Sci-fi creation throws light on grey areas

Shades of Grey, Jasper Fforde Hodder & Stoughton, $38.99

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WHILE THE concept of getting a nose for a birthday present, seeking out silver spoons, and losing thumbs may sound like something out of an imaginative children's book, Shades of Grey is anything but a juvenile novel to be scoffed at. Jasper Fforde works his magic by creating a futuristic world filled with people living by a Colortocracy. In this time, the power lies with the people who can see the most vibrant hues of colour. Everyone is placed on a Chromatic Scale and separated by the particular colour they can see, with "the Greys" placed on the bottom rung of this repressed society.

The narrator and a "Red", Eddie Russett, guides us through the complex rules of Chromatics while avoiding the many social faux pas, such as coming up with new systems for queuing. With Reds being low down on the Chromatic Scale, and the thought of falling in love with a lower-ranking Grey abhorrent, Fforde's satirical voice shines through as his dry wit scorns bureaucracy and senseless social standings.

Shades of Grey is not short on description, yet its 400-odd pages cover a span of only four days in Eddie's life. As a result it seems that Fforde sometimes gets carried away in the paint-by-page-numbers creation of this world, rather than creating a solid narrative. Highly entertaining nonetheless, Shades of Grey is the quirky first novel in a predicted trilogy that offers enough originality and flair to leave you coloured with contentment.

Kate Mead is a graduate of media studies from the Auckland University of Technology.

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