
There’s just enough truth in the satire to make it believable in our present time. With the rising rates of stupidity being an issue for a country and the dwindling rates of readers with declining attention spans, just think how the world around us would be really changed if these two issues could be changed.

Thursday Next has her own business which is Acme Floor Coverings while secretly continuing the bookworld underground and financing both through illegal cheese smuggling.

At home, Landon is a stay-at-home dad who is always working on writing some new book, although it seems like he can’t quite focus on finishing one without beginning a new one. The children, Friday who is a trying sixteen-year-old boy, Tuesday who is a mathematical genius, and Jenny who is never home, make Thursday’s family fairly normal. Naturally, their pet is still the bald dodo bird, Pickwick whose value is increasing since she is the oldest dodo in existence.

Her most trying challenges though are the training of two agents, Thursday1-4 and Thursday5 who are both working as Thursday’s apprentices. With both of the Thursdays being truly part of the real Thursday, there is frequently frustration on both ends.

To understand THURSDAY NEXT:FIRST AMONG SEQUELS, prior reading is required with THE EYRE AFFAIR, LOST IN A GOOD BOOK, THE WELL OF LOST PLOTS, and SOMETHING ROTTEN. I think it would be extremely difficult to understand this book without having read at least two of the previous ones. The concept of book jumping, the characters whether real or not, and the time traveling as well as just becoming accustomed to the name of Thursday Next not being a time, are all needed in order to understand this novel.

The storyline is extremely fast-moving and the characters from the previous books visit in this sequel. This is the perfect book to read while relaxing during a break from the ordinary life.

Jasper Fforde worked in the film industry for years while waiting for his chance to be a respected writer. With THE EYRE AFFAIR being his first successful book, he has become a well-known author with his satirical outlooks on truth and government. He obviously has a positive and humorous outlook on life and truly enjoys writing these addictive and enthralling novels.