Something Rotten

from Deborah--

It's once more down the rabbit hole. In Jasper Fforde's Something Rotten, Thursday finds herself back in the "normal" world which intersects with BookWorld which she lived in during the previous novel. Living within fictional plots, taking on the rules of fiction (people's depth of personalities limited by the novels they inhabit and any action - like washing hands - only allowed if necessary for the plot) was such fun that I thought the return to real life would be a bit boring.

However, Jasper doesn't do boring. He sees the absurdity in our lives as much as that within fiction. Just as fictional characters important to us become incorporated into our world, Miss Tiggy-Winkle, Hamlet, or the stock science fiction character show more of a laser happy imperial overlord drop by to visit in Thursday's life. Meanwhile, "normal" lives go on, encompassing both difficult individual struggles to matters of global significance. There are support group meetings held for those whose loved ones have been eradicated - totally erased from life and most people's memories while Goliath, the huge mega-corporation looms over all the living. They march on with their apology campaign foisted on the public in order to gain tax free status as a church.

Thursday, with the help of people both real and fictional, manages to sort things out and we're the happier for it. show less

Thursday Next has returned back to reality after two years as head of Jurisfiction with her two year old son, Friday, and Hamlet in tow. While some things have changed during her two year absence, other things are still dangerously the same. Goliath Corporation is trying to become a religion, Yorrick Kaine is trying to become a dictator and start a war with Denmark, there's an assassin trying to kill Thursday, and the fate of the world is riding on Swindon winning the big croquet match. In the midst of all the madness, Thursday is still trying to get her husband uneradicated and stay alive while trying to keep the world in some semblance of order. And just maybe she'll get Hamlet to make a decision.

The fourth Thursday Next book holds show more all of the charm, ridiculousness, literary references, and mad frantic plotting that I've come to expect from these books. Thursday continues to grow as a character, particularly in her new role as mother. Many of the literary jokes this time around are Shakespearean with many pointed at Hamlet and they cracked me up many times (occasionally awkwardly while riding the bus). The narrative, like the previous books, does feel a bit episodic for a fair chunk of the novel but then builds to a quick-paced conclusion. Just as enjoyable as I wanted it to be. show less

In Something Rotten, Jasper Fforde ties together all of the loose ends that remain outstanding from the previous novels to create a thrilling story that retains all of the humor and literary mentions that make the series so memorable. Flashing forward two years from the last time the reader sees Thursday, it does take more than a few pages for the reader to adjust to the jump in time. In fact, I had to double-check to make sure I did not skip a novel because I was so surprised to find out that Friday Next was two years old instead of a newborn or still in utero. Once the reader adjusts to the jump in time, the rest of the novel falls into place quite quickly.

There is so much to love in all of Mr. Fforde’s novels, but the reader gets show more the impression that he was truly on top of his game when writing Something Rotten. There is so that requires laughing out loud, from the caddish patron saint of Swindon to the Superhoop championship. Yet, Something Rotten is not without its more serious moments as well. There is a delicate balance between the humor and the drama, and Mr. Fforde walks this line with aplomb. In fact, the dramatic moments were more poignant and powerful because of the levity of the rest of the novel.

Emily Gray was not quite as bad a narrator as I remembered her to be. Her ability to vocalize Thursday’s wry wit makes the audio productions so worthwhile. Her biggest fault lies in her performance of the male voices in the novel. These remain a weak area for her, as each male character ends up sounding the same - somewhat dopey and unpolished. In a novel that builds its humor upon subtleties, her inability to vocalize male characters in a more erudite fashion is a disappointment and detraction from the overall story.

In spite of the weaknesses of the narrator’s performance, Something Rotten remains the strongest in the Thursday Next series to date. Thursday is on top of her game, trying to outwit Goliath and Yorrick Kaine, uneradicate her husband, and prevent the world from ending...again. Fforde excels at tongue-in-cheek humor, and the laughs are almost non-stop. The impression the reader gets is that Something Rotten was meant to be the last book in the series. If this is true, then it definitely would have ended on a high note. This is a true must-read for fans of the series.

Acknowledgements: I purchased this from Audible. show less

Sequels often start to run out of steam, but in this fourth book of the Thursday Next series, Jasper Fforde actually seems to be picking up speed. The wacky world that Thursday and her characters inhabit seems, well, "real" by now, firmly grounded on a set of unlikely principles. Most of the time. Anyhow, Fforde has managed to rope a host of plot threads together and tie them up into a fast-paced adventure in a very funny alternate reality. And I'd just like to say that if Fforde's invention, full-contact croquet, ever becomes a reality, I'll buy a season ticket.

4.5*

"I knocked at their door and, hearing no answer, walked in. When I was last working at SpecOps we rarely heard anything from the mildly eccentric members of the time-travelling elite, but when you work in the time business, you don’t waste it by nattering – it’s much too precious. My father always argued that time was far and away the most valuable commodity we had and that temporal profligacy should be a criminal offence – which kind of makes watching Celebrity Kidney Swap or reading Daphne Farquitt novels a crime straight away."

After being disappointed by book #2 and skipping book #3, I loved this one. Something Rotten had just the right mix of silliness with thoughtful digs at current affairs and contemporary discussions show more such as the argument about what makes humans human and what gives humans have the right to control other species, or the rights of other groups of humans for that matter.

Thursday has returned from the book world and again takes up the pursuit of a shady character that threatens the country. But, Thursday has not returned alone - Hamlet (aka the "ditherer") has come with her and so has Alan. I loved Alan, and I am having to read the rest of the series just to find out how he fares.

Yes. Never mind Thursday and the fate of Landon, my interests in this series are thoroughly invested in Pickwick and Alan! show less

After a couple years on the run from Goliath and leading the BookWorld police force, Thursday is ready for a break and returns to the real world. She’s got two missions - figure out what fictional book the rapidly-rising right-wing politician Yorrick Kaine hopped out of, and get her chronologically-erased husband back. Also in tow are her 2-year-old son Friday and Hamlet, who had a bit of a breakdown and needs some time away from his play. As usual, Thursday’s father pops by to tell Thursday she’s got to save the world from another apocalypse, and also that there’s an assassin after her.

I can see why this used to be my favorite book in the series - Thursday finally gets her man (again), Hamlet gets to get his shit together and show more be a real proactive hero for once show less

Thursday Next comes back from the BookWorld, in debt, still husband-less, and in need of child care. She tries to un-eradicate Landon while smuggling hundreds of Danish books out of England into Wales, evading a hit woman, trying to figure out why Yorrick Kaine is so popular, and running a Croquet team.

This book is sweeter than the others — there are the normal hijinks and world-ending disasters, but there is also the un-eradication of Landon, a lorem-ipsum-spouting toddler, Hamlet coming to grips with his inaction, and the real identity of Granny Next.