A Nursery Crime (A Nursery Crime Novel) - The Big Over Easy

This is an early Jasper Fforde book that was rewritten following the success of "The Eyre Affair" and the rest of that series. Readers of "The Well of Lost Plots" will remember that Thursday Next vacationed in an unpublished book called "Caversham Heights", where she met DCI Briggs. This story also takes place in Caversham Heights, this time starring Detective Inspector Jack Spratt, who still eats no fat, and who heads the struggling Nursery Crime Division.

Jack has been very unlucky to be working in the shadow of popular Detective Friedland Chymes, and has just spectacularly lost a major case where the murderous three little pigs got off the hook for the death of the unfortunate big bad wolf. With the Department about to be shut down due to budget cuts and too few published cases, Jack gets a lease on life with the arrival of a contrary new partner, Sergeant Mary Mary and the messy death of Humperdinck Jehoshaphat Aloyius Stuyvesant van Dumpty, a.k.a. Humpty Dumpty.

As the book works its convoluted way to a grand and totally out of left field finale, be prepared to get brain strain trying to remember the dozen plus nursery rhymes thrown casually in the mix, as well as keeping track of the numerous and diverse characters, including an alien who speaks in binary, an aging movie starlet and a disgraced Greek Titan.

Although sometimes a little too clever for its own good, and too far fetched even for a fantasy, it's very entertaining reading, and a good choice for fans of Jasper Fforde.

Amanda Richards, October 26, 2005

When ex-con and ladies' egg Humpty Dumpty is found shattered next to a brick wall the only man for the job is Jack Spratt, the head of Reading's Nursery Crime Division, and his new partner, Detective Sergeant Mary Mary. Looking into Humpty Dumpty's many semi-legal money deals and even more love affairs Spratt and Mary are pulled into a homicide investigation that reaches into all levels of Reading's society and business. A peculiar case even by Nursery Crimes standards, Spratt is in a race to find the culprit before being forced to give the case up to his old partner, the renowned and slimy DCI Friedland Chymes. With Chymes breathing down his neck, not sure whether Sergeant Mary is a friend or foe, and the Most Worshipful Guild of Detectives observer sent to evaluate him for entry, DI Spratt must use all of his Nursery Crime knowledge to find the answers, but the answers are nothing like even he expected.

First mentioned in The Well of Lost Plots from his Thursday Next Series Fforde masterfully uses wit and clever writing to tell a strange, fun, sordid tale of the death of Humpty Dumpty. With characters ranging from Prometheus to Rapunzel, any one, including aliens, can and do pop up in this story. Fforde has a very rich and textured writing style giving his stories both the absurd and ironic edge he loves. Prime examples in this book include things like Spratt's lime green Austin Allegro which is more aerodynamic going in reverse, or the Déjà vu Ballroom where Reading's D-Class celebrities get together to mingle and be seen.

I adore Jasper Fforde and always have high expectations whenever I read something from him and this book in no way disappointed me. A fun, quick and easy read, it will have you laughing out loud.

For the full review and others visit whymsylikesbooks dot blogspot dot com

Take your hard-boiled Raymond Chandler dectective novel and pass it through Alice's looking glass, and PRESTO: The Big Over Easy. It takes magic to pull off this theme of three little pigs, the big bad wolf, Humpty Dumpty, and all the nursery rhyme charcaters being put into the "reality crime fiction novel hat"; without the reader being at all concerned about the absurdity of it all. It is dashing/ daring and soooo much fun! For instance, those CSI fans will be delighted with the new forensic technique known as the "cake-crumb scatter-pattern identification". "This works on the principle that if someone lets cake out while talking, the crumbs are ejected from the mouth at different rates, according to the syllables of words spoken. By analyzing the pattern of crumbs on the table cloth, I was able to deduce that the conversation was not about the weather, as stated, but the misdiagnosis of botulism poisoning..." So if your tired from some heavy reading-then go over easy, through the looking glass, and have some fun! Highly recommended!!!!!

Crime fiction can get a bit repetitive if you read a lot of it, and so it's good to have something like The Big Over Easy come along and provide a breath of something different in a well-worn genre.

A gifted writer, Fforde may have over-reached a little bit with this book - there are a LOT of concurrent storylines - but for the most part it's a good mystery. The details of the case were far more interesting than the characters themselves, who seem to plod along at the speed of the information they uncover.

But, then again, the case of Humpty Dumpty is very interesting, involving every cliche in the the crime genre and breathing life into it: evil corporations, burned-out women still surviving on cunning and their looks, competing police departments, grizzled detectives, coffee, crime scenes, AND nursery characters, too.

Anyone whose tastes in crime fiction have waned in recent years may be interested in this book. Also, people who enjoy fantasy novels involving their favorite childhood characters may want to give 'Over Easy' a shot. No pun intended, Humpty.

Jasper Fforde must be a seriously demented individual. First we have the tales of Thursday Next, who travels into books and other assorted places, and now we have detectives who solve crimes involving nursery rhyme characters! I will give the author credit for building a fairly convincing world into which he places his players. Actually, the murder plot is quite good, worthy of a regular crime novel (despite the odd characters), and there are enough red herrings to fill a medium sized aquarium. We have well-delineated characters, and they act appropriately. In sum, this is a book for those who have a perverted and weird sense of humor (as I do), and who are quick to spot the allusions to other works and things. It's enjoyable fun, and what more can you ask from a book of this type?

I picked this up at random from my local library, which has only strengthened my belief that the best things in life are found when we don't look for them. After reading the jacket description, I was confused enough to check it out. It was thoroughly enjoyable; full of witty dialogue, amusing characters, and a different look at traditional nursery characters. The newspaper excerpts at the beginning of each chapter were also funny, and helped fill in little information gaps. The ending was unexpected and cliched at the same time, but somehow that worked really well for this book. I highly recommend it, and plan to look for the sequel next time I go to the library.

Jasper Fforde first became famous for his Thursday Next books, hard-boiled detective stories set in an alternate, highly literate reality.

And in "The Big Over Easy," he changes his focus to nursery rhymes and folktales, with a bit of Greek mythology and Monty Python thrown in for good measure. It's not as clever his previous works, but still an amusing, humorous twist on your usual detectie story.

Sergeant Mary Mary has just been stationed in Reading, and is disappointed to find that she's been assigned to the Nursery Crime Division's Jack Spratt, who has a reputation for offing giants and losing cases. A murder comes up immediately -- alcoholic egg Humpty Dumpty is found shattered, but did he simply fall off the wall, or was it murder?

Spratt and Mary investigate a variety of suspects: a bitter ex-wife, a mad scientist, paramours, a foot-powder company owner. and a newly-released Titan who soon moves in with Spratt's family and falls for his daughter. But as the NCD approaches its end date, Spratt and Mary discover a horrifying conspiracy linked with Humpty's death...

"The Big Over Easy" was actually the first book Jasper Fforde ever wrote, but it was rejected for presumably being too strange. Well, it's not terribly surprising -- this detective story includes aliens, gods, genetic freaks, and three piglets who cold-bloodedly murder a wolf. And the beautiful plumage of a Norwegian blue.

It seems a lot like your average detective story, except these sleuths gain fame by selling their stories, and do autopsies on eggs ("They can't be certain, as so much of Humpty's albumen was washed away"). He cleverly weaves in various seemingly unimportant plot threads into the central conspiracy, right up to the solid climax.

Fforde writes it out in a straight-faced manner, no matter how absurd it gets -- in one scene Prometheus insists, "I was certainly NEVER in love with Asia. As I recall, she was myopic and couldn't pronounce her Rs." That doesn't mean he doesn't make it funny -- there are "realistic" versions of nursery rhymes and folktales, and a lot of terrible puns ("That's one seriously pickled egg").

Jack (who occupies the Sprat, Giant-Killer and Beanstalk roles) is a likable guy -- an underdog whose department is about to be disbanded, and whose reputation is laughable. But we also see him as a loving family man and dedicated cop, who just has bad luck. Mary starts off rather unsympathetic, but gradually we start to like her as she starts to like Spratt.

"The Big Over Easy" is a somewhat looser, more straightforward story than Fforde's other work, but it's still an entertaining, humorous detective story. And just what is the Sacred Gonga?

I picked up "The Big Over Easy" afetr having read several of the "Thursday Next" books. I do enjoy Fforde's style. He assumes and intelligence in his audience, as well as a familiarity with a wide range of fiction.

"The Big Over Easy" is set in the world of Nursery Crimes where Detective Jack Sprat, and his assistant Sgt. Mary Mary, are investigating the "crack-up" of Humpty Dumpty. The investigation takes place with Fforde's style of characters from other literary works -- clearly with a focus toward Nursery Rhymes as Spratt investigates the mystery, and battles with his rival Ferdinand Chimes, all while also dealing with a visit of the Jellyman and the impending dissolution of the Nursery Crimes unit.

If you enjoyed the Thursday Next series you'll like this book. I don't think it measures up as fully as the Thursday Next series. the character are a bit more one dimensional, and the "world" is not as well outlined, but Fforde's humor and slightly askew way of looking at literature comes through intact.

Don't worry . . .

This is not a Thursday Next novel. That fact seems to bother some people. Live with it. On its own, this is a typically amusing and typically over-extended piece of ffordiana.

An the store reviewer is especially disturbed about being unable to place this book in relation to the Thursday Next tetrology. Well, this book is set in Thursday's world, but it is in the present. The Thursday books are set in 1985 and possibly extend into 1986--starting, as we are often told, 131 years after the beginning of the Crimean War. The time displacement is consistent. Some people have grown older and achieved promotion--Briggs. Some have grown older, peaked in their careers and are now on the downward slide--Lola, whose career foundered on a disastrous movie production of "The Eyre Affair" in which she must have portrayed Thursday.

Although she does not appear, I think that we can be fairly sure that Thursday is somewhere in the landscape in vigorous middle age. And Friday Next is there too, a young man of quite extraordinary accomplishments who is undoubtedly making some donnish tutors notably uncomfortable at Oxbridge. (I rather hope that he turns up in a future book.)

. . . be happy!

When Humperdinck Jehoshaphat van Dumpty, better known as Humpty Dumpty, falls off the wall once too often and is shattered beyond repair, Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and his partner Mary Mary of the Nursery Crime Division of the city of Reading are assigned the investigation. The case turns from accidental death to one of murder. Dumpty was a womanizer and con man who had been involved in a lot of shady dealings and who had lots of enemies. Jack is still stinging from not being able to bring the three little pigs to justice for their wanton murder of Mr. Wolff. He wants to shake his reputation for having a poor solve rate for his cases, so cracking the Dumpty case is important to him. How can he solve this high-profile case and prevent the maligned Nursery Crimes Division from being disbanded? How can he keep superstar Detective Friedland Chymes from stealing the investigation from him? Why was Dumpty buying up all the shares of Spongg's Footcare stock before his untimely death? And most important of all, how can the resolution of this case make good copy for a future issue of Amazing Crime Stories magazine?

Author Jasper Fforde has switched gears from his Thursday Next series to begin a new series of hard-boiled police procedurals based on Nursery Crime cases. "The Big Over Easy" has many funny moments as Fforde places familiar nursery rhyme characters in unusual situations. There are puns galore, and humorous character names such as Hercule Porridge, Miss Maple, Lord Peter Flimsey, and Winsum & Loosum. Each chapter is prefaced with an excerpt from an imaginary book that covers a literary topic in this topsy-turvy world. Examples include the Ugly Stepsisters suing fairy tale publications for defamation of character, the testing of a transmutation device that worked temporarily when it turned a pumpkin into a coach, and the banning of the use of twins as plot devices in crime stories.

Fforde parodies detective fiction and nursery rhymes in an innovative and humorous way, but the world in which the story takes place is not as well developed as that in which Thursday Next lived. It is unclear which characters are from books and which are real, if any. Adding to the confusion is the inclusion of a binary-talking extraterrestrial alien. Whether the concept of satirizing a mix of nursery rhymes and detective stories will quickly become tedious or not remains to be seen (the next in the series will feature Jack and Mary in the case of "The Fourth Bear"). But in the meanwhile, I recommend this story for fans of the Thursday Next series, since it employs Fforde's trademark British humor and is an entertaining literary spoof.

Eileen Rieback

Detective Jack Spratt debuts in Fforde's imaginative Nursery Crime series. The underrated detective, fresh off losing his case against the Three Little Pigs for first-degree murder of Mr. Wolff, is assigned to "crack the case" of Humpty Dumpty's death. Murder or Suicide? Time after time, Spratt and sidekick Mary Mary think they have solved the case, but lingering doubts and new clues pop up. Fforde is a reader's delight - oodles of literary references that are never obscure because they are about nursery rhyme characters. Very clever conceit; impeccably executed.

Jasper Fforde is one of the best fantasy writers around. The early Thursday Next and the Shades of Gray (not to be confused with) series are really great.
This I found this book more of a stretch. I think the idea is just a bit too far fetched, and I didn't really empathize with the protagonists that much. My advice: read his other books before this, but if you have read them and want more Fforde, then, hey this is still a LOT better them 90% of fantasy out there.

In Reading, England Nursery Crimes Davison Detective Jack Spratt is upset that his latest open and shut homicide case fell apart as the court declared those three murdering pigs not guilty of first-degree murder of Mr. Wolff. However Jack has no time to wallow over his next meal as he is assigned the case of Humpty Dumpty who fell from a wall.

Assigned to work with Jack is quite contrary rookie know-it-all Mary Mary. Jack and Mary, Mary dig deep into the world of yoke learning that Humpty's life was in the dumps. His wife divorced him for womanizing with more women than the king has horses and men. His former lovers hated him enough to want to see him fried. So many suspects wanted HD scrambled and had the opportunity as the victim liked to sit on a wall and think, but the nimble Jack and his sidekick Mary two times struggle to figure who would commit the act.

This is a weird often satirical and amusing police procedural in which nursery rhymes serve as an alternate world. The story line is clever and literary to the point that writing about solving crime receives more accolades than solving the crime. The little encounters with nursery rhyme characters are fun sort of mindful of Shrek. However, the irony of the story line is that the sidebar nursery rhyme anecdotes though fun at times overwhelm the plot; if only Jack was as nimble as Thursday.

Harriet Klausner

This is murder mystery. Detective Inspector Jack Spratt of the Nursery Crime Division is assigned to investigate the death of Humpty Dumpty. Assisted by Detective Sergeant Mary Mary, they struggle to find out if the oversized egg died by accidental, by suicide or by murder. To further confuse the issue, several people admit to murdering Humpty but their confession doesn't jibe with reality. Throw in a failing foot remedy company whose almost worthless stock Humpty bought up in huge batches for unknown reasons. Another unknown is were he got the gold he used to buy the shares.
I expected humor from this novel ( and got it ), but I didn't expect to find a fully developed and very complicated mystery.
This is the first Fforde novel I read and now I'll be searching for more of them to read.

Tales From Gundarland: Eight humorous stories from the land of the incongruous

Detective Jack Spratt has landed a real toughy this time. Someone has murdered Humpty Dumpty. Shattered him into a million pieces. Jack and his partner Mary Mary have plenty of suspects. Humpty was something of a ladies man, and was having several affairs. He was also involved with some shady business dealings. The Nursey Crime Division will have to sort it all out before Humpty's killer strikes again!

Jasper Fforde is a genius. I wish I had written most of his books. They are so clever and entertaining, that I am jealous of Fforde's talent. "The Big Over Easy" was a hysterical read that I could not put down. The nursery rhyme theme was precious, and Fforde management to keep it on the adult level.

I highly recommend this and all of Fforde's works.

I read this book and thought it was extremely clever but I just could not bring myself to give it more than three stars.

The basic plot premis is that the Reading, England, police department has a section called the Nursery Crime Division where Detective Inspector Jack Spratt works. Jack has just finished a case (The Crown v. Three Pigs) which should have resulted in the certain conviction of three pigs in the murder of a wolf. But, in an unforseen development, a jury of the pigs peers acquit them of the murder and his department head is telling Jack that the departmental budgetary meeting is going to result in the disbandment of the NCD. Not a good day for Jack. But things get even worse. Humpty Dumpty is found dead at the bottom of the wall where he liked to sit and think. Was it an accident, suicide or could it have been murder? Jack is assigned a new partner, Sergeant Mary Mary, who has transferred in from Basingstoke in the hopes of working with her hero and longtime contributor to Amazing Crimes Magazine, Detective Friedland Chymes. Jack doesn't want a new Official Sidekick, Mary wants to work with another detective, and Chymes wants to take over the Dumpty case so he can write it up for Amazing Crimes. Let the intrigue begin!

The first book I read by Jasper Fforde was The Eyre Affair with the Thursday Next character. I just fell for the whole concept. I had wanted the Nursery Crimes stories to be as enjoyable for me, if not more so. Sadly I cannot say that it was. Fforde has the most incredible imagination. He has taken a topic which we are all familiar with, nursery rhymes, and turned them upside down and inside out. The characters are all familiar and yet he has given their entire world a skewed slant which makes them totally different from what we would expect. I can give him nothing but robust, appreciative applause for his ideas and concepts. But, I didn't enjoy this STORY very much. There was just too, too much going on in the story for my taste. Mr Fforde put in too many characters, too many situations and too many possible villains for me. He gave me one villain, explained why it couldn't have been that character and took him away (or did he?). He gave me another villain, exposed the falseness of the reasoning for his guilt and so took him away (maybe?). It just seemed to go on much too long. In fact, this is the same problem which I had with the Thursday Next novel, it too went on far too long to completely hold my attention. I wanted this to be over but it just kept plodding along and along and along. And the reveal about the true murderer was just so bizarre that I actually went back and re-read parts of it just to make sure I had gotten it straight. And the parts about the Jellyman and the Sacred Gonga, well, I never got those at all.

I liked the book, I enjoyed reading it up to a point, but I don't think I will search out the next Nursery Crime book. I'll stick with Thursday.

Some how, Jasper Fforde seems to always be able to take the most off-the-wall ideas and turn them into compulsively readable books. His "Thursday Next" series was fun and filled with truly creative and imaginative ideas. His Nursery Crimes series seem to be off to a good start.

Filled with subtle and not-so-subtle jokes, this is a detective series that Douglas Adams would have written if he had continued his Dirk Gently books. It has nods to everything from Holmes to the Marx Bothers in it's text and is well worth reading. Pick up a copy today!

Jasper Fforde's books have generated lots of good buzz, and I've been tempted to pick up one to read for some time now. "The Big Over Easy" was not a disappointment. Detective Inspector Jack Spratt heads up the Nursery Crime Division of the Reading Police Department, in charge of investigating crimes involving fantasy characters. However, in a world where Investigative work is equally about dispensing justice and providing entertainment for public consumption, DI Spratt is working with a handicap. He isn't a member of the Detective's Guild, and as a result, his division is underfunded and under appreciated. His attempts to pursue unpopular cases with little literary merit has placed his division on the budget cutting block.

Now it seems that Humpty Dumpty, a popular local businessman with a shady past, has fallen off his wall, and DI Spratt and his new partner DS Mary Mary (who isn't quite as contrary as you would expect) are being pressured to wrap up the investigation quickly and quietly. However, the evidence quickly points to murder, and as Spratt and Mary follow the clues, the mystery becomes ever more complicated. While all the clues are fully disclosed along the way, the reader is kept guessing about how the pieces fit together until the very end, when the story ends with a somewhat surprising twist on the inevitable Jack and the Beanstalk story.

The murder mystery here would be quite satisfying by itself, but the layers of quirky characters and references to nursery rhymes as well as the the satirical pokes at the conventions of mystery writing only add to the fun, making this a very entertaining book.

Detective Jack Sprat (of the beanstalk notoriety) investigates the death of Humpty Dumpty with his contrarian constable sidekick, Mary Mary.

If you're familiar with (and enjoy) the Thursday Next novels, this will be an easy shift to make; it's basically more of the same but with an emphasis on nursery rhymes instead of literary classics. Tongue-in-cheek humor abounds, as do off-the-wall references, and indeed there were enough plot twists to keep me interested and even guessing.

Fun stuff; recommended.

Jasper Fforde has an incredibly inventive mind and a rare insight into literary machinations. Both of those qualities are in full display in his latest work, The Big Over Easy.

This book is billed as a "Nursery Crime" and that's an apt description. The premise of the story revolves around an investigation into the death of Humpy Dumpty, found rather scrambled at the foot of a wall. Jack Sprat and his partner, Mary,Mary are assigned to the case. Shaped as a straightforward police procedural, the book evolves as not quite a fairy tale and not quite as straightforward a detective novel as was probably intended.

That the work is clever is an understatement. Fforde manages to pack an unbelievable number of puns and "inside" literary allusions into this work. Therein lies at once both the strength and the weakness of the book. These amusements are often genuinely funny, but all too often either so contrived or so obscure as to dampen the fun associated with the really good ones. Moreover, the prose can get to be a bit redundant (after a while the Mary,Mary thing starts to wear) and that can make long passages of the book somewhat difficult slogging.

All in all one has to extend kudos to Fforde for the incredible originality and incredibly nimble execution of the concept underlying this book, but one still wishes that he had exercised a bit of restraint in the actual writing and gimmickry he over employed all to often in the writing of this otherwise most amusing effort.

The book was good. I tend to gravitate towards stories that place a twist on an existing story, historical event or place characters, real or imaginary in different contexts. And Fforde does a nice job. At times, the events were a little obvious and predictable but more often than not he offered clever and unexpected aspects to characters.

The over-the-top behavior of Humpty (excessive drinking, Weeble-like balance and mind-bending womanizing) is by far the most intricate character. But, in terms of pure amusement, the secondary story line that focused on Prometheus was a great touch, as was the subsequent integration of the Greek gods as a political body. The fact that England was hedging over whether or not to grant Prometheus citizenship because it might anger Zeus - brilliant.

As a mystery, the story develops well and keeps the reader ever-guessing until the very end. It also unfolds in a natural way with new information being introduced in both a timely and logical manner. That is, the events do not feel contrived and don't exist purely for the convenience of the characters. The story accelerates in the last few chapters and ends in a rather exciting finish.

Overall, the book is a rather quick and enjoyable read.

Something colored my review from the start understand I was under the impression that this was a Thursday Next novel. I was mislead this is though no fault of the author I just did not bother to do the proper research.

As to the book itself parts of it were not so hot and on the other hand parts were excellent but in this case the former outweighed the later. I loved the fact that one of the side characters was the Titan who stole fire from the gods I mean he was a freaking laugh riot. I think the rest of the book is guilty of overplaying the gags. I wasn't laughing and I did not care.

I also didn't care about what happened to Jack Spratt or Mary Mary. This is due of course to my own personal preference and is intended with no disrespect to Jasper Fforde. I will get the sequel at the library for sure but I will reserve monetary investment for the Thursday Next series.

Until now Jasper Fforde was renown and loved for his Thursday Next Stories. This series had been finished(?) with the fourth part and therefore the genius from Wales had to create a new world. It's a world where police business is some kind of Big Business. All the great detectives of the past (e.g. Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple and Hercules Poirot) really had lived and founded the Guild, a group of writing detectives who publish all of their stories and are very famous for solving their cases in a rather spectacular way. Beneath the daily press there are some magazines publishing all those cases. Those that can write on a regular basis for those magazines get the necessary money to continue their work.

Those that are not in the Guild and are not writing on a regular basis get a real problem financing their department. And Jack Spratt, the head of the Nursery Crime Department is one of those. His department has to solve all the cases that are related to fairy tales and nursery rhymes. He just lost the case 'the wolf and the three pigs', not because he made a bad job, but because the jury was set up with 12 pigs, who of course declared the culprits as innocent. This of course gave him quite a bad press and now he has to solve the case of Humpty Dumpty, the big egg that fell of the wall. Mary Mary (who is not from Baden-Baden) his newly assigned assistant is in a moral conflict of being loyal to Jack and getting a big chance to join the Guild.

Fforde created a crime story playing in a very strange world - not as strange as this of Thursday Next, but still very different to what we know as normal. It is again a lot of fun to read.

I am surprised that reviewers find this book and the Fourth Bear less interesting than the Thursday Next series. Although I enjoyed the Eyre Affair the books quickly became tedious and I really was disappointed by all of the sequels and rather disliked the Well of Lost Plots in particular. The Big Over easy and the Fourth Bear are both very clever and kept my attention throughout, and I rather hope that the Mr. Fforde will focus on this series for a couple of more titles than the rather tedious Thursday Next series.

I have to say, if you enjoy quality literary humor, this book is for you. Taking the nursery rhyme one step further, Fforde explores the sinister underlyings of the characters and creates something more than the sum of its parts. Did Humpty Dumpty really just fall accidentally, or was the fall just a cover-up for murder? How did that pesky beanstalk really come about, and what does live at the top of it? This book is chock full of allusions to everything from the cow jumping over the moon to Dorian Gray. I love both this book and its sequel, and find it even better than his Thursday Next series. Keep 'em coming, Mr. Fforde!

I always had a thing against traditional nursery rhymes. I thought they were just a little too violent for their intended audience. Thankfully, Jasper Fforde had the mind to expose the seedy underbelly of Humpty Dumpty's world and the truth is finally out.

Oh, to get a peek inside of the creative and imaginative mind of Mr. Fforde.

"The Big Over Easy" is a skillful work of art and it was a pleasure to read although I did do a little too much eye-rolling.

It's a perfect summer read, full of satire, wit, and plenty to make you chuckle out loud. I loved it!

5 Things To Know Before Reading This Book

1. It is a murder mystery.
2. The victim is an enormous egg named Humpty Dumpty. (He fell off a wall ... or was pushed or possibly shot.)
3. The detective investigating the crime is named Jack Spratt. His partner is Mary Mary.
4. Jack and Mary work for the Nursery Crimes Division (NCD).
5. You should brush up on your nursery rhymes and fairy tales before reading so as to fully enjoy the book. (It took me almost halfway through to dredge up the fact that Jack's tendency to accidentally off "unusually tall people" was a reference to Jack The Giant Killer.)

4 Other Stories/Tales/Myths Referenced in the Book

1. The Three Little Pigs
2. Jack and the Beanstalk
3. Old Mother Hubbard
4. Wee Willie Winkie

...plus lots lots more.

3 Things I Thought While Reading The Book

1. "Gosh, I just love it when an author has a whimsical and witty sense of humor and isn't afraid to just have fun."
2. "I'm sure I'm missing about 25% (and possibly even more) of the jokes and references in this book. But who cares? It is cracking me up anyway."
3. "Jasper Fforde is kind of a hottie. And he's smart too." (Seriously, go Google Jasper Fforde. He's cute!!)

2 Excerpts I Had To Highlight and Share

Excerpt 1:

"...Father liked word games. He was fourteen times world Scrabble champion. When he died, we buried him at Queenzieburn to make use of the triple word score. He spent the greater part of his life campaigning to have respelt those words that look as though they are spelt wrongly but arent."

"Such as....?"

"Oh, skiing, vacuum, freest, eczema, gnu, diarrhea, that sort of thing. He also thought that `abbreviation' was too long for its meaning, that `monosyllable' should have one syllable, `dyslexic' should be renamed `O' and `unspeakable' should be respelt `unsfzpxkable.'"

Excerpt 2:

Mr. Pewter led them through to a library, filled with thousands of antiquarian books.

"Impressive, eh?"

"Very," said Jack. "How did you amass all these?"

"Well," said Pewter, "you know the person who always borrows books and never gives them back?"

"Yes....?"

"I'm that person."

1 Last Thing

I think that you're either the type of person who likes books like this or you aren't. Therefore, I'm sure the three possible reactions to this review are:

* "This book sounds aggressively silly and whimsical and that is not my cup of tea at all!"
* "I need to read this immediately!"
* "What the heck took you so long to read Jasper Fforde, Jenners? Haven't we been telling you how awesome he is for awhile now?"

A funny, cerebral book with lots of word play, silliness and wit to entertain adults. Do not mistake this for a children's book. It is too smart for that!

Again, Jasper Fforde writes an excellent book, full of nursery rhyme characters that makes me feel as though I've been whisked away to another land. In this land, like Thursday Next (of his previous series), I can jump in and out of the storybooks of my youth. I love these books!

Detective Jack Spratt and Mary Mary star in the start of this new series, where they are investigating the death of Humpty Dumpty. How cool is that?!

If you like quirky novels where the characters all have British accents, then this book is for you. The play on nursery rhymes run throughout the story. The book is whimsical, funny, odd, and yet the characters are heart warming and somehow very down to earth. Even those characters (aliens, Roman gods etc.) not technically from Earth. Give it a try!

If you like quirky novels where the characters all have British accents, then this book is for you. The play on nursery rhymes run throughout the story. The book is whimsical, funny, odd, and yet the characters are heart warming and somehow very down to earth. Even those characters (aliens, Roman gods etc.) not technically from Earth. Give it a try!

I first became enthralled with Jasper Fforde through "The Eyre Affair" and have read all of this books. Resisted "Over Easy" at first since I am not a big fan on mysteries or children's books. I surprisingly loved it and didn't want to put it down. Cannot wait to read "The Fourth Bear." And I loved this book because it was almost as round as Karl Pilkington's head. But much funnier.

At first, I was disappointed that Jasper Fforde chose not to continue the Thursday Next series in his newest release, but I have thoroughly enjoyed DI Jack Spratt's adventures in "The Big Over Easy." Though the universe in this book is not as expansive as in the Thursday Next books, my enjoyment of it never felt limited. Some of the jokes can literally whizz right by you. At one point Spratt and his sidekick DS Mary Mary discuss how the other characters don't realize that they're in nursey rhymes, not realizing they are too! And there's a bit with a Mrs. Hubbard, her dogs, and her cupboard that gave me a good laugh.

If you can accept the premise of this book, then just dive in and enjoy this clever, funny novel.

Whether this new book will disappoint or delight Fforde's essentially entirely female readership-base, it would be very unwise to try to predict. One thing is clear, Fforde seems to have been stung by criticism that essentially nothing ever happened in the last couple of Thursday Next novels (to use the word "novel" very loosely), because this one has plot running off the edges of the pages, plot and to spare, plot twists that come about one per page toward the end and will leave dull-normal, Red-State or Republican readers drastically "not getting it."

This time around the adventures seem to take place in a parallel world where nursery-rhyme creatures mix with us everyday human types. The world-framework is not developed enough to make sense, nor is there much character development, the incessantly boiling plot not leaving room for either. [I assume that this is the same "world" in which the Thursday Next novels take place, as several shared characters and character references tend to indicate.] All things considered, I enjoyed it and will try the next in the series.

awesome, just awesome.

In the tradition of Gregory Maguire and Angela Carter, Jasper Fforde takes stories that are close to our hearts--and twists them deliciously.

Here Detective Jack Spratt and Sgt. Mary Mary ivestigate the death of Humpty Dumpty. That's all I'll say without spoiling anything.

Check out his website. I think he's the first author I know to offer "Easter Eggs"/DVD special features. ;)

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
Book Review by Viola Beauregarde, The Fractured Chronicles [Blog], [...]

The Big Over Easy is a delightful crime mystery. The tale is set mainly in a world of Mother Goose nursery rhymes with some mythological references. It is the first book in a Nursery Crime series from Jasper Fforde.

The main character is Jack Splatt, head detective of the Nursery Crime Division in the town of Reading. Jack is a hardworking detective who doesn't get any respect, not even from his own peers. Jack's self-absorbed arch-nemesis is fellow detective Freidland Chymes. Apparently, Chymes will stoop to any level to shine, especially at the expense of Jack Splatt. There is unpleasant old history between the two, which never stopped simmering.

The mystery surrounds the murder of Reading's philanthropist, Humpty Dumpty. This isn't your usual version of Humpty Dumpty. He is a wealthy ovoid with problems, including a drinking one, who never meant a woman he didn't love...literally. The hosts of possible suspects, friends, business associates, ex-wives and lovers read as the list of Who's Who of Mother Goose. I love how Jasper portrays the nursery characters as real people with real issues, but somehow he manages to keep a tone of the whimsical.

Also, Jasper Fforde has included fictitious newspaper and tabloid articles at the start of each chapter, which offer background information on the characters and the history of Reading. Here is my favorite excerpt and "laughed out loud" moment from Chapter 17, " The Inquiry Begins," page 137:

ALIENS BORING, REPORT SHOWS

An official report confirms what most of us have already suspected: that the alien visitors who arrived unexpectedly on the planet four years ago are not particularly bright, nor interesting. The thirteen-page government document describes our interstellar chums as being "dull" and "unable to plan long-term." The report, which has been compiled from citizenship application forms and interview transcripts, paints a picture of a race who are "prone to put high importance on inconsequential minutiae" and are "easily distracted from important issues." On an entirely separate note, the aliens were reported to be merging into human society far better than has been expected - the reason for this is unclear.
- Extract from The Owl, June 4, 2001

My only criticism of The Big Over Easy is that towards the end, the plot twists were too many and the plot line became a bit overdrawn. Nevertheless, I do plan to read The Fourth Bear, the second book in the Nursery Crime series. Jasper Fforde has developed an unique fantasy world which can only get better with time. I look forward to following how this incredible fun and funny series matures.

I stumbled on this author while browsing a bookstore and found this title as a bargain book on the store. I am not much of a mystery reader, but I must say, it is one of those books that made me go, "Gee, I wish I had thought of that." It is jampacked with references to nursery rhyme characters, and all of their expected stories are brought together seamlessly into an unexpectedly well-thought-out book. It is flat-out amazing what Fforde does with all the characters and how many twists and turns he can take with them. Add in the typical dry British humor and this is definitely a must-read for anyone looking for an off-the-beaten-path mystery.

Having been a fan of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, I anticipated to great extent his new book, The Big Over Easy. While I was glad to see more satirical comments, I was disappointed to see the long drawn-outness (Gosh, is this a word?) of the story. With all of the attempted murders of Humpty and unnecessary plot additions, you'd think Fforde was getting a thousand dollars for every extra page he writes. I'd suggest it to any nursery rhyme parody fan, if they have enough time on their hands. It's good raw material, yet it proves to be a bore in the end.

The town of Reading was shocked when Humpty Dumpty fell off that wall. Was it an accident, or was he murdered? It's the job of Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and Detective Sergeant Mary Mary to find out what really happened. Along the way, they interact with numerous characters from nursery tales and nursery rhymes, and Mary Mary finds out where she belongs. A great beginning to a new series.

This is the first Jasper Fford book I have read. I will definitely be reading more - On the surface, this is a well-written and plotted police detective novel, but, oh what a lot there is under the surface! Silly, part Monty Python, part Douglas Adams, part Agatha Christie, I found the book a fast read, fun and delightful.

I was greatly looking forward to the release of another Fforde book, but was disappointed in this one. It definately had the same creativity and tounge-in-cheek humor of Jasper's Thursday Next novels, but I really missed learning more about Thursday's world, and her adventures within classical novels. I'm about as well versed-on verse as anyone, being an elementary music teacher by trade, but it seemed there were still many references I didn't quite get. And it didn't renew my interest in Mother Goose the way the Thursday Next series made me want to go read Jane Eyre and the other novels Fforde delved into. I guess I want more time-travelling, book hoping, truly unique adventure, and less fairly standard crime mystery in a oddly fitting nursery tale world.

In this new series by Jasper Fforde, we leave the literary intellectual world of Thursday Next and take a sprightly tour of the world of English nursery rhymes.

DI Jack Spratt and DS Mary Mary have been given the task of unraveling the mystery of the death of Humpty Dumpty, and it isn't as easy as falling off a wall.

Though this may not be his best work, Fforde's brilliance as a writer definitely shines through in this story, and readers will be drawn in from the first line.

Keep your eyes open, though, and watch for visits from other nursery rhyme characters, as well as a familiar Jurisfiction friend.

This series, sadly there are only two so far that I know of, is amazing. Read it five years ago and it's still fresh and vivid in my mind. They are fun and after a point you forget they are Nursery Rhyme characters. Great read for a great range of people.

Product was delivered as promised; in better condition than described. Will surely trust this merchant in future.

The product is pure Jasper Fforde. Full of literary "in jokes" and references to many genres of literature, which will cause any rabid reader many uplifting laughs, not to mention the pure fantasy of the melding of the "real" world and the "literary" world. Reading Fforde, you'll wish that this was really our world, as every intersection is full of humor and/or drama; however you choose to view it. Refreshing in the current field of mystery stories. We all need an occasional light reading.

You'll love this! I really enjoyed the Thursday Next series, but this is even better. Fforde mixes fictional characters from children's nursery rhymes and fairy tales and displays them in a more or less modern (he seems to like to set most of his work in the eighties, for some reason) world. For example: Jack Spratt is the main character. He's happily married with children, but unfortunately his first wife passed away because of her unhealthy dietary habits (Jack Spratt could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean...). He's a detective who handles criminal investigations involving fictional characters who are living in his hometown. I'm eagerly anticipating the next one.

One of my favorite books/series of all time! Fforde claims that he will write just one more Nursery Crime book (making a total of three in the series) and that is a shame. Jasper - please reconsider!!!

I admire Jasper Fforde's Tursday Next series, yet I've seen a little too much of nursery rhyme parodies to my liking. The case is waaay too long, and drawn out, with unnecessary additions to the plot. It's good raw material, and I like it, it proves to be a bore in the end.

I was blown away by the world that Fforde managed to create, a truly believable world, in which you begin to think is extreme fantasy but then you hear about eBay, Nokia, and the Internet. It is truly a spectacular world, so much like ours, yet entirely different and exciting. I cannot believe I haven't heard more about it before. Definitely in the top five of my favorite books of all time.

Fforde does it again! Clever, tongue-in-cheek writing is fun to read, and the plot kept me turning the pages. As usual, Fforde's large cast of characters are familiar, yet you see them in a whole new way. Recommended!