Friday Link-Ups – 22Apr16: SWANN
Book Beginnings on Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader. Hop on over there to get a linky to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.
Opening sentences from Swann: A Literary Mystery by Carol Shields:
As recently as two years ago, when I was twenty-six, I dressed in ratty jeans and a sweatshirt with lettering across the chest. That’s where I was. Now I own six pairs of beautiful shoes, which I keep, when I’m not wearing them, swathed in tissue paper in their original boxes. Not one of these pairs of shoes cost less than a hundred dollars.
My thoughts: I’m so curious to find out how the narrator got from point A to point B! Would you read on?
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The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 (or 56% in your ereader) and find any sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Here’s an entry from page 56 of Swann: A Literary Mystery:
The news they imparted was good, wholly positive, in fact: the lump removed from my mother’s side this morning was not, as they had feared, the pulpy sponge of cancer but a compacted little bundle of bone and hair, which, they told me, was a fossilized fetus, my mother’s twin sibling who somehow, in the months before her own birth, became absorbed into her body. A genuine medical curiosity, one of the devilish pranks the human body plays on itself from time to time.
Shades of My Big Fat Greek Wedding! (Swann predated the movie by 15 years.) What do you think?
P.S. The links are affiliate links so I will receive a small percentage of any purchase you make after clicking through from this blog.
This sounds really interesting. The 56 especially caught my attention. Hope you enjoy it!
That 56 snippet is intriguing, isn’t it, Katherine? Welcome to Exurbanis!
The opening made me want to know what caused this change, and I’d keep reading to find out. Then your 56 snippet definitely intrigued me. Sounds like a book I’d enjoy.
My Friday post features A NEW DAWN IN DEER ISLE.
My thoughts, too, Sandra. Welcome to Exurbanis. I’ll swing by “Writing with a Texas Twang”, and check out A New Dawn in Deer Isle!
This sounds interesting and I completely thought the same thing (shades of My Big Fat Greek Wedding)….lol…Here’s my Friday meme
Oh, Maria, I’m so glad you understood that reference. lol Thanks for dropping by Exurbanis!
I’ll pop over to “Queen of All She Reads” and check out your Friday link-ups/
Sounds interesting. The 56 has me curious about the mother… how neat/curious about the twin. Happy weekend!
Thanks for hosting The Friday 56, Freda – and welcome to Exurbanis!
Sounds like it could be intense! I want to know what is going on!
Check out my Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings).
I’m past page 56 now, Lauren, and it wasn’t as intense as it might have been. Funny what context will do! Thanks for dropping by Exurbanis. 🙂
The two snippets really make me want to know more about it! Happy reading!