Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde Series: Shades of Grey #1
Published by Hodder & Stoughton on 01/01/2011
Genres: General Fiction
Format: Paperback
Source: Personal book collection
Back in 2010 when it was first released, I read Jasper Fforde’s Shades of Grey (Hodder & Stoughton) and loved it. I eagerly awaited the sequel, which sadly never materialised. I was always disappointed that this unusual dystopian series didn’t continue beyond the initial book, so I was very pleased to recently stumble across an update announcing that there is finally going to be a sequel, Red Side Story, which will be available in February 2024.
In preparation for reading the new book, I dug out my copy of Shades of Grey to re-read and it’s just as quirky and clever and well-written as I remember. The premise is a Britain of the future where status is determined by your perception of colour. There is a hierarchy of colours, and status within each colour depending on the intensity of your perception. The lowest members of acceptable society are the Greys.
The book is a wonderful combination of dystopia – with rigid controlling principles determining status, occupation, relationships and power and sinister secret agendas – and weird distortions of our modern world – like swans being a safety threat and having your own spoon a significant social status symbol.
As with Fforde’s Eyre Affair series, Shades of Grey combines some really thought-provoking social commentary with clever observations, humorous dialogue, and random quirky details. Fforde is one of my all-time favourite authors and I’m looking forward to the next installment of this story with great anticipation.
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