The Fourth BearJasper Fforde
You may have noticed a lack of posts lately (actually, you probably haven't, but let's pretend) -- and this is a good thing. No posts = kicking ass in my resolution. It's been trying, especially when some books just suck.
Which brings me to The Fourth Bear. I wanted to like it: everyone else seems to. Fforde's got a good enough idea going, treating fairytale characters as though they are real, but the jokes and gags that follow all seem like too much effort for not enough of a return.
First, a recap: The Fourth Bear begins as Goldilocks, an investigative reporter, questions a local cucumber grower. Soon, the grower is dead and Goldilocks is missing. Jack Spratt of the Nursery Crime Division investigates her whereabouts, and he soon finds -- wait for it -- the three bears. These honest bears, however, know nothing about Goldilocks present location, leading Spratt to believe in the presence of a fourth bear. Meanwhile, the notorious Gingerbread Man is running amok, leaving innocent victims in his wake. If only Spratt can solve the crime in time...
Which brings me to The Fourth Bear. I wanted to like it: everyone else seems to. Fforde's got a good enough idea going, treating fairytale characters as though they are real, but the jokes and gags that follow all seem like too much effort for not enough of a return.
First, a recap: The Fourth Bear begins as Goldilocks, an investigative reporter, questions a local cucumber grower. Soon, the grower is dead and Goldilocks is missing. Jack Spratt of the Nursery Crime Division investigates her whereabouts, and he soon finds -- wait for it -- the three bears. These honest bears, however, know nothing about Goldilocks present location, leading Spratt to believe in the presence of a fourth bear. Meanwhile, the notorious Gingerbread Man is running amok, leaving innocent victims in his wake. If only Spratt can solve the crime in time...
Sure, he looks cute. . .
but wait until he rips off your arms
but wait until he rips off your arms
Unfortunately, for Spratt and his cronies, I was rooting for the Gingerbread Man, who was the most interesting character in the book -- Fforde should have let the Man do as he pleased. I really didn't care whether Spratt ever found Goldilocks and solved the cucumber mystery (which became way too complicated for my blood). 
The running jokes involving fairytale characters in real-life setting were cute at first, but the humor faded quickly. I had to force myself to finish, and, had this not been the only book available during an interminable transatlantic flight, I probably wouldn't have finished at all.
In a nutshell: Cute and quirky at first...but the cute and quirky wore off quickly. Fforde's novels are immensely successful, though, so you might not want to take my word for it.
Bibliolatry Scale: 2 out of 6 stars
Oh, and if you want the answer to the question posed in the title of this post, it's because he has crummy legs. Get it? GET IT? That's so funny right? Just like this book.
The running jokes involving fairytale characters in real-life setting were cute at first, but the humor faded quickly. I had to force myself to finish, and, had this not been the only book available during an interminable transatlantic flight, I probably wouldn't have finished at all. In a nutshell: Cute and quirky at first...but the cute and quirky wore off quickly. Fforde's novels are immensely successful, though, so you might not want to take my word for it.
Bibliolatry Scale: 2 out of 6 stars
Oh, and if you want the answer to the question posed in the title of this post, it's because he has crummy legs. Get it? GET IT? That's so funny right? Just like this book.
3 comments:
This is how I feel about Ffffforde as a whole: Great idea, but the whole thing smacks of effort.
I have noticed! And that's too bad about the book...I love the premise.
Have you read Fforde's Thursday Next series? They are waaaaaay better than the Nursery Crimes books.
The Thursday Next novels are about literature, not fairy tales. I got the sense that with the Nursery Crime series he was trying too hard to reach a broader audience.
Seriously, read The Eyre Affair (that's the first in the Thursday Next series, although Lost in a Good Book is my favorite). With the Thursday Next series he is much more successful in being clever and quirky without the obvious effort.
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