One of Our Thursdays is Missing

There are two reasons I sat on the fence for so long on the latest Thusday Next novel from Jasper Fforde, One of Our Thursdays is Missing.

First, I wanted to read the book on my Kindle, and was worried about whether there would be footnoter phone gags in the book. Anyone who has followed the Thursday Next series knows that a large part of the fun owes to the footnotes that allow in-story characters to chat with one another off-story (as it were), and somehow the thought of having to endure this on the Kindle, even with hyperlinked footnotes, simply did not appeal to me.

Second, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about Fforde's prior outing in the series, First Among Sequels. No, let me be more direct: I found it disappointing. It could've been because the book featured an older Thursday; or maybe it was because Fforde decided to end that book on a cliffhanger (yet another gag, I'm sure). Whatever it was, I thought that First Among Sequels was already an indication that this series I once enjoyed so much was already in decline.

So it took months before I decided to take the plunge again. And I can't tell you why exactly. But I'm glad I did, because One of Our Thursdays is Missing is in my estimation probably the best book in the series to date.

(And there isn't a single footnoter phone gag, in case you were wondering.)

In many ways, reading through One of Our Thursdays is Missing is like rediscovering the series for the first time, mainly because the protagonist isn't series heroine Thursday Next, she of SpecOps and Jurisfiction. Rather, in keeping with the series' deliciously convoluted universe, the story unfolds from the perspective of the "fictional" Thursday Next (the one who appears in the novels written about the real Thursday) because, as the title suggests, the real Thursday Next has gone missing. This turn of events is a breath of fresh air for the series -- as does the addition of an awesome robot sidekick -- and readers get to see Fforde's imagination come to life yet again through characters both familiar and new at the same time. In my estimation, this means the book is ideal entry point for new readers, while fans will be thoroughly rewarded for sticking with the series as they will most likely appreciate the abundant references to continuity (personally, I still think that naming a character "Jack Schitt", however juvenile, is still pretty hilarious).

As a longtime reader, it's particularly enjoyable to see Fforde at his wittiest and most creative in One of Our Thursdays is Missing. Case in point: he has the gumption to reuse the opening paragraphs of a chapter in one of the prior books in this one, but manages to do it in a way that makes complete, absolute sense. I can't think of any writer who can pull off a stunt like that. Or explain why people get drowsy while reading a book. Or any number of the jokes and references he includes for bibliophiles to enjoy. Whether you find one or many of these references, it doesn't matter: you will enjoy each all the same just because you spotted them.

I discovered Jasper Fforde's work through his nursery crime series, but there's no denying that Thursday Next remains his flagship work. His love of books and of reading always shine through in each Thursday Next book, and to my mind they shine brightest in One of Our Thursdays is Missing.  Somehow, it's fitting that it took a "fictional" Thursday for me to rediscover my appreciation for the series. Indeed, as the book drew to a close, I couldn't help but wonder whether which character I liked better: the "real" Thursday or the "fictional" one. I really can't say. But I can say that it doesn't really matter: given Fforde's boundless imagination, I'm sure that there will be readers will soon be treated to more of Thursday Next's adventures -- whether the fictional one or otherwise.