#23 A New York Times Best-Seller Challenge; The Eyre Affair

When I originally took on the challenge my intention was to read the book A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron for challenge #23-A NY Time Best-Seller. A co-worker had picked it up for her kindle and was describing the general plot to me. Sounded like a book right up my ally. Then the recent loss of my own beloved dog put me off the idea of reading that particular book. I may come back to read that book when the loss stings a little less.

I was wondering around the local B&N, with a 50% off coupon in hand searching for a book that would count toward my reading challenge, when I came across the answer to #23.

My book choice is The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde...

Last year I took on a fiction genre reading challenge which I failed to fully complete. I was suppose to read 11 books (I took the option of dropping 1 genre from the original 12) in different genres of fiction e.i. horror, sci-fi, thriller, romance, western, etc. I missed by 2 books-detective and fantasy. The reason I mention this is I read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë for my romance genre in last years challenge.

The Eyre Affair is not a spin off/or take on the classic lit of Brontë. But I think reading Jane Eyre gave me an appreciation for this book that I would not have had otherwise. I've read a few reviews that downed the book because they were expecting it to be of a writing quality comparable to classic literature because there are many references to different classics in the book. The writing is rough in the beginning but smooths out toward the end.

Book Summary from Goodreads.com:

"Welcome to a surreal version of Great Britain, circa 1985, where time travel is routine, cloning is a reality, (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wadsworth poem, militant Baconians heckle performances of Hamlet, and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection, until someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature. When Jane Eyre is plucked from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday must track down the villain and enter the novel herself to avert a heinous act of literary homicide."

The characters could have used a bit more depth and story could have a bit more refined-it was a bit choppy at the beginning. The time travel and resurrected dodo are easy to recognize departures from our reality. Differences in the Jane Eyre story and Crimean War may not be as recognizable if not familiar with their original context. Fforde does explain the basic concept of Jane Eyre for those that have not read it.

I was not put off like some people on the cheesy, odd naming of characters, Archeron Hades, the criminal mastermind, Victor Analogy, co-working lit detective, Jack Schitt, the corporate man working for a company that cares more about money and power than the people and state of the world.

The novel has a lot of whimsy and imagination and to me that did a lot to overcome the less desirable writing issues. The imaginative world brought me into and through the story, and I would not mind visit Thursday's adventures again. I hesitate recommending it because there is a such a mix of reviews. If you need hardcore story/character development to get through a novel steer clear. If the idea and imagination in the novel perk your interest perhaps borrow it from a friend or the library and give it a whirl.

Rating: ***1/2

374pp

#2 New Genre Challenge; Soulless

Challenge #2 states that the novel should be of a new genre, or a genre that you do not often read. I decided to try a steampunk novel, which is technically a sub-genre of science fiction/fantasy, but I feel it is sufficient enough.

I picked up three books that were dug up as steampunk from my online searches. I decided to read the first chapter of each of the to help decide which book I most wanted to read. That may have turned out to be a mistake, as I'm anxious to read both the other books now too. Eventually I did decide to read one of books for my steampunk genre challenge.

My book choice is Soulless by Gail Carriger...

Here is what the Wikipedia page has to say about defining Steampunk for those that may not know:

"Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s.^[1] Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian eraBritain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistictechnology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may haveenvisioned them; in other words, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion,culture, architectural style, art, etc. This technology may include such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne or real technologies like the computer but developed earlier in an alternate history."

This one has the steam powered, Victorian era British story line with bits of sci fi and more bits of fantasy. I picked this novel over the other two because it seemed a light read. And it was an easy, light read with some comical points.

The novel is about a 26 year old spinster who gets attacked by a vampire and the ensuing investigation into why, with a touch of romance as well. She is a preternatural, that is someone without a soul. This gives her the ability to make the supernatural characters of the world (vampires, werewolves, etc) mortal while touching them.

It was not one of those novels where the story gets lost to the romance plot line. I liked the characters of the novel and the story progressed nicely. I would say it was a pretty decent read if you like the vampire/werewolf Victorian era British type stories.

Rating: ***1/2

357pp