No. of pages: 500+
Plot: 7/10
Characters and development: 7/10
Overall: 7/10
Recommend: Yes

It's been a very long time since I finished reading one entire book, and this book took me about 5 weeks to complete (yes I'm a slow reader). This is the first Jasper Fforde book I read, and I can definitely say that it did not disappoint.

In this book, Fforde paints a vivid picture of a world built on a hierarchy of colours. Each person was labelled by a specific hue, the only one they could easily see, and this hue, like genes, is inherited from parents. Greys are at the bottom of the hierarchy, while Purples are regarded as the most superior. The percentage of how much of the hue they could see was determined by the Ishihara test, taken only once in a person's entire life. The Ishihara test was said to be infallible and accurate. Certain laws applied to all individuals, including the forbidden marriage between complementary hues (yellow and purple, red and green, etc.).

The plot circulates about a 20-odd-year-old boy called Edward Russett, who had been sent from his homeland to East Carmine for a punishment on humility. There he meets Jane, a Grey who practically despises everyone around her. The book was about 500 pages but the plot centered around just a few days, so you can imagine how detailed Fforde's descriptions are. Anyway, in those short few days Edward (or Eddie) quickly uncovers the problems associated with the system and falls in love with Jane at the same time. I won't reveal too much about the plot, but really the concept of having colours as the basis for a hierarchy is truly creative, and it's what attracted my attention in the first place.

I found the book very absorbing and interesting, though at the start of the book Fforde introduced so many characters at once it became a little bit confusing. But afterwards the plot circulates around the same characters so it was not too bad. His second book of the series is going to be published this year if I'm not wrong, and I can't wait to get my hands on them.

I definitely recommend this book for readers who like stories with a whole new universe; Fforde was flawless in crafting this world, and I believe his other books are just as innovative and creative as well.

No. of pages: 500+
Plot: 7/10
Characters and development: 7/10
Overall: 7/10
Recommend: Yes

It's been a very long time since I finished reading one entire book, and this book took me about 5 weeks to complete (yes I'm a slow reader). This is the first Jasper Fforde book I read, and I can definitely say that it did not disappoint.

In this book, Fforde paints a vivid picture of a world built on a hierarchy of colours. Each person was labelled by a specific hue, the only one they could easily see, and this hue, like genes, is inherited from parents. Greys are at the bottom of the hierarchy, while Purples are regarded as the most superior. The percentage of how much of the hue they could see was determined by the Ishihara test, taken only once in a person's entire life. The Ishihara test was said to be infallible and accurate. Certain laws applied to all individuals, including the forbidden marriage between complementary hues (yellow and purple, red and green, etc.).

The plot circulates about a 20-odd-year-old boy called Edward Russett, who had been sent from his homeland to East Carmine for a punishment on humility. There he meets Jane, a Grey who practically despises everyone around her. The book was about 500 pages but the plot centered around just a few days, so you can imagine how detailed Fforde's descriptions are. Anyway, in those short few days Edward (or Eddie) quickly uncovers the problems associated with the system and falls in love with Jane at the same time. I won't reveal too much about the plot, but really the concept of having colours as the basis for a hierarchy is truly creative, and it's what attracted my attention in the first place.

I found the book very absorbing and interesting, though at the start of the book Fforde introduced so many characters at once it became a little bit confusing. But afterwards the plot circulates around the same characters so it was not too bad. His second book of the series is going to be published this year if I'm not wrong, and I can't wait to get my hands on them.

I definitely recommend this book for readers who like stories with a whole new universe; Fforde was flawless in crafting this world, and I believe his other books are just as innovative and creative as well.