I discovered Jasper Fforde early on with his first Thursday Next mystery and have ridden his rollercoaster of quirky, absurdist, full of social commentary novels ever since. For fans like me, Red Side Story, with a touch of Sci-Fi, a touch of fantasy and a dystopian vibe is a total win. Each time Fforde tries out a new concept, it takes me a bit of time to adjust. I have learned to stick it out as he always pleases. As a sequel to Shades of Grey, the concept of Chromatacia, was already fixed as a land where one’s place in society is firmly set by the color you can see. Citizens who can see color see one. Otherwise the person is a Grey. Greys are the domestics, the dirty work people, underpaid, shabbily dressed, never enough food. Purples are the top of the pile, governing their towns, rich, imperious. It is common for people to try to marry up. Eddie Russett, who unexpectedly tested at an 86.5% red is definitely a good catch for purples who lean toward blue. The unlikeable, controlling Violet deMauve already set her cap for Eddie in Shades of Grey , needing more red in her child to be. Eddie still loves Jane (formerly Grey) Brunswick. Jane is no longer a Grey because when she was tested, she could see a small amount of green. Jane has moved up to working in retail. But Jane and a number of Grey’s are secretly rebels and, as we know from Shades of Grey, she has won Eddie over.
Eddie’s father is a Swatchman. This is a doctor who treats people by showing them swatches of colored cloth to treat specific ills or to give the person skills. He is too ethical for the powers that be. Chromatacia citizens live by strict rules set out hundreds of years ago after the thing that happened. These were established by a man called Munsell and form not only a religion of sorts but the strict delineation among the colors and pretty much every restriction one can imagine. Violations of rules can lead to death in the green room. People who have outlived their use to society also can choose the green room and may sometimes go there involuntarily. People who are indolent or particularly rebellious may die of Mildew. It is known that whole towns, even the higher colors have been wiped out. But Eddie’s father seems to inherently have the Hippocratic Oath running through his veins and he will not agree to follow any rules that require him to harm people. That already has gotten him into trouble and is one of the reasons the father and son are in East Carmine, a backwater place. He also is a rebel.
It is in this context that Eddie and Jane, facing unfounded murder charges as the novel opens, are questioning their origin story and the rules, actually trying to figure out the best way to work change. Along the way, dark things happen, funny things happen and we encounter characters that are scary, fully compliant, amusingly odd, thoughtful or treated as invisible because the culture cannot recognize that they exist. Fforde is simply the cleverest writer around. It is too bad this sequel has come so long after Shades of Grey because my memory of that is limited. Still, this is probably good for Fforde as many of us will drop back and reread the first novel, thus buying two books. And not one of us will regret it. Worth the wait. Highly recommend.
I enjoyed the narrators and there was a short story added in as a bonus that was a lot of fun.
They Called me Bookworm 