The Fourth Bear

Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books are brilliant. The Nursery Crime books don't quite live up to the Thursday Next ones, but I've still enjoyed them. The Fourth Bear is clever, tongue-in-cheek, and a good read. It can be hard to immerse yourself into the Ffordian world, but once you make it, the (il)logic starts to make sense. And as a book nerd, I love the word play and the literary references.

Just as much fun as The Big Over Easy and requires/rewards just as much attentiveness with the multiple converging plot threads and never-ceasing jokes. I'd love to know what it's like to be in Fforde's head for a few moments.

Racism and immigration laws are the commentary targets for this one, rather than the usual capitalism/bureaucracy, bringing it a little closer to The Constant Rabbit.

My favorite chapters in the book involve the alien Ash, who gets “humanized” as we learn more about his life, family, hopes and dreams and so on.