Book Beginnings on Fridays - Plainsong by Kent Haruf

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you 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. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

This week mine is Plainsong by Kent Haruf. I'm thoroughly enjoying it and taking my time reading it. It won't be too long before I read the others in the series either. 

 

Here was this man Tom Guthrie in Holt standing at the back window in the kitchen of his house smoking cigarettes and looking out over the back lot where the sun was just coming up. When the sun reached the top of the windmill, for a while he watched what it was doing, that increased reddening of sunrise along the steel blades and the tail vane above the wooden platform.

 

 

 

Book Description:

 

 Set in Colorado in the 1980s, Plainsong tells the story of various Holt residents. There's teenager Victoria Roubideaux, pregnant and homeless, taken in by two ageing, shy and somewhat taciturn cattle-farming brothers -- and the changes wrought in all their lives as a result. Then there's high-school teacher and single-father, Tom Gutherie, who has two sons, Ike and Bobby, and a second chance at romance in the shape of colleague Maggie Jones. Filled with unforgettable characters, Plainsong is both convincing and compelling; a glorious, eloquent waltz of a novel. 'Like all the best novels, Plainsong takes you into a world that is at once real and vividly imagined. Here is a poetry of landscape, a tender and passionate evocation of ordinary people in majestic country .

 

  

Book Beginnings on Fridays - How I Lost You by Jenny Blackhurst

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you 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. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

My book beginning is from How I Lost You by Jenny Blackhurst.

 

It's still there.

No matter how many times I leave the room and try to go about my normal life, every time I go into the kitchen there it is.

 

  

Book Description:

 

I have no memory of what happened but I was told I killed my son. And you believe what your loved ones, your doctor and the police tell you, don't you? My name is Emma Cartwright. Three years ago I was Susan Webster, and I murdered my twelve-week-old son Dylan. I was sent to Oakdale Psychiatric Institute for my crime, and four weeks ago I was released early on parole with a new identity, address and a chance to rebuild my tattered life. This morning, I received an envelope addressed to Susan Webster. Inside it was a photograph of a toddler called Dylan. Now I am questioning everything I believe because if I have no memory of the event, how can I truly believe he's dead? If there was the smallest chance your son was alive, what would you do to get him back?  

Book Beginnings on Fridays - The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you 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. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

My book beginning is The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton, it was published by Little Brown on 2nd July.

 

It's FREEZING cold; like the air is made of broken glass. Our English cold is all roly-poly snowmen and 'woo-hoo! it's a snow day!' a hey-there friendly kind of cold. But this cold is mean.

 

 

Book Description

 

On 24th November Yasmin and her deaf daughter Ruby arrived in Alaska.

Within hours they were driving alone across a frozen wilderness

Where nothing grows

Where no one lives

Where tears freeze

And night will last for another 54 days.

They are looking for Ruby's father.

Travelling deeper into a silent land.

They still cannot find him.

And someone is watching them in the dark. 

Someone to Watch Over Me by Madeleine Reiss

The book starts with every parents worst nightmare; Carrie's young son Charlie disappears from a beach. The story then moves on three years and there's still no clue as to what happened to him. Carrie is now separated from husband Damien and runs a shop with her friend Jen.

Max was playing with Charlie on the beach the day he vanished. His Mum Molly brings him up alone since splitting up with her abusive husband Rupert.

I enjoyed the beginning and felt it described very well what it must be like to realise your child is missing. However I was disappointed, I expected this to be more of a thriller about the search for Charlie. In reality the story seemed to have more about Carrie's shop and the beginning of her relationship with neighbour Oliver. Others may like this to stop it being too dark and upsetting, but for me it didn't work. It seemed like the author couldn't decide what type of book to write. There was the Molly, Max and Rupert storyline but this became too far fetched.

Despite all of this I never felt like giving up and wanted to find out what would happen. The end when it came though was predictable.

Rating: 2 out of 5

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Nora is surprised to be invited to Clare's hen weekend but agrees with her friend Nina that they'll go. Nora walked out of school and away from her boyfriend James ten years ago, that was also the last time she saw Clare. They had been best friends throughout their school years so what happened? As the story progresses in the isolated house in the woods we find out why.

 

Other characters attending the weekend away are Tom who works in the theatre, Melanie who is away from her baby for the first time and Clare's obsessive best friend Flo.

 

I thought this was a good, fast paced psychological thriller and for most of it I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. I found the ending was predictable though, I'd worked it out earlier and it wasn't the big shock I'd been hoping for. Worth a read if you like psychological thrillers and I'll look out for future novels by this author.

 

Thank you to Harvill Secker for my review copy. 

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

 

Publication date: 30th July 2015

 

June Roundup

Here is a list of the books I read in June:

 

A Thorn Among the Lilies by Michael Hiebert - review

 

Finders Keepers by Stephen King

 

First One Missing by Tammy Cohen - review 

 

Mockingbird Songs by R.J. Ellory

 

The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon - review 

 

The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer

 

The Mistake I Made by Paula Daly - review

 

 

 

The Mistake I Made by Paula Daly

Roz is a single parent to her 9 year old son George since splitting up from her husband Winston. She works full time as a physiotherapist to try and make ends meet and clear some debts. When her financial situation worsens, she is forced to take up an offer. A married man she knows wants her to spend the night with him for money, no strings attached. She has never done anything like this before but can see no other quick alternative to keeping a roof over her and George's heads. Obviously this doesn't turn out to be as simple as she'd hoped and soon her life is getting out of control.

This is the third of Paula Daly's novels I've read, they're all excellent but I think this one is her best yet. It's a real page turner so please don't start reading this on a day you have plans, they won't come to fruition until you've finished this book.

Thanks to Transworld Publishers & Netgalley for my copy.

Rating: 5 out of 5

 

Publication date: 27th August 2015

My reviews of other Paula Daly novels:

Just What Kind of Mother Are You? 

Keep Your Friends Close