Shades Of GreyJasper Fforde (2009)
Review by Kim
1984 meets Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, then they have a baby and call it Shades of Grey. Neither’s entirely sure it’s their own kid, though. 1984’s afraid Anthem might have beat him to the punch, and Hitchhiker wonders if she’s a surrogate mother, but hasn’t got a clue who either parent was. It’s all a bit odd and dreamlike, though, so who really cares?
Pinpointing the genre, much less the plot, is a bit tricky. It’s about as far down the science fiction road I happily venture, and I’m not big on the distopian undertones or the not-so-subtle Christian-bashing. But it’s just so fun and quirky and, I assume, highly intelligent that I gobbled it up, willingly suspending my disbelief for lots longer than usual.
The story’s about this world that’s divided along color lines, though not as we know them. These are color lines based on what color the characters can see. Eddie Russett is our protagonist, and, oddly enough, a Red. I’m a bit fuzzy on how it all works, but he’s clearly got it sorted out, though stumbling through the rest of the book certainly lands him in some interesting predicaments, to say the least.
It’s really one of those books you’ve got to read for yourself to see if you like it, but if you liked Jasper Fforde’s Eyre Affair and/or Nursery Crime series, I think you’ll enjoy what I feel I should classify as a colorful romp through – well, some sort of world.
As for its parents, perhaps they were Tom Stoppard and Little Shop of Horrors. Not quite sure how that would work, but then again, I’m not quite sure how Shades of Grey works either. It just does.
Thanks again, Kim!
2 comments:
Sounds interesting, I'll have to read this at some point. Although first I should perhaps read the books that follow on from The Eyre Affair seeing as how long they've been sitting in the bookshelf looking at me accusingly!
This is a great book...
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