THE EYRE AFFAIR

In this delicious spoof, Londoners, in a fantastical 1985, take their literature very seriously. Jasper Fforde’s first novel introduces heroine Thursday Next, SpecOps-27 Literary Detective. Time-travel is commonplace (Thursday’s father, a member of the ChronoGuard, is off correcting history’s mistakes), while dirigible is the best way to make long trips in real time. The Crimean War has been claiming victims for 135 years and, oh yes, literary characters slip in and out of their books as necessary. Fforde’s smart-alecky wit is served well by Elizabeth Sastre’s performance. Her slightly bemused, slightly bewildered Thursday becomes everything a feisty P.I. should be. Her ingenuous yet intelligent reading brings zaniness to all Fforde’s literary jokes. Fforde handles his material deftly, with tongue planted firmly in cheek. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 02]