epub, 496 pages

German language

Published by Heyne.

ISBN:
978-3-8387-2332-7
Copied ISBN!
4 stars (49 reviews)

An astonishing, hotly anticipated new novel from the great literary fantasist and creator of Thursday Next, Jasper Fforde. As long as anyone can remember, society has been ruled by a Colortocracy. From the underground feedpipes that keep the municipal park green to the healing hues viewed to cure illness to a social hierarchy based upon one's limited color perception, society is dominated by color. In this world, you are what you can see.Young Eddie Russett has no ambition to be anything other than a loyal drone of the Collective. With his better-than-average red perception, he could well marry Constance Oxblood and inherit the string works; he may even have enough red perception to make prefect.For Eddie, life looks colorful. Life looks good.But everything changes when he moves with his father, a respected swatchman, to East Carmine. There, he falls in love with a Grey named Jane who opens his eyes …

17 editions

reviewed Grau by Jasper Fforde (Eddie Russett, #1)

Review of 'Grau' on 'Storygraph'

No rating

Sadly, Jasper Fforde's characteristically relentless inventiveness was beginning to pall after 50 pages; the invention hadn't stopped, so I did.

Review of 'Shades of Grey' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Shades of Grey, the first in its series, has a plot that is very hard to describe. Jasper Fforde is impressively creative and witty, but for whatever reason, I did not find this especially riveting, though I liked it for its quirkiness. This is not the laugh-out-loud fest The Eyre Affair was, but humorous, nonetheless.

Actually, Jasper Fforde's own review (cuddlebuggery.com/blog/2013/05/30/review-shades-of-grey-by-jasper-fforde/) is pretty funny. It really is a relief to find out where all the spoons went.

In this case, I suspect the sequels may be funnier, partly because the reader will have had the chance to digest some of the rules at work in this bizarre world.

Review of 'Shades of Grey' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Yes, it's an unfortunate title. Overlook it.

This is a classic "what if..." kind of SF novel -- in this case, what if there were a post-apocalypic society based on Munsell's color theory, where one's status in society is determined by the type of color and how much of it you can see.

The somewhat bizarre premise is redeemed by the fact that Fforde is a terrific writer, and although the world-building is never quite believable, its a well-told tale, and a whole lot of fun.

This was my first Fforde, but I think I need to read more of his work, because this book was so charming and funny and unique. Looking forward to it.

reviewed Shades of grey by Jasper Fforde (The Road to High Saffron, Part 1)

Review of 'Shades of grey' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

An entertaining satire of the dystopian novel. In the distant future, everyone is colour blind and status is determined by your perception of colour. Life is governed by the Rulebook which has many pointless and amusing rules. I like that even though the future is limited in technology, current online concepts such as feedback and adding friends lives on. I'm a bit of a colour theory geek so loved all the stuff about colour! The style is true Jasper Fforde too so if you've enjoyed his other books, you'll probably like this one.

I think this is the first part of a planned trilogy rather than an ongoing series. I have an inkling as to the reasoning behind rule 3.9.34.59.667 so I'll be eagerly awiting the next instalment.

Review of 'Shades of Grey' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I'd never read any of Fforde's works before -- I bought it on a gamble; I liked what I read on the back cover. It paid off. This book is amazing, just amazing. One of the most original dystopian novels to be written in years. It's also surprisingly funny at times, and will leave you with more than a few thoughts to chew over once you've turned the last page. I can't wait until the next book in the series is released.

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Subjects

  • Color blindness
  • Social structure
  • Fiction
  • Large type books