Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
Here's the first paragraph of the book that is sitting beside me as I drive 16 hours today from Florida to Ohio. If I take a driving break to let Grace drive, I may even read some of it.
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
She was floating, arms outspread, water lapping her body, breathing in a summery fragrance of salt and coconut. There was a pleasantly satisfied breakfast taste in her mouth of bacon and coffee and possibly croissants. She lifted her chin and the morning sun shone so brightly on the water, she had to squint through spangles of light to see her feet in front of her. Her toenails were each painted a different color. Red. Gold. Purple. Funny. The nail polish hadn't been applied very well. Blobby and messy. Someone else was floating in the water right next to her. Someone she liked a lot, who made her laugh, with her toenails painted the same way. The other person waggled multicolored toes at her companionably, and she was filled with sleep contentment. Somewhere in the distance, a man's voice shouted, "Marco?" and a chorus of children's voices cried back. "Polo!" The man called out again. "Marco, Marco, Marco?" and the voices answered, "Polo, Polo, Polo!" A child laughed; a long gurgling giggle, like a stream of soap bubbles. A voice said quietly and insistently in her ear, "Alice?" and she tipped back her head and let the cool water slide silently over her face.
I like this beginning because I can imagine my friend Sheila saying, "Funny" which she frequently says. I like the peaceful feeling it evokes, even though I know this will end up being a dream because I believe the book does not begin well.
What I don't like about typing out the first paragraph is that I notice little details that I might have glossed over, like the fact that "bacon and coffee and possibly croissants" should have gone near the words breakfast or taste, rather than her mouth. That's just the picky writer in me though.
This book description says 29-year-old Alice is married and expecting her first child when she wakes up on the gym floor as a 39-year-old with three children. She can't remember those intervening 10 years to figure out how her life got to this point.
What do you think? Would you keep reading?
5 comments:
When I read the opening paragraph, I thought of you in Florida and how this could have been a blog post of yours.
This sounds like a perfect summer read, so yes, I would keep reading.
hmm. it sounds like it could be an entertaining read or something i would put down before the end of the 1st chapter. i would have to keep reading to find out......
The description made me laugh out loud - probably the fact that we all can relate to that ... how did I get here.
The first paragraph not so much....
Seems like the perfect book/ intro for your time away in FL.
I think I'd keep reading as long as it didn't get either really sad or scary.
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