Tuesday, November 6, 2018

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Strike Your Heart; Amelie Nothomb


Each Tuesday, Vicki, from I’d Rather Be At The Beach hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros where  readers post the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book that they are reading or plan to read.

Strike Your Heart; Amelie Nothomb
Europa Edition- 2018

"Marie liked her name. It wasn't as ordinary as one might think; it gave her everything she wanted.  When she told people her name was Marie, it had a certain effect. 'Marie,' people would echo, charmed.

The name alone was not enough to explain her success. She knew she was pretty, Tall, with a good figure, her face lit with blond radiance: she did not leave people indifferent.  In Paris she might have gone unnoticed, but she lived in a town that was far enough away from the capital not to be considered a suburb.  She had always lived there, and everyone knew her."

This intro might not WOW you, but, this short novel was incredible. I picked it up yesterday and read it in one sitting. Beautiful writing and haunting story about the lasting impact of mother-daughter bond, or in this case, the lack of that bond.

16 comments:

  1. That's quite a haunting cover! I like the way they 'echo her name' I can really see that happening! Here is my Tuesday post, glad you enjoyed yours. :)

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  2. I am drawn in by the excerpt...and now want to read more. Thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog.

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  3. The open has a profound quality to it. See what book MK French is featuring at Girl Who Reads

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  4. I hadn't heard of this one before--and am intrigued by the cover.

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  5. I am going to check it out on GR right now!

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  6. The paragraphs might not be Wow, but there's something compelling there. I'm going to check it out.

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  7. That you read this all in one sitting really says something!

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  8. I'd keep reading. The cover alone caught my attention!

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  9. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this one so much and over the time I have done these intro posts I've noticed that it's far from possible to tell the winning books from the first paragraph alone although I do find I can tell if I'm not going to enjoy a book from the opener.

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  10. I am intrigued by the cover and the opening did make me want to read more.

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  11. Interesting cover. It seems very ominous and the first paragraph is not.

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  12. Your remarks have piqued my interest, which is good because the opening didn't really spark an interest. Adding it to my list!

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  13. The intro didn't catch me but your impressions after reading did.

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  14. It sounds intriguing, and that cover is very odd.

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