The Eyre Affair

Fforde, Jasper. (2003). The Eyre Affair. New York, NY: Penguin.

ISBN: 9780142001806

Pages: 374

Genre: fantasy, sci-fi, adventure

Annotation: Thursday Next must save Jane Eyre among other challenges.

Summary: Thursday Next, a dedicated Literary detective, is jolted out of her routine when a supposedly secure book is stolen. This brings her into disastrous contact with a villain who wants to use literature for his own gain. His plan is to use a device which literally allows people to step into the pages of books, and if they have the original story, change them forever. As if this is not enough, Thursday also comes into contact with the man she loves but also feels betrayed her ten years ago. A jaunt into the pages of Jane Eyre can help her with both problems.

Evaluation:  Excellent read.

The characters are engaging. Thursday is a lot like Jane Eyre: dependable and struggling to deal with emotions. Hades is an over the top villain the reader loves to hate. Landen Park-Laine is at once a romantic and/or someone the reader wants to yell at depending on the interpretation. The storyline keeps the reader interested: the premise of being able to step into a book alone is worth it. Thursday’s encounters with Hades, Goliath Corporation, Landen and those in Jane Eyre provoke laughter and/or thoughtfulness. The literary allusions, the mentions of societies and other elements help the reader to feel they are in a world where literature is king. The use of jarring elements such as dodos, airships versus airplanes and the Crimean War lasting over a century show the reader this is a world much different from our own. This book is an excellent read for readers who love books, retold tales, alternate history and humorous fantasy.

What else to read:

The other books in the Thursday Next series.

The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moer, translated by John Brownjohn, for another book about books.

The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey for a retold tale.

Heroics for Beginners by John Moore for humorous fantasy.

Harry Turtledove is a master of alternate history who has various “what if” scenarios from different time periods.

Murder in the Marais

Black, Cara. (1999). Murder in the Marais. New York, NY: Soho Press.

ISBN: 9781569471593

Pages: 354

Genre: Mystery

Annotation: Aimee Leduc must uncover old secrets to solve a murder.

Summary: Struggling computer analysis investigator Aimee Leduc is given a seemingly simple task with a big payoff: decode a photo and deliver it to a woman. Unfortunately, when she delivers the photo she finds the woman murdered. Aimee wants nothing else to do with the situation but finances compel her to solve the murder. Aimee’s investigation leads her to an unsolved murder during World War II. She faces a foe who is determined that secrets, past and present, should remain unrevealed.

Evaluation: good read

Aimee is interesting: she has tragedy in her past which still influences her present. The other modern day characters have potential as well, but could have been portrayed better. For example, I would have liked to have learned more about Renee’s past and why he was in the story. His purpose in the story seemed to be more as a sensational element, a dwarf, than as Aimee’s partner and that annoyed me.  I felt like the characters that lived during War World II were portrayed better: each had a clear purpose and backstory. The storyline was good to a certain extent because it was fast paced without being too fast paced. Where the storyline feel through was the portrayal of computer capabilities. This story had Aimee using computers in ways I would feel amazed at happening now let alone in 1999. It was worth suspending disbelief about that, though, to read about Paris in the past and present. The language, landscape and history are all shown well. This book is a good match for Paris fans, those interested in World War II interactions and strong female heroes.

What else to read:

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay for learning more about events during WWII in Paris  and how they are viewed in the present.

Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light by David Downie for learning more about Paris life.

Paris: The Biography of a City by Colin Jones for more about the history of Paris.

The Salaryman’s Wife by Sujata Massey for a heroine living, and solving mysteries, in another famous place (in this case Tokyo).

The other books in Cara Black’s Aimee Leduc Investigations series.

Sarah's Key

Rosnay, Tatiana de. (2007). Sarah’s Key. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.  

ISBN: 9780312370831

Pages: 294

Genre: historical fiction

Annotation: World War II events change a present day journalist’s life.

Summary: Julia Jarmond is a French journalist given an unexpected assignment: research the deportation of French Jews during World War Two. She finds that many people do not want to remember this part of French history. Why her husband’s family is among them haunts her. Determined to find closure, she embarks on a journey which will put her at odds with her husband and change the course of her life.

Evaluation: very good read

The two main characters, Julia and Sarah, are very well done and capture the reader’s attention. De Rosnay is very good at bringing the reader into their point of view. One part that bugged me, however, was Julia’s determination to find Sarah, or a relative, and speak with them.  This bothered me because I think Julia should have thought about the impact this would have on who she spoke with. The storyline is excellently done. Sarah’s story shows the different stages of a hellish journey that grabs the reader’s emotions and horrifies the mind. The reader is with Sarah going through the inhumane conditions and heart wrenching loss. It is not possible to totally understand something like this unless one experiences it, but the writing style makes it a close second. The reader sees the different types of reactions: denial, collaboration and justification.  Julia’s storyline causes the reader to wonder what they would do in her shoes. This book is a very good read for those wanting to learn more about Jews during World War II, French history or family secrets impacting the present, or brave heroines faced with difficult situations. 

What else to read:

Other books by Tatiana de Rosnay.

Murder in the Marais by Cara Black for another book in which events from World War II in Paris tie into the present.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum for World War II secrets changing the lives of the next generation.

The Kommandant’s Girl by Pam Jenoff for a Jewish heroine during World War II.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank for learning more about the lives of Jews during World War II.