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.
What We Owe; Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde
Mariner Books - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2018
"I'VE ALWAYS CARRIED MY DEATH WITH ME. Perhaps saying so is trite, an observation the dying always make. But I'm not like other people, in this as in everything else, or so I like to believe. And, I do believe it, truly. I said as much when Masood died. Our time was always borrowed. We weren't suppose to be alive. We should have died in the revolution. In its aftermath. In the war. But I was given thirty more years. More than half my life. It's a considerable length of time, something to be grateful for. The same length of time, something to be grateful for. The same length as my daughter's life. Yes, that's one way to see it. I was allowed to create her. But she didn't need me this long. No one did. You think because you are a parent, you're needed. It's not true. People find a way to get by. Who says I was worth more than the trouble I caused? I don't believe it. I'm not the type who gives more than I take. I should be. I'm a mother, after all. It's my job to bear the weight, bear it for others. But I never have, not for anyone."
What do you think? It's a translated work but, I decided to try this one after reading several favorable reviews. I'll be starting it this week.
Yes, yes!
ReplyDeleteHmmm...that first paragraph is more than a little sad - the parts of not being needed and what a mother's job is. I'd read more to see where it goes.
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by the opening--I like exploring the lives of people who beat the odds.
ReplyDeleteI'm always a little nervous about translated works but this one looks like it has a lot of potential!
ReplyDeleteIntriguing start talking about death and all...
ReplyDeleteUsually I don;t like extra long intro paragraphs but that was pretty darn good.
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