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    The Woman Who Died a Lot: A Thursday Next Novel
    The Woman Who Died a Lot: A Thursday Next Novel
    The Woman Who Died a Lot: A Thursday Next Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Woman Who Died a Lot: A Thursday Next Novel

    Written by Jasper Fforde

    Narrated by Emily Gray

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Jasper Fforde's delightfully zany Thursday Next series shows no signs of slowing down with its seventh entry, The Woman Who Died a Lot. Despite being semihappily semi-retired from SpecOps, Thursday accepts the head librarian position at the Swindon library. But soon threats from a supreme Deity, a mnemonomorph, and the nefarious Goliath corporation press Thursday back into active duty.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateOct 2, 2012
    ISBN9781470323844
    The Woman Who Died a Lot: A Thursday Next Novel
    Author

    Jasper Fforde

    Jasper Fforde is the internationally best-selling author of the Chronicles of Kazam, the Thursday Next mysteries, and the Nursery Crime books. He lives in Wales. www.jasperfforde.com Twitter: @jasperfforde Instagram: @jasperfforde  

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    Reviews for The Woman Who Died a Lot

    4.5/5

    45 ratings27 reviews

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    • 4/5
      market to those who follow the Thursday Next series. not standalone.
    • 4/5
      I was so disappointed with the last book in this series; I was afraid Thursday Next had jumped the shark. Thank GSD this book redeemed it. I laughed out loud several times. And was tickled by the cleverness of Fforde. Though it's still not quite as brilliant as the first three/four. I can't wait to read the next Thursday Next.
    • 5/5
      Thursday Next has been named the new chief librarian at Swindon All-You-Can-Eat at Fatso’s Drink Not Included Library. She would rather be the new head of SpecOps-27, but that job has been given to Phoebe Smalls, a younger version of Thursday. Thursday is still trying to recover from injuries sustained in an assassination attempt. One day she feels better, her head is clear and her limp is gone. That’s when she finds out about Day Players, synthetic humans that last for one day with the mind of the original person. Yes, it’s another Goliath conspiracy, so what’s new. She also has family troubles. Her son Friday would have saved the world many times over as part of the CronoGuard, but the guard was disbanded when they realized time travel would never be invented. Instead he is destined to shoot a 16 year old brat that is bothering his little sister and spend the rest of his life in prison. Friday’s sister Tuesday, one of the smartest scientists in the world, has to create an Anti-Smite Shield before God smites Swindon on Friday. Thursday still thinks she has a daughter named Jenny, who in actuality is a mind worm given to her by the evil Aornis. Landon and Thursday have been investigating the whereabouts of Aornis who went missing a few years back.Jasper Fforde is trying to get the Thursday Next series back on track with this new installment. The last Thursday Next novel was all about the Book World and I missed her complicated family life. This novel is all about Thursday’s life in Swindon, but we still need some Book World action to create a completely satisfying story. What makes this series so much fun is that Thursday must balance her home life and her career, which involves jumping into novels and meeting literary characters. These characters are what got me interested in reading this series in the first place. We learn about a place in the Book World called Dark Reading Matter, which is where half written and forgotten stories go. It looks like this will be the focus of the next novel.I gave this novel 4 ½ stars because Jasper Fforde is such a joy to read. That said this was the most predictable book in the series. Usually I am totally stumped until the last few chapters, not the case this time. It may be that I have read all of the books in the series so I know what all of the characters will do. This was still a humorous and fun read and I recommend it to Thursday Next fans who love her wacky family.
    • 2/5
      Thursday Next returns for a seventh outing, a bit battered, achy, and with a pronounced limp, but otherwise in fine form. A few years have passed in Swindon, enough time for Thursday’s children, Tuesday and Friday, to have reached their active teen years. SpecOps has been disbanded, but there are reports that it may be resuscitated. Unfortunately, Thursday is overlooked in her application for head of the service, but, luckily for us, she is offered the post of head of the Wessex Library instead. It’s a library that packs a punch, especially given the full combat librarians of the Special Library Services (SLS). As you would expect from a Thursday Next novel, the grasping and mendacious global corporation, Goliath, is also back in the form of none other than Thursday’s old nemesis, Jack Schitt. Expect gunplay, a high body-double count, and the odd smiting from that Olde Testamente player of yore.Jasper Fforde is once again writing with the confidence and verve that one expects of the creator of Thursday Next. There are plenty of twists and turns here with the introduction of Day Players—replicants whose lifespan is predictably announced in their name—and the extreme bendiness of the event timeline, which solves as many plot problems as it creates. There is even a gradual introduction of DRM, Dark Reading Matter, which undoubtedly will form the basis of Thursday’s next great adventure.If you followed Thursday Next through the previous roller-coaster novels, then you will definitely want to stay in the car for this exciting turn around the track. Recommended for Thursday Next fans. Others may want to stick to safer fare, or better yet get started with the first in the series and catch up.
    • 4/5
      Thursday Next and I have been on quite the journey in the last week or so. As I've mentioned, I have generally either not much liked or nigh loved all of the prior Thursday Next books. The Woman Who Died a Lot finally proves that I can actually like two Thursday Next books in a row, so huzzah for that. While this one did not entertain me quite so much as 1, 4, and 6, I found it a solid read without any slow spots.

      This Thursday Next book starkly stands out from the rest. The entirety of this book takes place in the real world. Of course, it's Fforde's version of the real world, which reaches high levels of ridiculousness on a slow day. Seriously, there is no BookWorld in this novel, by which I mean the reader doesn't get to go to the BookWorld which does still exist. Since the BookWorld has generally been my favorite part of the series, I was really bummed when I figured that out, but, surprisingly, it worked out.

      The saving grace here was that The Woman Who Died a Lot successfully weaves together a few overarching plots, something that failed to happen in First Among Sequels. Rather than feeling like a bunch of jokes welded together artificially, this felt like a story. I will say, though, that there seemed to be a bit less humor in this one overall, as well as less of the literary references, so, if that's what you loved, you will perhaps be disappointed.

      Thursday Next is not her usual, gun-slinging, hardcore self. At the end of the prior book, she was discovered injured and her wounds have not yet healed. To walk, she must lean upon a cane and she's developed a Dr. House level addiction to painkillers. Our girl does not have all pistons firing. Because of her physical torments, she doesn't have the strength to read herself into the BookWorld. On the plus side, Spec Ops is reforming, so there will be plenty of work to do. Unfortunately, the job she gets offered is not head of the literary detectives but head librarian.

      My favorite bits had to do with the library. Fforde certainly nails some aspects of library service, but I think the librarians of our world would love to live in his. In Swindon, librarians receive huge salaries (and get chauferred to work where a chef cooks the meals) and the libraries get huge budgets. On top of that, librarians have huge political sway and are among the most respected and intimidating people in the community. Librarians, what say you? Shall we decamp to Ffordelandia posthaste?

      Another delightful plotline deals with the imminent smiting of Swindon by God, pissed off by Joffy's insistence upon a meeting. A good smiting always proves who's the boss. To prevent this, Tuesday races to complete her Anti-Smite shield, while Goliath Corporation offers a backup that is, of course, nefarious. One fun litte nugget of info to come out of this is that this is an alternate universe from our own likely, since Joffy references that in some alternate realities people are stupid enough to think homosexuality is a sin. Never have I been prouder of my home universe. (Hint: heavy sarcasm)

      The final arc involves Friday, who, along with the rest of the people who would have been in ChronoGaurd, receives a letter informing him what his life would have been and what it will be. He discovers that in a few days he will murder one of his classmates, go to prison, and get out just in time to be murdered with a baseball bat. Even with ChronoGuard shut down, it still manages to mess with lives and event lines in rippingly confusing ways.

      The Woman Who Died a Lot is perhaps the most mainstream and accessible of Fforde's books, though, of course, trying to pick up the series here and understand anything would be like trying to understand LOST without watching every single episode. The ending makes it clear that at least one more Thursday Next book is in the works, and I suspect there will be lots of BookWorld action. Holla!
    • 4/5
      The Woman Who Died A Lot is the 7th book in the Thursday Next series. For those who haven’t read any of the previous books, I would recommend starting with one earlier in the series. The series does build on previous books.Thursday is still recovering from the almost successful attempt on her life in the last book. She still walks with a cane and she’s addicted to her patch painkillers. She’s bored, and wants to get back to work, even though she doesn’t really need to. Thursday is offered a job, and though it isn’t what she expects she is well suited for it. Jack Schitt is also back and causing plenty of mischief once again. It seems to be related to some ‘Day Player’ activity. Thursday’s been trying to find Aornis, the mnemonomorph, since no one knows where she disappeared to while transfering from TJ Maxx. There are plenty of hints on where she’s hiding. Tuesda y is desperately trying to complete the anit-smite shield, since the almighty has scheduled a smiting at 2:00p.m. in downtown Swinden. Goliath Corp, has offered an alternative plan to the smite shield, for a hefty fee of course. And like most major Goliath endeavors, it is unethical. When Thursday finds out what it really is, she finds herself torn between sticking it to Goliath once again or letting them go ahead. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, it wasn’t my favorite of the series but it was definitely high on the list. Though, to be honest I felt most of them were pretty good books. These books are humorous and Fforde loves his meta humor, and I have to say I like it too. The book world makes appearances in all the novels but since the last book was almost entirely in the book world he seems to have left it almost entirely out of this one. Great book, excellent series, lots of fun.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful instalment in the Thursday Next series. I just love the idea of a world where books and literary ideas are revered. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but let's just say Thursday is looking fr a job, Friday, following the shutdown of the ChronoGuard is drifting, Tuesday is working on an anti-smiting device - as Swindon is schedule for a major smiting on Friday she needs to find a solutiin quite urgently - and Landen is Landen. Between the pages Thursday gets entangled with 'the Wessex All You Can East at Fatso's Drinks Not Included Library Services' and their crack SLS - Special Library Service - who 'would die protecting any book in the Library' and who want to institute dawn raids and review the rules regarding spine bending and turning over the corners of pages as'if we let simple things like that slide without punishment, we could open the floodgates to poor reading etiquette and a downward spiral to the collapse of civilisation.' Considering what's happening to libraries across Britain, this is wishful thinking but should be the case - 'The libraries were a treasured institution and so central to everyday life that government and commerce
    • 4/5
      Thursday Next is back,but not this time in BookWorld regretfully. Although there is much about Swindon,Goliath and Smiting there is little about BookWorld itself. For me personally,this was slightly less enjoyable than the earlier episodes. We are promised 'Dark Reading Matter' in the next,Next book. Can't wait (but I suppose I will just have to).
    • 5/5
      My favorite heroine in this world or any other is back. There's no BookWorld in this volume, which is a bit disappointing, but Thursday Next has so much to offer that it's all okay.This book is, essentially, about the people in Thursday's life. In particular, her brother Joffy, her son Friday, and her "daughter" Jenny. Joffy has managed to get a large enough percentage of the world to become members of his church, Global Standard Diety (GSD), that God revealed himself (yes, himself). Suddenly, with the atheists and agnostics on board, the GSD finds itself with leverage power against God. He is pissed, and is going to smite the city of Swindon in a week.Friday, since the disbanding of the ChronoGuard due to the discovery that the time travel technology they were using will never exist, has no purpose. He joins a support group of other would-have-going-to-be ChronoGuard members, and discovers that all of them are going to be mysteriously murdered before 2041.Jenny is a mindworm planted in Thursday's head by Aornis Hades, Thursday's nemesis, to make Thursday believe she has a 3rd child. Or is she?And of course, Thursday has to solve all of these problems, and then some more problems. But she does. Because she's such a badass.Not the best in the series, but really solidly great.
    • 5/5
      What could be better? Thursday Next, still recovering from her injuries, reluctantly accepts the position of Chief Librarian. But if you think that removes her from danger, you are sorely mistaken! Swindon faces a 34% chance of being destroyed by an asteroid but, even sooner, God has promised a smiting in just a few days that will destroy Thursday's brother, Joffy, unless her daughter, Tuesday, can come up with an anti-smiting device. Aornis' mindworm still has Thursday believing she has a daughter named Jenny but she's more concerned about her son, Friday, who will not fulfill his destiny in the Chrono-Guard because it was dismantled and whose new destiny involves killing an innocent boy. And, of course, Goliath is up to its usual scheme of taking over the world, which Thursday would do more to prevent if only someone would stop replacing the real Thursday with temporary body doubles. Great fun as always with some particularly funny quotes about libraries.
    • 5/5
      What fun! For the past few Thursday Next books, I started to question whether Fforde should really be continuing the series or if he should have stopped after book 3 or 4. But this one is fantastic, and goes back to the flavor of the first book. Like all of them, this one is hilarious and full of incredibly creative and zany ideas. The plot isn't quite as complicated as some of Fforde's other books. The Thursday Next universe is a bibliophile's alternate reality, and this book focuses on librarians. It's really fun imagining gun-toting librarians in book-shelf-camouflage fatigues storming people's houses to seize overdue library books.
    • 5/5
      Thursday Next is kept quite busy with her family life and the general misdeeds of others. She tries to tackle the Jenny mind-worm, help Swindon be saved from a smite from God, fit into her new career as the chief librarian of Wessex after Special Operations have been disbanded. This is all while keeping up with her family with Landon Park-Lane as her enduring supporter, her brother the head of the international religious group, her son who becomes one the Chronoguard (time travelers police) biggest hero and her daughter Tuesday, a brilliant scientist races to find a way to keep part of Swindon from being eradicated by the smiting.In this latest fantastic tale, Fforde continues to enthrall, entertain and make us readers laugh with witticism and action. The characters are further developed as they grow older, more previous secrets revealed. This is one of the best series ever!
    • 5/5
      If you love books, I can't imagine you wouldn't enjoy the Thursday Next series. Unless you really hate all things British, in which case, skip it. I'll admit to missing a few references here and there to British people/things, but for the most part, I get it and I love it. While Thursday's travels in the Book World had gotten a little convoluted, although no less fun, this takes us back to Swindon and stays in 'reality' - which in these books qualifies as science fiction. She's still fighting Goliath and there is certainly plenty to tell us what TN7 will be about, in fact at times it feels like this whole book is a set up to what will happen next, but that's not a bad thing. There are several passages where I really did laugh out loud while reading - one in particular pertaining to meeting the stupidity requirements by not funding the libraries, because what could be more stupid than that? If you haven't read the whole series, start at the beginning...it's well worth it. Feel free to laugh at the literary jokes even if you don't quite understand them because you used Cliff Notes instead of reading Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice...it will make you feel smarter. Fforde is the best author I know at taking the topic of literature and turning it into comedy.
    • 3/5
      Not as funny as it thinks it is. Besides it is repetitive and doesn't take the series any further. Also I hate time travel, and not even FForde has managed to make this funny. He did very well to remove the possability of time travel a couple of books back, and I wasn't impressed to find it resurrected. It is a direct follow on from book 6 and should not be read as a standalone.Thursday was recovered, injured but alive at the end of 6, after spending some time in the Bookworld. The 'real' world is somewhat confusing, and much time has passed since the beginning of the series. There is nowa plan to re-instate Literary Detective branch os Spec-Ops (i don't remeber them ever being disbanded?!). And Thursday obviously expects to be the chief if not only candidate for director. However her injuries are against her and she ends up as head of the sponsored library instead along with her own team of special forces - but no budget. Meanwhile various one-day (uninjured) copies of herself keep infiltrating her family, and similar copie sof her old adversory Jack Schitt from Goliath keep trying to steal unique manuscripts. This leads ot lots of confusing violence, and weird mental bodyhopping. Thursday also has (still? I thought this got erased) a mindworm from Aeornis Hades to deal with. None of it make smuch coherant sense even with the rules of Thursday's world. I kept hoping for some kind of wrap up and explanation but none really came. maybe I should have re-read the whole series to keep track of it all. There are obviously many funny moments, but nothing as outstanding as the early books.Far from the best of the series.
    • 4/5
      One of the better Thursday Next books in the series, I thought. Fforde's on form, and while we don't get to venture much into the BookWorld this time, libraries and their importance in society are one of the major elements here. Fforde's even dedicated the book "To all the librarians who have ever been, ever will be, are now," and there are a whole bunch of absolutely fantastic quotes about librarians and librarians throughout.Filled, as usual, with Ffordean flights of fancy, biblio-puns, and some of the most amusing characters in literature (plus a very slow dodo).
    • 5/5
      The beginning of THE WOMAN WHO DIED A LOT has a very quick recap of previous Thursday Next books when Thursday meets with a psychiatrist as she attemptst to get out of semi-retirement. The main plot of this book is to try to prevent the destruction of the world. Her family plays a prominent part in it with each of her children displaying his/her personality and ability. As in all the previous books, this science fiction/fantasy is filled with subtle wittiness and a good plot. There are subsitutes for characters--who knows if Thursday is the real one or a fake?--and plausable character interaction. What I especially liked, though, was the unexpected situations and philosophical questions the story raised.It proposes "the Readable BookWorld makes up for only 22 percent of visible reading matter--the remainder is thought to be a the unobservable remnants of long-lost books, forgotten oral tradition and ideas locked in writers' heads when they died. This material is researched in the Dark Reading Matter department as they try to determine "new ideas, plots and characters as well as a better understanding of the very nature of human imagination, and perhaps why the story exists at all." Wouldn't it be interesting to find all those great stories we've forgotten or that were never composed? What did Charles Dickens really plan as the ending of Edward Drood? Religion is a secoond area of exploration. If God wanted everyone to believe the same, why were slightly different versions given to the messengers? And, the most important for this story, are are lives preordained? If so, how does that affect the way we live? What if we knew our futures decades ahead of time? Could or should we try to change them? As always, I easily put my mind into Jasper Fforde's capable words and had a terrific journey.
    • 4/5
      4.5 Stars but I don't give out many five star reviews. This was fantastic. As a librarian I love the alternate version of librarians that Fforde has created. This book unlike the earlier ones was set in the real world not in Book World and while I suspect that that might bother some people I liked it. Thursday's real world is a little insane too.

      There is resolution to a lot of things that happened earlier which is nice because I was wondering whether those things would get resolved.
    • 5/5
      I just loved this. Mr Fforde is back on form. It's entertaining and funny and satiric. Tuesday is feeling her age and the results of previous adventures but still manages to end up as Head Librarian of Wessex Library Services and pursue the bad guys.One of the best dedications ever - I just wish libraries were as valued in the UK as they are in this alternate reality.
    • 5/5
      While everyone in Swindon prepares for an Almight smiting, Tuesday is trying to perfect an Anti-Smote shield the save the city while Joffe makes backup plans. In the meantime, the ban on time travel alters Friday's trajectory from a leader in the Chronoguard to a murderer. And, what of mind worm child Jenny? As Thursday faces domestic woes and recovers from the assassination attempt in the previous volume, she finds herself again battling Goliath who keeps replacing her with synthetic clones while trying to adapt to her new role as head librarian.Typical, hilarious Fforde antics ensue!
    • 4/5
      The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jaqsper Fforde is the seventh book in the Thursday Next series, a set of books that I can never coherently explain or summarize. They are a delightfully witty alternate-reality story about . . . and that's where it all breaks down. At that point in summarizing, I usually start blathering about Swindon and dodos and bookjumping and LiteraTech and the ChronoGuard and Landon and Thursday and Uncle Mycroft's inventions and Acheron Hades and so forth, and none of that means anything to you unless you have read the books. Basically, if tongue-in-cheek meta-ficion sounds like your thing, you should give this series a whirl.In this book, Thursday is recovering from a nearly-successful assasination attempt which has her grounded from the Bookworld, possibly permanently. There's plenty going on in Swindon, however, as the government looks into reinstating certain SpecOps departments, the Almighty appears to be preparing a Smiting for the Swindon town center, the Goliath corporation has something nefarious up its sleeves, and Aornis Hades is playing her usual mind games with the members of the Next family.It's all good fun, of course, and I did enjoy it, but I missed the Bookworld and all of its wacky denizens. The next book in the series promises a return to that world, so that's something to look forward to.
    • 4/5
      Another great book about Thursday Next, with yet a new twist to it and a well known adversary .A future collision between earth and an asteroid, a wrathfull Deity instigating a cleansing by fire, Goliath attempting to take over the Dark Reading matter it is all happening in this book. Great
    • 4/5
      Another fun entry in the Thursday Next series. My only disappontment was its lack of involvement with the Bookworld, but I guess that sort of evens out the lack of involvement with Thursday in the last novel.
    • 5/5
      Loved this as usual, with another quirky plot, wildly imaginative puns and twists, and loads of clever allusions. Not sure if it's just me, but there seems to be more direct satire on real-life names like Richard Dawkins and TK Maxx (these two are probably not often grouped together!. I've missed a few of this series but reading out of sequence is fine - it just means I want to back and enjoy the ones I've not read yet! The early ones bear re-reading, I find, too.
    • 3/5
      A fun, fairly quick read. Nice to reconnect with Thursday Next and her family and with Fforde's wryly cynical sense of humour. Not sure how many libraries are still using rubber stamps though...
    • 5/5
      Quite a fun story. Entertaning, likeable, and unusal character. Unusual adventures.
    • 5/5
      I love Thursday Next and the books that are about her, so this book was no letdown. The only thing different about The Woman Who Died a Lot and some of the other books is that there were fewer references to literature in this one, because Thursday was not necessarily doing her normal Literary Detective antics.However, the book was still very tongue-in-cheek and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. I really like the way Fforde writes these books, and I cannot wait until the next in the series, Dark Reading Matter, comes out!
    • 4/5
      It's so hard to describe Fforde's stories. They take us inside ourselves, inside books, outside of time, and all around reality. And through them all is a sense of family and humor that keeps everything grounded.Thursday Next is still recovering from her last adventure when she is made chief librarian of the Swindon All-You-Can-Eat at Fatso's Drink Not Included Library. In order to balance the stupidity deficit, they are given a pittance of a budget (you've got to love this!) and the town is scheduled for a smiting. Thursday's daughter, Tuesday, is working on a shield to protect the town. It seems that the Earth will be destroyed by an asteroid because ex-members of the ChronoGuard have received letters from themselves about their future and none of them live to see a ripe old age. And Jack Schitt is back and causing more trouble.I don't recommend reading this book without having already read the rest of the series, if for no other reason than to enjoy the entire roller coaster ride.