"When I was growing up, my mother's best friend was a woman named Cosmina Mandruleanu. I liked her for a lot of reasons: her name, of course; her ash-blond hair and throaty voice and black nylons and the way she was generous with the Juicy Fruit gum she always kept in her purse."
Does this beginning invite you into the story? Admittedly, I would not choose to read the book based solely on this opening, but so far/so good as I read. You can read about more book beginnings at Rose City Reader.Turning to page 56 to share on Freda's Voice, we find:
"Listen. Whatever you think of me or what I'm doing, I don't want or need or expect any longer to hear. You managed to raise a spineless son..., but I've got a long line of vertebrae running down my back and I'm going to tell you what I should have said a long time ago: Back off and butt out."
This story of interwoven lives and the influence of the past upon the future is not well represented by these lines. I am on page 49 and will continue reading this book. Would you?
2 comments:
The beginning doesn't do much, but the 56 is quite alluring!
I probably would, Pooch. I like Elizabeth Berg. Sometimes I don't like the heaviness I feel when I've read the whole story, though. No real light. She's a good wordsmith.
Post a Comment