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Woman Who Died A Lot Paperback – International Edition, January 31, 2013

by Jasper Fforde (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,614 ratings
Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
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The BookWorld's leading enforcement officer Thursday Next is at a low point in her life: she is four months into an enforced semi-retirement following a near-fatal assassination attempt. She is yet to walk without a stick, has double vision more often than she doesn't, and limited mobility in her left arm.

A time, then, or relaxation, recuperation, and rest. A time to spend with her beloved family, avoid stress, take it easy, meet old friends and do very little.

If only life were that simple...
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Previous page
  1. Book 7 of 7
    Thursday Next
  2. Print length
    380 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Hodder & Stoughton
  5. Publication date
    January 31, 2013
  6. Dimensions
    5.16 x 1.06 x 7.87 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0340963131
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0340963135
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hodder & Stoughton (January 31, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 380 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0340963131
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0340963135
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.16 x 1.06 x 7.87 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,614 ratings

About the author

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Jasper Fforde

Jasper Fforde

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Jasper Fforde is the critically acclaimed author of The Last Dragonslayer series: THE LAST DRAGONSLAYER, THE SONG OF THE QUARKBEAST and THE EYE OF ZOLTAR, SHADES OF GREY, the Nursery Crime books: THE BIG OVER EASY and THE FOURTH BEAR and the Thursday Next novels: THE EYRE AFFAIR, LOST IN A GOOD BOOK, THE WELL OF LOST PLOTS, SOMETHING ROTTEN, FIRST AMONG SEQUELS, ONE OF OUR THURSDAYS IS MISSING and THE WOMAN WHO DIED A LOT.

After giving up a varied career in the film world, he now lives and writes in Wales, and has a passion for aviation.

To find out more visit Jasper's website www.jasperfforde.com, Facebook page www.facebook.com/jasperffordebooks or follow him on Twitter @jasperfforde.

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4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,614 global ratings

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Jaylia
5.0 out of 5 stars The real Thursday Next is back
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2012
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It's 2004 in the alternate Britain of the now semiretired literary detective Thursday Next, and she's getting older--54--but as her husband Landon tells her, when weird comes knocking gray hairs count more than the lost physical prowess she's mourning. Weird, ironic, and mind-bendingly wonderful is of course exactly what you get in a Thursday Next novel. I've loved just about all of Jasper Fforde's books, but the Thursday Next series is my favorite by far and even in that group this new one is stellar.

The last book featured the fictional version of Thursday from Book World, but here we are back with the original Thursday. When the book opens, Thursday is still struggling with the mind worm planted by one of her enemies which makes her believe she has a daughter who doesn't exist. Tuesday and Friday, her actual daughter and son, are moving towards adulthood. Tuesday alternates between high school high jinx and cutting edge invention--she's trying to create a giant shield capable of warding off pillars of fire the newly invigorated and angry universal deity is bent on smiting Earth with. Friday is at loose ends. He had been destined to become the most renowned leader of the ChronoGuard, a sort of time traveling police force, and he'd even met his time traveling older self in earlier books, but when it was discovered that time travel hadn't actually been invented in the future the ChronoGuard was disbanded.

Thursday herself is in a career slump, or thinks she is. She is hoping to be put in charge of the re-formed SpecOps Literary Detective Division, but that job is given to a younger woman and Thursday is forced to accept a head librarian job. Adding insult to injury, the mega-corporation Goliath has engineered a series of synthetic Thursdays who combine superhuman capabilities with the ability to download the real Thursday memories.

Meanwhile, a deadly asteroid may or may not be on a collision course with Earth, and something strange is going on in the newly discovered but very little understood field of Dark Reading Matter. Intriguingly, it looks like Dark Reading Matter may be the setting for the next Thursday Next Novel. Can't wait!
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LA in Dallas
4.0 out of 5 stars Thursday in the Real World
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2023
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So, we wend our way at last to the end of the currently extant Thursday Next series. We know this isn't really the end, because eventually Thursday has to become Granny Next, wear blue gingham, and read the ten most boring books in the world. We've already seen that end, and Thursday's story will be complete only when it connects up to Granny Next.

The Woman Who Died a Lot is unusual in that the Book World is almost completely absent. Very little of the action takes place inside books. Rather we have Thursday, husband Landen, teenage genius daughter Tuesday, confused son Friday in search of a purpose, Global Standard Deity priest Joffy, and several old friends from Special Operations (but not Spike, I am sorry to say) dealing with the evil Goliath Corporation, an annoyingly petty God who wants to smite Swindon, and an asteroid predicted to maybe destroy the Earth. So, yeah, all in a day's work for our Thursday. And it's lots of fun, as always.

Now that I've reached the end of the series, a little perspective is in order. I find that I'm glad it's done, but for the opposite of the usual reason. Usually when I'm glad to reach the end of a book it's because it was boring and I struggled through the tedium. But a Thursday Next book is never tedious! Every page sparkles with action and jokes. In fact, they're rather exhausting. Jasper Fforde describes one of the characters in The Woman Who Died a Lot thus,

Finisterre had been one of our backroom boys at SO-27, one of the dependable brainiacs who rarely did fieldwork but could answer almost any literary question you might care to ask. His particular expertise was the nineteenth-century novel, but he was fully competent to professorial standard in almost all fields of literature, whether it be Sumerian laundry lists or the very latest Armitage Shanks Prize winner. He spent his life immersed in books to the cost of everything else, even personal relationships. “Friends,” he’d once said, “are probably great, but I have forty thousand friends of my own already, and each of them needs my attention.”

In this description of Finisterre I feel Fforde is describing his ideal reader. I consider myself well-read, with particular interest in children's books, but even I find it difficult to keep up with the Thursday Next series. (For instance, in The Woman Who Died a Lot there is an entire little subplot concerning Enid Blyton's books, none of which I have ever read.)

So, yeah, Thursday Next is delightful but exhausting, and I am proud and glad to have reached the end! But have I? The Woman Who Died a Lot finishes with these words:

Thursday Next Returns in TN8: Dark Reading Matter

Fforde claims that Dark Reading Matter is being written as we speak and is due out in 2024. Since The Woman Who Died a Lot appeared in 2012, this would be a 12 year gap. Assuming this bit of vaporware condescends eventually to take solid form, I will read it.
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Ben Castan
4.0 out of 5 stars always a fun read
Reviewed in Australia on August 22, 2022
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Just as I said above these books are always a fun read. Had trouble putting it down. Have a good time with this adventure.
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Alison S. Coad
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Brilliant Piece of Absurdism From Jasper Fforde
Reviewed in Canada on October 18, 2012
Verified Purchase
Attempting to give even a partial summary of any Jasper Fforde novel is kind of like trying to drain the ocean with a teaspoon, so I won't even take a stab at describing "The Woman Who Died A Lot," the seventh, and latest, in his wonderful Thursday Next series. I *will* note that it involves an older, damaged Thursday, along with a bunch of sort-of replicants; the evil and dominating Goliath Corporation and its favourite henchman Jack Schitt; the strange and mysterious, and thus far unproven-to-exist, realm of the Dark Reading Matter, access to which is much enhanced by the unfocused "buffers" of dodo birds; Jenny, who does or does not exist; Aornis the wicked; the continuing fall-out from the dismantling of the Chronos Guard, making Time and the Future of some of our heroes somewhat relative; and librarians, lots and lots of librarians. Who are, of course, the true heroes of the story and the Saviours of the Universe.... No, one cannot pick up any old entry in Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, one must start from the very beginning ("The Eyre Affair," and I am tremendously envious of anyone who still has the absolute astonishment of that book before them; I wish I could read it for the first time over and over and over and over and.... but I'm turning dodo here, better get rid of that mindworm now!). Just read it; read everything Jasper Fforde has ever written. You will be a better, happier, stronger person, and Goliath Corporation will have one less unsuspecting victim to suck dry. Did I mention it's highly recommended?
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Ms Louise Wilford
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely not losing his way...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 9, 2013
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I've read several reviews on this site which have suggested that Fforde is losing his way with the two most recent Thursday Next novels, but I couldn't disagree more. I thoroughly enjoyed 'One Of Our Thursdays Is Missing' and I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Woman Who Died A Lot'.

What I find incredible about the Thursday Next series is the way that Fforde bravely steps into new territory each time. He jumps years ahead into Thursday's future, skipping over great chunks of her life, shows her death but then backtracks, removes her from the jobs at SpecOps and Jurisfiction which seem to define her, decides to focus on an alternative Thursday, and here seriously impedes our heroine by setting the tale during her recovery from the injuries she sustained after her taxi crashed into the psychological thriller genre in the newly-imagined Book World. Each time, he comes up with new, gripping, funny and immensely clever ideas, sometimes building on earlier thoughts from previous books and sometimes creating entirely new notions.

Here, Thursday is not only middle-aged (and, speaking as a woman of the same age, I can't tell you how fantastic it is to read about an action-heroine in her fifties!)but also rendered slightly redundant by the ambitious Phoebe Smalls and her own physical shortcomings - not to mention the psychologically-damaging mindworm from which the whole Park-Laine family now appears to be suffering. There are no trips into fiction here, just as the previous book was set mostly within the 'fictional' world, but this doesn't detract from the fun - and the Book World is certainly a major theme in the plot. Personally, I've always preferred Thursday's 'real' crazy Swindon to the Book World (though I like the re-imagined Book World of the previous novel), so that part was fine by me.

There were some very funny sequences in this novel - Crazy Daisy Mutlar, Landen's ex, now a nun, attacking Thursday at random intervals during her visit to the Blessed Lobster convent springs to mind - and a very satisfying denouement. The notion of the artificial Thursdays was a brilliant device and Fforde utilised it with his usual quick wit and audacity.

But what I love about these books more than anything (and this is something that is also true of the brilliant but short-lived Nursery Crime series) is the warmth and authenticity of the family relationships. They aren't dysfunctional (unless you count Thursday's eccentric mother), they aren't unusual in terms of the relationships between individuals within the family, Thursday and Landen love their children and are proud of them, the children behave in a convincing way (despite their absurd lives), even the family pet Pickwick is convincing, lovable and somehow genuine. There is a warm atmosphere of plausibility about them despite the ridiculous situations in which they find themselves embroiled and their weird individual quirks. Yet they don't become dull. Maybe it's just me, but I think this is a highly significant feature of the novels which raises them above some other much more lightweight comic fantasy.

That and Fforde's incredible imagination...

It is certainly true that the novels often begin slowly and pick up later, but I think readers need to embrace this and just enjoy going with the flow. It's always worth it.
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fmstereo
5.0 out of 5 stars Génial, tordant, époustouflant ! On attend la suite avec impatience
Reviewed in France on December 4, 2012
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C'est le dernier épisode des aventures de Thursday Next, de son mari, et de ses enfants.
C'est foisonnant d'idées, plein d'un humour grinçant irresistible, et fourmillant d'inventions toutes plus épatantes les unes que les autres et parfois à peine évoquées au détour d'une phrase... Tout ça avec des jeux de mots partout, bref, un régal.
Juste un exemple (que je cite de mémoire) pour tester votre compatibilité à l'humour de Jasper Fforde : dans le monde de Thursday Next, il y a des univers parallèles et on a trouvé moyen de voyager entre eux, c'est bien pratique pour le commerce puisque tous les univers ne disposent pas des mêmes inventions. Par exemple l'univers où vit Thursday est le seul qui ait des vélos et des Français. Si ça ne vous fait pas rire, essayez quand même Jasper Fforde, il écrit bien mieux que moi et amène ses petites touches d'humour de manière bien plus efficace.
Et si vous aimez, même dans ma version amoindrie, n'hésitez pas une minute, lisez tous les Jasper Fforde. Il y a une dizaine d'épisodes de la série Thursday Next, un excellent roman dont on attend la suite : "Shades of Grey" (rien à voir avec "Fifty Shades of Grey" dont on nous rebat les oreilles depuis quelque temps), une série policière dans l'univers des contes pour enfants britanniques, et plus récemment les histoires d'une chasseuse de dragons.
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Meine Bücherwürmer
5.0 out of 5 stars Klasse, wie immer
Reviewed in Germany on August 3, 2012
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Thursday Next begann ihre Ermittlungsarbeiten in den Achtzigern bei SpecOps-27, den Literaturagenten. Aus Budgetgründen wurden große Teile des Special Operation Networks jedoch 1991 aufgelöst. Dies hielt Thursday und einige ihrer Kollegen jedoch nicht davon ab, im Geheimen und ohne Bezahlung weiter zu arbeiten. Jetzt, 2004, sollen die Special Operation Networks wieder eingerichtet werden und die inzwischen 54-jährige Thursday will die Stelle als Leiterin von SpecOps-27. Sie fährt dazu nach Swindon zu einer psychologischen Evaluierung und gibt sich dabei alle Mühe auf genau dem Level verrückt zu wirken, in dem auch der vorherige Amtsinhaber eingestuft wurde. Im Gespräch mit Regional Commander Braxton Hicks wird jedoch schnell klar, dass er sie nicht für einen Job bei SpecOps, sondern in einer Bibliothekarsstelle haben möchte. Eine viel jüngere Agentin namens Phoebe Smalls soll die Stelle bekommen. Thursday hingegen soll die Wessex All You Can Eat at Fatso's Drink Not Included Library Services übernehmen.

Als wäre ihr Leben momentan nicht enttäuschend genug. In One of Our Thursdays is Missing / Wo ist Thursday Next? hat sie einen Attentatsversuch schwer verletzt überlebt und hat sich körperlich noch immer nicht vollständig erholt. Nur mit starken Dosen an Schmerzmitteln kommt sie über den Tag. Auf Grund der Verletzungen ist sie zudem nicht mehr in der Lage in die Bücherwelt zu springen. Doppelgänger von ihr versuchen für die Goliath Corporation Informationen aus ihr nahestehenden Personen herauszubekommen. In ihrem Kopf sorgt ein Gedächtniswurm ihrer Widersacherin Aornis Hades noch immer dafür, dass sich Thursday eine zusätzliche Tochter Jenny einbildet. Gott ist zu alt-testamentischen Verhalten zurückgekehrt und möchte nächsten Freitag Swindon mit einer reinigenden Feuersbrunst vernichten. Ihre Tochter Tuesday arbeitet an einem Schutzschild vor Gottes Zorn, doch dessen Fertigstellung ist erst in fünf Jahren geplant. Und außerdem wird ein Asteroid in 37 Jahren die Erde mit einer Wahrscheinlichkeit von 34 Prozent vernichten. Eigentlich hätte ihr Sohn Friday sich um den Asteroiden gekümmert, aber da sich Zeitreisen leider nachträglich als unmöglich herausgestellt haben, muss dieser sich jetzt Gedanken um eine alternative Kariere machen. Doch die Lebensübersicht, die ihm von seinem ehemaligen zukünftigen Arbeitgeber, den ChronoGuards, ausgestellt wurde, besagt, dass er nächsten Freitag Gavin, einen Schulkameraden von Tuesday erschießen wird. Anschließend landet er für Jahrzehnte im Gefängnis und wird wenige Tage nach seiner Entlassung selbst ermordet. Thursday und ihr Mann Landen möchten diese Zukunft für ihren Sohn auf jeden Fall verhindern. Doch plötzlich scheint es so, als würde Aornis Hades durch ihr Haus wandern und beliebig ihre Erinnerungen manipulieren. Jetzt ist es Landen, der an Jenny glaubt und für die anderen scheint es schon immer so gewesen zu sein.

Jasper Fforde lässt seine Titelheldin erneut auf eine verrückte und stets auf neue Art überraschend witzige Welt los. Es ist der erste Band, in dem Thursday nicht die Buchwelt besucht. Das ist insofern schade, da man so auf die Auftritte bekannter Charaktere verzichten muss. Nachdem One of Our Thursdays is Missing / Wo ist Thursday Next? jedoch fast vollständig in der Buchwelt stattfand, ist das aber zu verschmerzen. Das Buch kann man als eine Art Liebeserklärung an alle Bibliothekare sehen. Deren vermutlich sehnlichste Träume für Thursday in Erfüllung gehen: Bibliotheken mit dreistelligen Millionenbudget, bewaffnete Einsatztruppen, die für Ruhe und die Rückgabe von Büchern sorgen und ein Sternekoch in der Kantine.

Trotz der Tatsache, dass Thursday dem Leser gleich zu Beginn erzählt, was am Ende des Buches passieren wird, bleibt die Geschichte auf jeder Seite spannend und unvorhersehbar. Wenn man die anderen Bände der Thursday Next-Reihe gelesen hat, wird man beim Lesen Vermutungen anstellen. Am Ende wird sich sicher alles irgendwie auflösen und zusammenfügen und sehr wahrscheinlich ein halbwegs gutes Ende nehmen. Doch wie das geschehen wird, bleibt bis zum Schluss ein Geheimnis. So ist The Woman Who Died a Lot insgesamt ein Buch das sehr viel Spaß macht und gut unterhält. Es enthält zudem bereits Ereignisse, die einen kleinen Ausblick auf Ereignisse, um die es im Abschlussband Dark Reading Matter gehen wird.
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