Shades of Grey

Author: Jasper Fforde

Who Picked the Book: Stephanie

One-sentence summary: In a world classified by colors, a young man slowly discovers the dark side of the rules and norms of his society.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: Those of us who listened (audiobook) appreciated the humor.

Our least favorite thing about it: The style of the novel was not to our taste.

Main Topics of Discussion: World Building, Character Development, Religion, Suppression, Knowledge

Our favorite quote: “I didn't set out to discover a truth. I was actually sent to the Outer Fringes to conduct a chair census and learn some humility. But the truth inevitably found me, as important truths often do, like a lost thought in need of a mind.”

Notes: We did not hate this book, but it also wasn't one of our favorites. That's the best way to sum up our feelings. We all found the story hard to get into. The first half of the novel was slow and not as interesting so it didn't hook us. After sticking with it, we did like the second half better because we had a better sense of what was going on, how everything was structured in this new world, and things actually started happening. It was hard to be engaged when we didn't understand anything and not much was being revealed. 

We did not feel any connection to any of the characters. That's not to say they weren't likeable at all - we just weren't made to really care about any of them. We do usually prefer character-driven stories - we like getting to know characters and feeling invested in their story. We felt neither for any characters in this book. 

Some of the comparisons of this "color" society to aspects of religion or other regimes was interesting and we had some good discussion about that. We also noticed the common factor in all societies like this one - the suppression of knowledge is required to make it work. 

The book ends on a cliffhanger and we're left wondering what happens to our two main characters after the end. There is a second book and some of us plan to read it. Others are fine being done with this story. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: Stephanie flew in to meet with us and Lindsay drove in as well. We had dinner at Venezia's Italian Restaurant and went to Dessert Avenue again for dessert and discussion.

What We Ate: Lots of great Italian dishes and desserts plus coffee and tea.