Time again for Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine) where I get to talk about a book I just can't wait to read. This week I am extremely excited about Jasper Fforde's new book which also happens to be a dystopia - how exciting is that?! I love the creativity and world creation of his Thursday Next series and the premise of this one - A brilliant new novel about a world where social order and destiny are dictated by the colors you can see - sounds highly orginal.The product description from amazon:
Part social satire, part romance, part revolutionary thriller, Shades of Grey tells of a battle against overwhelming odds. In a society where the ability to see the higher end of the color spectrum denotes a better social standing, Eddie Russet belongs to the low-level House of Red and can see his own color—but no other. The sky, the grass, and everything in between are all just shades of grey, and must be colorized by artificial means.
Eddie’s world wasn’t always like this. There’s evidence of a never-discussed disaster and now, many years later, technology is poor, news sporadic, the notion of change abhorrent, and nighttime is terrifying: no one can see in the dark. Everyone abides by a bizarre regime of rules and regulations, a system of merits and demerits, where punishment can result in permanent expulsion.
Eddie, who works for the Color Control Agency, might well have lived out his rose-tinted life without a hitch. But that changes when he becomes smitten with Jane, a Grey Nightseer from the dark, unlit side of the village. She shows Eddie that all is not well with the world he thinks is just and good. Together, they engage in dangerous revolutionary talk.
Stunningly imaginative, very funny, tightly plotted, and with sly satirical digs at our own society, this novel is for those who loved Thursday Next but want to be transported somewhere equally wild, only darker; a world where the black and white of moral standpoints have been reduced to shades of grey.
See a pictorial teaser at Jasper's website.
OK. WOW. Too bad we all have to wait until July 2009!
I am totally waiting for this one too! It sounds really unique and interesting and I love the Thursday Next books. What I'm really waiting for is a new one of those. ;)
ReplyDeleteI still have to read First Among Sequels (it is on my shelf) - but I want to wait until I can really savor it :)
ReplyDeleteOkay yeah WOW is right! How come I have never heard of this before!? It kind of reminds me of The Giver because you know how the main character can see colors and that is one of the signs that he is the honorary Giver. I don't know, but I just need to stop talking now (:
ReplyDeleteI had never even heard of this one, but the concept sounds AMAZING. My list just keeps growing...and growing...and...
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I'll be looking for this one.
ReplyDeleteAww...that is awhile, but it sounds SO good. I have the first Thursday Next book I believe, but I haven't been able to read it yet. I hope too soon...perhaps before this new novel comes out. LOL
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of The Giver..that kind of world, you know?
-Lauren
hahahha i didn't even see Emily's comment until now. Guess we BOTH agree it's like The Giver. Sweet Deal!
ReplyDeleteNormally "dystopia" would turn me off, but this sounds really. good. And Emily--I immediately thought of The Giver, too! I'm putting this on by TBR list.
ReplyDeleteI'm eagerly awaiting this one, too! I have a friend who loves Fforde, and she always reads those books picturing me as Thursday Next!
ReplyDeleteWow is right. I've never heard of the author but that sounds fantastic. And, yeah, I thought of The Giver, too.
ReplyDeleteSounds very interesting :) I love reading about dystopian societies and coming up with my own wacky societies - what if we lived in a world where everyone had a thought bubble over their head that played their thoughts for everyone to see? That would be scary...
ReplyDeleteYes, decidedly Giver-esque, which can only be a good thing!
ReplyDeleteAnd Amber, that would be scary - there is something very similar to that in The Knife of Never Letting Go which I reviewed here .
I had not heard about this new book. I have every other Jasper Fforde book and can not wait for this one to come out. Sounds interesting. Thanks for mentioning it!
ReplyDeleteHmm our world now is divided by racial colors and in that book it's visible colors? I love the play on concept. Added to my list - thanks!
ReplyDeleteSteph
Oooh, I didn't know he had a new book coming out. Thanks for the heads-up!
ReplyDeleteSounds neat!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a must-read to me. In fact, it won't surprise you at all to know that I didn't have to read past "This week I am extremely excited about Jasper Fforde's new book which also happens to be a dystopia - how exciting is that?!"
ReplyDeleteJen - I WAS totally thinking of you when I wrote that :)
ReplyDeleteI was thrilled to read this post. I am also a huge Jasper Fforde fan and had no idea when his next book would be out. This one sounds really promising. Thanks for the info :D
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