Chapter Thirty-One: Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron

Let me be clear from the beginning: Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde (he's Welsh) is not to be confused with the recent bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey.  I haven't read the latter, but from what I've heard I feel I can safely say that these books have almost nothing in common.  Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron is a fascinating science-fiction novel about a dystopian future society in which people are categorized based on which color they can see (if they can see in color at all--some people are colorblind, or "grey").  My interest was caught from page one, partly because I wanted to find out more about how this strange society functions (much of this is explained or suggested over the course of the novel) and partly because I wanted to find out more about why the people in it can only see in one color and not at all at night (which is never explained or suggested).  But I was also held by the narrator and main character, whose curiosity fuels the plot.  My only complaint is that, at times, the dystopian element of the society in the novel (ominously referred to only as The Collective) feels a bit overdone or stereotypical of dystopian fiction, but this is a passing and minor issue.  On the whole, I greatly enjoyed this read, and I am eagerly anticipating the sequel, which is still in the works.  If you're up for science fiction or just a weird but good book, it's worth your time to check out Shades of Grey.